FRporscheman

If you don't care about the story, skip to the dashed line.

We (I) finally got the 928 resprayed and began the reassembly. To bring up up to speed on the story (the important parts), my dad started prepping the car for paint over 3 years ago. He never really had time to devote to it, so he just worked on his rare free time. In June I decided to take over. The progress was that he had taken off the front chin spoiler (that rubber thing that always breaks), the metal cowl plate, the foglight frames, and the headlight doors. Not a whole lot. Oh, and the car was sort of in a state of disrepair...

Once I took over, I started with the repairs. Rebult the PS rack myself, fixed the odo, replaced the coolant tank, new tie rod ends, new oil pressure sender, all new fluids.

Then I continued the disassembly - all the lights, sunroof seal, bumper seals, antenna, hatch keyhole grommet, mirrors, spoiler, washer jets, bumperettes, license plates, and the old PORSCHE decal. Some light ding and dent filling, but the body was pretty much good. All that prep and the repairs took me 4 months.

Then I went away for school, and I left the car ready for a paint job, but nobody took it until I came back in December. Then I took it, then started putting stuff back on, then I had to leave for school again.

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OK, now that we're up to speed, here are my questions.

Can I use black shoe polish to spiff up some worn out black leather upholstery? The car has the full-leather interior. Even the damn pillars have leather.

How does the cowl cover plate go on? This is one of the pieces my dad took off, and he doesn't remember how to do it.

I need to refinish one of the wheels (which is a mismatching bronze). I tried last year, but now the paint is flaking off. Any tips? Do I need to get the wheel sandblasted?

I need a new PORSCHE decal for the rear bumper. What color would you all suggest? The car is black. It had silver before, but I guess white or blue or something could look cool too.

Thanks for reading!

joejoe

Shoe polish will not last if used where it can be worn. On a pillar or such place then maybe. For the bolster on my '86.5 I used a black ink dye. While it was close (for the bad spot) I had to do the whole bolster to make it less noticeable.

For the wheels I have gone to polishing (these are flat dish) and have had very good results. It does take some time to get correct, but many blemishes can be removed and a near mirror finish is achieved. (very close to chrome)

For the rear decal I went with the dark grey. Not sure if available anymore. They can be a real pain to get orrect and the corners tend to come up. Wish there was no decal actually. Might think about having lettering painted?

Which cowl?? Tthe engine fan cowl has slots on te side that fit to lower piece. Then 2 screws hold top to radiator cross.

Alan

If you mean the cowl cover above the bulkhead area over the wiper motor.. You shoul dhave a rubber seal that goes across the engine side bulkhead. The cover slots into some tiny clips hidden under the lip at the windshield edge (about 3-4). Get the lip into the clips - then the folded part slips over the bulkhead top and the rubber seal goes on top. If you dont get it in the clips the wiper motor will chew it up for you ($70 down the drain...)

Alan

Ed Hughes

I'd consider Red for the rear lettering. It looks great on my white car, IMO, and would look similar on a black one.

I'm sure you've got a Wheels America somewhere near you, Al Reed in So Cal is legendary for wheel refinishing, and I've heard good thibgs about Wheel Enhancement there also. Usually for a flat fee, they'll redo the whole wheel.

FRporscheman

cowl - yes, by the wipers. I'll see if the seal is still there.

wheel - the wheel in question is a bronze manhole/flat dish. I thought polishing would only give me shiny bronze... The wheel is in norcal, but I'll see if there's a wheel america up there.

leather - the areas that need work are just about everywhere but the dash and the roof. My dad used this car as a work car (he's a contractor) so a lot of tools often bounced around in the back. The worst areas are the back of both front seats, and the trunk side panels. My brother tried some shoe polish in one area, and it seemed to improve it, but it didn't really re-dye the worn parts (like beige lines in black leather). Do they make leather dye you can rub on?

Decal - could I trouble you for a pic of your red decal, Ed?

Ed Hughes

Here you go:

Ed Hughes

BTW, they are the raised letters sold by Nicole @ www.hookedoncars.com.

Bill Ball

Leatherique.com sells a water-based dye that works very well. It is best to apply it smoothly with a foam brush, but you can wipe it on. It may leave a streaky finish, but you can buff and redo. Some suspect that these water-based dyes, such as Leatherique and highly-regarded competitive product by SEM, are more or less latex paint. A few people have taken leather samples to the local hardware store for computer color matching and bought high-grade semi-gloss acrylic latex and had surpisingly good results with it. Still, I use Leatherique. Others think SEM is better. They both offer black dye. They also offer excellent leather cleaning and conditioning product, although I believe the more widely available Lexol products are just as good.

FRporscheman

Ed, that red lettering looks really good. But I suspect is has something to do with the whole way the s4 rear end looks, with a white wing. I don't think red will look as good on the rear of a black early rear end. I'll try some photoshopping though.

Bill, I'll look for leatherique and/or lexol. I've used the SEM spray, and it is really awesome stuff, but there's no way I'm spraying anything while it's still inside the car, and there's no way I'm removing anything (I've worked on that car too much for now). Still, if I see SEM manually applied stuff I'll pick it up too. I've got so much leather to dye, I could use a can of each of the 3 brands. Wipe or brush, it's all the same to me, I don't mind. Thanks for the tips.

Oh, does anyone have a picture of a black early 928's rear end with colored lettering (decal, paint, whatever) in any color lettering. I want to see how different options look. Thanks!

Ed Hughes

Arash: That's exactly what I did...ain't it great to have such tools to see how our cars will look from a proposed modification. But, I see by your sig, you grew up in the computer age.

IMO, I think black goes every bit as well with red, if not better; it's a stunning combo. With a rear tail light paint job with the red Testors paint, as many have done, they'd compliment each other. Photoshop it and post it for opinions...

rmr25

I made a replacement cowl panel from thin aluminum. Search for "cowl panel" and you'll see my story.