Silver79

I currently work at a dealer that sells Porsche's and I always find it interesting to see what color cars come off the truck. I really like Seal Gray and any of Porsche's blues. The other day a new gray Cayman came in and the color on the window sticker was............... Meteor Gray Metallic. Always interesting how things seem to repeat in cycles. Joe

tommytomaso

Id take Nicols advise.....stick to a blue color!
...but keep it a porsche color.....like the new Cayenne Titanum Blue.....

JEC_31

Cobalt Blue! It's amazing in person, I've drooled over several Cayman S's in this hue on my local P-dealer's lot.

BTW check this page where I stole this photo from, all 997 options well-photographed with paint codes.

http://www.porschepassion.com/colours997.htm

Marine Blue

Love the Marine Blue. It's hard to catch the color change in pics, the color changes from a deep metallic blue to a purple tinged blue depending on the light.

JHowell37

The epoxies you refer to are mainly just certain primers. They can be used in place of etching primer on bare metal. Epoxy sticks very well and it seals which keeps the moisture out. Since it seals it can also be used in place of traditional sealing primers. It won't kill you. It's compatible with almost everything. It doesn't destroy the environment. The list goes on.

Laquer is pretty, but modern polyurethane looks almost as good, as is far more durable.

I'll be painting myself or contacting my old employer who used to own a body shop to do the actual painting.

I won't give my money to anyone who does not embrace change.

Making a specific color of auto paint is no different then going to the Home Depot and having them mix some paint for your living. Any color you want, they can make. The only concerns a person should have in regard to the new paint versus the old stuff is compatibility between the products.

JHowell37

I'm still leaning toward cassisrot

danglerb

Any links with nice picts of all the steps in a good respray?

Whats the best modern paint?

JHowell37

Give me another month or two and my car should be finished as far as the exterior restoration. I've got some pics of the bodywork I've done, and in a few weeks, I'll be replacing an exterior quarter panel. I'll have pics of that as well.

What's the best modern paint? That's a tough question to answer because there are several ways to evaluate what makes paint the best. You can probably break it into 3 categories on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best.)
appearance (color and depth)
durability (resistance to UV and the environment in general)
ease of use and repair (ability to use properly, and correct minor flaws without having to start over)

Acrylic Polyurethane (AP)
appearance: 7-8
durability: 8-9
ease of use: 9-10
AP is used on most new cars and has been for several years now. It got a bad rap in the late 80s due to delamination problems on some Fords and GMs. Many purists look down their noses at it with the same attitude that air-cooled 911 owners have in regard to water-cooled Porsches.

Laquer
appearance: 9-10
durability: 2-3
ease of use: 8-9
If I had a show car I would use laquer paint if possible. Nothing has the color and depth of laquer. Laquer is not durable at all and requires constant upkeep. If you have a trailer-queen show car, it's not an issue since the car is rarely driven, never sees rain, and is always under cover. It takes many coats to produce a quality finish and requires a lot of sanding in between coats. This makes it very time consuming to apply. Laquer cures as a result of the solvents in it evaporating. This causes air pollution. The EPA is very strict on its use anymore. It's pretty and will draw attention, but it's not practical for daily use.

Enamel
appearance: 5-6
durability: 9-10
ease of use: 5-6
When you think of enamel, think of your teeth. Think of the wear and tear you put on them every day, and for many of us, they will last our entire lives. The protective coating on our teeth is called enamel. Tractors and UPS delivery trucks are painted with the stuff because it holds up for decades under the worst conditions. The problem with it is it just doesn't look very good when compared to the other two paints. In most of it's intended applications, looks mean very little and durability means everything which is why it's used. It's difficult to use because it is not receptive to any type of wet-sanding and polishing to correct flaws and defects from application. If you want it to look good, you get to start over. It's another poluter because it also cures from solvent evaporation.

Acrylic polyurethane IMO is the best because although it's great at nothing, it's good at everything.

danglerb

Its been twenty years, but my friend used Emron and had them "color sand" I think between coats to do something good. Looked nice when he was done, but I know what your saying it didn't have that depth that lacquer does.

JHowell37

Actually it's Imron but that's close enough. Imron is made by DuPont and can be used on cars but is best intended for boats. It's also used for painting concrete and masonry. It's durable, and can look good, but I'd save it for my delivery truck or tractor.