honestly 7k taking every piece of isnt that bad. remeber they have to R&R windows as well as replace all of the seals etc. fix all dents and dings, everything fitting and lining up PERFECT.. 7k isnt bad at all.

hows this.. take inflation into consideration.

the paint job on my 912, done by stoddards in 1984.. drum roll... $6,409 with tax.. this is in 1984 dollars too. try to put a price on that now. this included all labor, any body work, and parts (trim and rubber etc). completely stripped to bare metal and repainted. date stared 4-6-84. date finsihed 6-18-84

if anyone is interested in what was all done and covered i can scan the pages of recipts for the work done durring this time.

 

oh and how does this paint look today? 20 years later!?












of course it has some dents, dings and some nice patina on the nose now.. but thats what you get when you drive and enjoy your car!!!!!

Harry "gonna save for another high quality paint job after i get my motor rebuilt" Hoffman

 

You wanted to know, so here it is:

What cost $6409.00 in 1984 would cost $11291.30 in 2003.

This is according to the Inflation Calculator

WOW!

 

For those of you paint savvy folks out there, do the catylized (2-component) paints like Imron or PPG hold up to rock chips any better than a good single component urethane like DuPont Chromabase w/ clearcoat? Is there a 2-component clearcoat out there that might provide the same chip protection as Imron or PPG? Hopefully I'll be doing my 86 in the coming year and was just wondering. I hate rock chips!

 

I had Maaco paint my 944 2 1/2 years ago. Every other shop wanted $5-8k for a good (no not great, but good) paint job. I stripped the car down myself and had them shoot it with their two-stage paint.

Yes, it has some flaws and it does chip more readily. However, very few people notice the problems unless they are paying attention to it. After 2.5 years, it's held up pretty well, although it is garaged. It's not a perfect job, but I can live with the problems for the $3-6k that I didn't spend. It is not a concourse-quality job (though other car nuts will tell me that it is), but for what I wanted, it was worth it. Call me a "satisfied customer".

My recommendations are to look at the cars they've already done, remove the parts yourself (most paint failures will occure at the tape lines. Eliminate those and you eliminate most of the problems), and then use one of their higher levels. I wouldn't expect the $250 job to last long.

At this point my only concern is longevity, though I know that the next time it needs it I'll just do it myself.

Just my thought on the matter.

BTW, this is what it looked like as of a few months ago...






BB.

 

Sure, Imron clear. However, since it is a fleet finish the appearance suffers somewhat compared to an automotive clear. Most higher end two component clears offer excellent chip resistance but none offer the same resistance as factory clears. Factory original finishes are baked on at very high temps before electrical components are installed giving a much harder finish. This hardness can never be duplicated with refinish products..different animal all together. No matter what a car is painted with you still need to avoid following other cars too closely etc. Stick with a major brand of paint such as Dupont, PPG,Basf. The european lines are excellent but generally are not packaged for diy use. There are also different qualities within each line. You get what you pay for. That being said price goes up not only for quality but also for different applications or handling characteristics such as quick dry or quick to buff(very different products). Dupont Chromabase is not a single component urethane. It is an acrylic base coat to be used under a variety of urethane clearcoats. All of these products are acrylics, as far as urethane there is no standard as to how much urethane must be present in a given product for it to be called a urethane...buyer beware. If any of you want a recommendation as to what paint to use feel free to pm me . I will tell you what I feel is best for your budget regardless of brand. My brands of preference are Dupont and Standox. House of Kolor is good for special colors but I have noticed their reputation in the industry slipping lateley. I can make a basic recommendation for almost any brand. Sorry I tend to ramble on about this topic. Btw, I'm not plugging myself to get work. I still have to finish my own car.

 

bottom line is that these are relatively cheap cars (and always will be no matter what the paint job is), so why spend 50% of it's value on paint? Sell the car, add the paint funds to the profit and buy a 944 with a better paint job.

this was my reasoning for a $900 paint job. if we all owned $30K used Porsches, my thinking would be very different.

 

I strongly agree with that. For what most shops wanted, I'd have been better off selling my 944 and buying a 951 that didn't need paint in the first place...

And still have money left over!

BB.

 

I figure I'm just gonna use my 924S as a test mule for teaching me how to paint a car.... that way if I screw up, I can only blame myself.

 

Thanks for the great response...PM sent.
Steve

 

Some of us like "our" cars, regardless of what they are worth. To sell my 951 to buy another 951 with better paint would leave me with a bunch of other crap I wouldnt be satisfied with...I like "knowing" a car. Like I can absolutely guarantee I could get in my pathfinder with 227k miles and drive anywhere in the country tomorrow adding nothing but gas. Thats why I dont want to sell it!

 

Well said. That explains the sorry state of paint that my car suffers from at this moment. Paint will be the last thing that I worry about, once I have all of the tweaking done. It looks good from 50/50 right now, and that is all that matters to me.

 

Thanks for the input im going 2 head down to macco and ask some questions and take a look at some cars

 

I remember 10 years ago people saying the same thing about 914's, and 912's and 15 years ago about '66 to '73 911's.

The 924/44/51/68 series of cars are considered to be the definition of efficient, elegant engineering of a sports car from the eighties and good examples will go for significant money someday.

I am not stating that you should plow enormous amounts of money in to your cars and expect some giant return in the near future. But at least be a good custodian, because somebody will really love to have a nice 40 or 50 year old Porsche in their garage that has been nicely kept. Harry (hoffman912) will tell you, and his car is about 37 years young. Maybe my 33 year old 911E will look that good next summer.

 

I think the best route is to find a local Rennlister or Porsche guy who shoots paint on the side for a few bucks. They usually do it to help the cash inflow to supoprt their other projects, are Porsche nuts by trade anyway, and have a vested interest in doing a good job because they only do fellow buddys Porsches.

You should see XSBoosts job on Petes S2. Its insanely good. Ive been trying to ***** my car off on Sir Boost so he will do mine soon. I know hes heavy into his 914 rebuild now however.