Daniel Dudley

Stick to the exterior if you can. 2K paint jobs will wind up a little more but can be very nice in terms of results. How is your paint anyway ? Can you do the nose and tail ? Has it already been repainted ?

Getting a good painter is crucial.

S4-on-your-back-door

I just had mine painted the same color( guards red ) the body shop quoted $2600. I wanted bumpers off and rear windows pulled so to put new trim in and they then charged me $3000.That price included 4 coats of clear. Job came out nice there is some very small chips and under sray here and there but unless your looking for them or are very picky like me your never know. I worked with them as far as answering Q on how to do things as not to have things broken as they removed them. they even waxed the car after it was done. talking to the owner he said he wouldnt do a car like mine for under $5000.00 next time. by the way $5000.00 was the quotes that i was getting from other shops to do the bumper off and 4 coats of clear job, even macco and thier quote was the highest. i did buy all the clips and thing that broke as they were removing things because i know the car is old and things will break.

wrecktech

I wouldn't paint it unless you plan on taking off all the trim and the bumper covers. Paint materials alone will be at least $1,000. To get the quality of work you would want will be at least $3,500.

danglerb

I'm just guessing, but maybe finding the right spray guy is the ticket, and let him pick the shop he wants to work with. Most of the time, if you can be VERY flexible about when and how long it takes, you might get a better deal. Any kind of deadline can be very bad for end results.

Sure makes keeping the original paint seem like a nice idea.

Any opinions on how to handle the really small bits around the nose, touchup etc?

wrecktech

I cannot agree with this any more strongly. However long it takes is what it takes. A non-rush job always gets the best and most attention in the shop I work out of.

dan davies

find a guy who does it best,

perrys4

Or gets ignored because other things have priority. I have seen it before. Some sort of deadline needs to be set.

JHowell37

I've seen this happen before. The shop has to have some sort of time frame to work with or else the car will sit there for months, and in some cases, years. It's too easy for most shops to get sidetracked by the smaller 2-3 day $600-$700 jobs that are easy money in comparison to a full respray.

Ron_H

Can you barter? Is there something of value you can give a painter or bodyshop?

I was in LA snooping around once and found a great P car shop that did excellent paint and body work, among other things. I made friends with their painter and found that he had a paint booth at his house and moonlighted on the weekends. He had family in the Bay Area so one day he came up here and gave me an estimate to paint my car Of course I didn't discuss it with his employer.... Just a thought.

wrecktech

If you take a car to a shop that lets any job sit for years you have chosen the wrong shop to begin with. I cannot believe a shop would store a car for years unless the shop or customer has financial problems.

S4-on-your-back-door

fine yourself a hispanic shop they do the job rite and wont charge you a arm and a leg and will get your car back to you. you should set a two or three week deadline thow. if they want to much just move on to the next shop.

Greggles

Very interesting poll results
47% suggest that you pay more then $4k for a respray (on a '84?)

As a rule of thumb - you get what you pay for, but how much better will the $4K+ paint job be then a $2000 - $2500 spray. You've done a lot to improve the car already, does the paint have to be flawless? If so spend the money. Will your cruising buddies notice (or care), will you be an outcast at SITM or can you use $2k somewhere else in your life?

Have a safe new years

Ron_H

I know a shop here in San Jose, California that keeps cars for at least two years. This shop only does Porsches. There are probably at least 25 cars in the shop at any one time. The owner comes to work in the morning and picks the car on which he will lavish attention for that day; tomorrow it may be another one. He is a metal finisher; no filler unless absolutely necessary.
When the car emerges, it appears as a factory original example, right down to the finish (ie: some cars never had clear; some were acrylic enamel, etc, and that's how he finishes 'em). People from this area will recognize of whom I am speaking. You take your car there and go home and wait until he calls you. But the result is worth it, IF you aren't in a rush and most aren't.

csb5150

I am actually in the process of having this done for my 85 928S.

I found a guy who works at a high-end shop during the day and has a side business at night. We met and discuss my goals - i did not need it done to concours even though he is capable of it. To do it perfect, it would have been labor + materials and could have run to $8K with ease.

I gave him a budget of $3500 which included removing the rub strips and we looked for ways to ease the work. For example, my locks and the quarter window trim were a bit beaten up. If removed, new seals would be required all around. Instead of that cost, I told him to tape the locks and trim. I do not care about overspray because I spent a few bucks on Hooked on Cars' door lock kit and quarter panel kit, which will cover the trim and locks even if there is some overspray once the work is done. I intend to buy the kit for the front windshield as well. Avoiding glass and lock removal is a huge savings of time, labor and money.

Check with local Porsche guys and you may be able to find someone in your area who has a similar side business. I will post pictures to show the results when completed.

slate blue

Where is the option for more than $10K? Seriously I have two 84 models, both have been repainted to OEM finish. In fact the bumpers I think are better as the early plastic bumpers are prone to distortion. Not that I would have the money to do it again but I did buy new bumpers and spoilers from the dealer,N.B. our dealers for many years were subsidized by Porsche Germany. So the money spent on these items isn't what you would pay today.

I think Nicole has the costs right, I did spend effectively more probably $20K AUD or about $16K USD but with those major new parts and all the black bits repowder coated and new windscreen wipers etc. Also getting the body seal correct at the bottom of the doors is quite a dificult job, the shop I took the car too couldn't do it, I also needed some practice at it too. The result is that people who don't know the 928 think my cars are new, I could say that has happened at least a half a dozen times. The paints I used were Glasurit for my manual and Standox for the auto. Both are good Glasurit is the better of the two.

Lots of good advice given, time frames need to be set, it will take a month for a quality job, the under taking is really massive, the trim removal is very suprisingly big job, lots of storage space needed.