the_bg

I am going to re-paint my 1995 993 C2. Does anyone know what brand, type (Urethane/Waterbased) of paint was used? My production date was 10/1994. Color is Midnight Blue Metallic. Paint Code 39C Auxilary Code F8.

Here is a picture of the Paint Code badge from the forward compartment of the driver's side:

Rinty

Brian:

Welcome to Rennlist.

According to Streather's "Porsche 993 The Essential Companion", Midnight Blue Metallic is a special order water based paint. There is a note (page 603) that for "repairs" of water base paint, to use "conventional" paint.

Make sure you have lots of "before" pictures to show prospective buyers, in case you decide to sell at a future date. You will want to be able to prove that there is no damage history.

matt777

I would to listen to what your body shop/painter would like to use as well. I would want them to use paints they are familar with spraying. They will likely use a sealer so what is underneath doesn't matter. Base/clear is great because you can repair scratches and defects. There is also a transition now to water borne paints (bases) because of the VOC issues.

the_bg

Thanks for the welcome RINTY! These forums are an excellent source and I'm having a blast reading them.

Regarding "Convential" Paint, I assume this means a Single Stage (NOT Base Coat + Clear Coat)? ..Or it could mean a Solvent Borne Paint system? .Or BOTH
Does your source indicate the Base Coat being a Waterbased Base Coat while the Clearcoat might be Solvent Based? (I need to get that book)

Matt, I agree. However, I want to have some idea of the paint system used on the car so that I can re-paint with a compatible system and at least be able to speak inteligently with the paint shop on the right system for the car. Additionally, I may not need to go as far as shooting sealer. My clear coat is the problem. It's cracking/peeling in areas exposed to sun. It may only need to be wetsanded and clear coated. Not sure yet.

POSSIBLE ANSWER TO ORIGINAL POST (Please chime in of someone knows anything different):
On that note, I have researched further and I *believe* the Manufacturer of paint was German based Herberts. They have since been bought out by DuPont and do offer a Water borne 2 stage system Base Coat + Clear Coat). Below is how I came to my determination (Besides the fact that their "OEM Paint Program" Webpage has a picture of a Porsche).

Notice the "9" and the "3" following the "39C" paint color code in the picture above? I read in a post related to a 930 paint code that the "9" = Porsche (as in painted in main factory from what I gathered) and "3" = Herberts. Below is the chart I used as a reference: (Note: I have also seen posts whereby paint manufacturers are represented by a letter)

xxx-y-z
xxx = paint code

y = factory
8 = ??? perhaps Karmann or other coach factory
9 = Porsche factory

z = paint supplier
1 is for Lesonal
2 is for Glasurit
3 is for Herberts
4 = ?

I have searched Glasurit and can not find my paint code available. I searched Lesonal and I found two versions of it. I have searched DuPont and found 4 versions of it. It appears to be a match in color for 4 different paint systems.

If anyone knows information other than described above, or can confirm the above, please do so. Thanks!

Rinty

Brian:

Streather does not go into great detail on the paint. He states (p.305) that after the body shell is galvanized, it goes through a total immersion pretreatment, application of cataphoretic primer, hot wax cavity filler, and PVC undercoating.

Then it is painted with "Unipaint" or water based paint. The only other comment of note that I could find is in the appendix, and that is that the water based paint is also known as "Pearl effect paint."

Hope this helps a little bit, but your painter will be able to advise you, and I assume you are having it done by a reputable specialty shop.

the_bg

Thanks Rinty. It appears Dupont Cromax is the comparable paint. Spoke to a rep today and she confirmed the Base Coat as Waterborne and the Clear coat to be a Solvent based Urethane. Again, thanks for the help.

the_bg

Rinty - I have a few shops in mind. Will need to visit a few more. It almost splipped my mind, a long time buddy of mine's father has a paint shop. Will probably talk to him as well.

UrKurt

This is a good thread so far. Brian, where did you find this info? Can anyone decipher what supplier z=4 is? My code (mid-1995): 39S 9 4 WBL / aventurine green metallic / K6

the_bg

Hi Kurt, I found the chart on a Pelican Thread. I have emailed the original poster and he doesn't know which manufacturer "4" might be. I have also consulted with one dealership with no luck either.

He added that although the 930 era paint codes are in the xxx-y-z format that he believes we have deciphered our 993 code correctly (xxx y z). He further said Porsche has not changed their Paint code format since 1972.

Your code is definately the Waterbased Base + Clear coat system (There were two versions of Aventurine Green - Waterbased and Solvent based - the codes are dofferent). My Midnight Blue Metallic is also the Waterbased version of Midnight Blue. As Rinty stated earlier and I have confirmed through research the water based paints have a slight "Pearl Effect". I frankly don't see pearl in my paint but would probably see it if it were side by side a standard Non Waterbased version of the color.

UrKurt

Thanks Brian for all your help here (and all the PMs!). Good stuff. For all those interested, another possibility that came up was Sikkens.

geolab

hello, your paint color exists in two variants at Glasurit
one is pearl 37W and yours is metallic pearl 39c

39C was used in 94-95 and is called NachtblauMetallic Perl
Glasurit indicates the base color is sprayed in two steps with two different formulas

go to glasurit site, and choose color-online, on top left of color-online applet, type 39c and enter button
original paint was solvent based glasurit line 55 but exists in water based formula 90
regards