melman911

Does anyone know why only a portion of it is painted black?

FRporscheman

It should only be painted black on the areas that would be visible when it's installed. It's there to hide it.

melman911

Ok thanks. I like the black it's just it only on the part face the rear of the car. From the side it would be visible but only if you got a low view of the car. I'm thinking about painting just the rest can. What do you think?

SloMo228

No reason why you can't paint the rest of it if you want. Make sure it's good and clean and use a high-temp paint.

When I built my first exhaust system I used mild steel so I painted the whole thing for corrosion protection. I built the current setup out of stainless and chose not to paint. I don't know what the factory used, but it can't hurt either way.

melman911

I know that's what I was thinking. My brother thinks I should just leave it because that's how it came from Porsche.

V2Rocket

If you decide to paint if be sure to scuff it up well for the primer/paint to stick
I didn't do mine super thoroughly (was in a hurry) and the paint has chipped off over time from heat and vibration..

melman911

So let me asked you this question Spencer. The car is going up for sale soon. Someone looking to buy it as a collector car. You think they would want it painted or left as is. If I were keeping the car I would paint it just because the look would be uniformed. Just replacing it because it needed to be replaced. Want to make sure everything is right with car before it goes. Just looking for an honest opinion. Thanks man.

V2Rocket

I'm the wrong person to ask "collector car" questions to...
But I would think the prospective buyer would appreciate that it is a brand-new OEM part, as-is.

melman911

Haha, fair enough. Thanks for your opinion. That's what my brother said. He's not a collector car guy either just a numerous Porsche guy.

potent951turbo

I've always seen them completely painted, at least the muffler portion. While I agree scuffing it will help the paint adhere, from a collectors point of view I would just paint it as is. I've stripped a few to repaint them over the years and they always come clean with no signs of scuff marks from the factory. Maybe it won't last as long but it's not hard to take off occasionally to respray.

potent951turbo

Here are a couple of pictures from a 3k original mile 944 for reference.

melman911

Wow Colin thanks for the pic. I've been looking no all over the net trying to see what the original looked like. So you think paint it?

potent951turbo

I think I would go ahead and paint the rest of it a satin black myself. I would probably leave the piping bare though. Did you get a new "decorative" tip sleeve to go with it?

potent951turbo

Mel, here are some pictures of a 44k mile 951 as well.

potent951turbo

Also the factory drivetrain images, although these are usually doctored up for the photo shoot (ie. painted batwing and ground effects)