Ski

Ok, got a friend who is getting his car repainted. We're going to take all the lights, hatch, old seals off, door panels, etc. We will also take the front fenders (passenger dented), header/headlight covers off(dented), rear bumper, diffuser, etc. The engine is torn down for head gasket and oil pump reseal so it's being pulled so the job should be a real good one. Shop has a great reputation and the owner stands behind the job for as long as you own the car. His dad owned the shop, he has it now. Cost is +/- $4000, he has not given the credit for us dismantling/assembly; so that should save about a grand also.

He has all the seals and gaskets sourced from Pelican, rain shield rubber and windshield outer trim sourced from Porsche. In case your interested in the $$, about a grand for all of it - no cheap Chinese imitation stuff either.

Nothing will be put on the car until the final sanding and foam pad polish has taken place. It will stay at the shop also until that's done. It will go back OEM color, meteor grey metallic(charcoal). 4-5 coats paint, 3-4 clear, either duPont or HOK paint - undecided at the moment.

So any tips for those that have repainted :
I shoulda, I would do this next time, or boy he goofed that up. TIA

Burma Shave

I would stay away from the HOK, for durability and repairability reasons. If he's not going with a wild color there is no reason to pay more for HOK and they can't match oem colors anyway. Do not use Valspar(HOK parent company), color match SUCKS. Why remove the fender? Is it that bad? I was going to remove mine but didn't want to deal with the adhesive. On mine I painted the doors off the car so no jamb lines, check strap bolts were a challenge, ended up leaving them in but no big deal. As for DuPont, great product (I use it), but I would ask which clear they will use from the line. The new 4 to 1 line is super fast but solids are a bit on the low side so I would opt for 72500 or something along those lines as it will provide a deeper shine. If they are going to sand out all the texture before buffing I would recommend at least an extra coat of clear (after buffing clear needs to be minimum 2mils thick or it may eventually peel). On mine I sanded and re-cleared before final sand and buff. Also keep in mind that you will not get a flawless wave/ripple free finish if you go over top of the oem finish. That was okay with me as stripping will remove some of the galv. coating from the metal. I would consider my paint job to be 80% compared to a show quality finish, most people can't tell the difference after a few months anyway. After the car is final primed, ask them to scuff it to break the skin and let it sit for a week or so to let the solvent out. This will avoid most of the shrinkage associated with urethane primer and makes sure the substrate is stable before painting. Letting it sit without scuffing will not be the same. They may balk at this a bit because it will be harder to sand. Btw, Standox primer filler kicks *** and is sold by DuPont. When you get the car back after buffing wipe it with some alcohol and water. This will remove any glaze that has been applied so you will know if buffing swirls and sand scratches are really gone or just covered up. Hope this helps, if you have any specific questions send me a pm.

Burma Shave

Oh yeah, windshield reveal moulding is a bitch to get in. Will be a 993 p/n. Has to be cut to fit, no biggie. You will need lots of soapy water and a seam roller (like for wallpaper) will help avoid the thumb blisters!

Ski

Thanks. Passenger fender is dented, has to come off anyway (new used one on the way). The shop was going to dismantle the front end and doors, so we thought we woud do it. They wanted to do most the paint removal in another area of their shop, sand, prep, etc, then put it on the car, filler, sand, block - whatever the sequence, then hang some things, others on jigs but in the proper postition and paint. We've seen three of his jobs - show hot rod, older truck OEM restoration, and a Mercedes that he matched the paint on; all excellent. The Mercedes was that blue/green color and I couldn't tell which body panel(s) he matched. If this one turns out well, he'll paint my black one next year, after I pull my motor for the new one that's being massaged right now in the garage.

500

This is SO SO SO true! I could not believe how difficult that job was. All the advice above is excellent and I would not be able to add anything. FWIW I sprayed Glasurit and did exactly as described above in that I sanded the OEM finish thoroughly, sprayed two coats of the HS primer, wet-sanded it with P600 and let it sit a couple of weeks before top-coating. I found Glasurit excellent (but expensive).

Ski

car is going to body shop today. New A arms on, LR 3 pc cross member

hally

just a slightly off topic post to say thanks for all the great photos you post Bret

xsboost90

awsome color! Things i regreted after respraying my former red n/a was not putting some of that clear rockchip guard stuff all over the front after it was sprayed. Got all chipped up. I also stripped the rock guard off the rockers and should have put some down there too. I believe its called Invisi-shield. If i respray my graphite car itll have some of that for sure.

Burma Shave

Yeah, I replaced the chip guard on the rockers when I did mine. If you use 3m clear bra on the nose/bumper just make sure to wait until the paint is fully cured, 60 days or more. If you don't, solvent will be trapped and the piant under the vinyl will peel.

hosrom_951

Looks like that engine harness has been tampered with.

Non AMP/Bosch connectors, and is that exhaust wrap?

Ski

MAF plug, and yes some type of heat retarding cloth under the manifold.

DFASTEST951

I would smooth out the factory rock guard on the bottom of the rocker panels and I second xboost90 on the clear shield as well instead down there. Cleans it up a lot. Brurma is also right to wait till paint is cured to apply it. As far as the clear shield factory pieces on the wheel arches and the rear quarters, I don't think they help but I'm not sure.

The most important thing when doing a serious quality paint job that you are going to do is to properly maintain the paint when it's done. NO COTTON, NO TERRY CLOTH, AND NO CAR COVERS...EVER. It will scratch the hell out of your clear coat. Wash only and I mean only with a natural sea sponge. Dry only with a waffle towel or well worn chamois. Finishing spray after drying with only a microfiber. Final polish with microfiber as well.

I can't believe the guys on here that claim to have this great paint work and then brag about the cover they have for it that will protect it. Crazy! Or worse yet, how their trusty California Duster keeps the paint shiney. This just kills me. Might as well take 2500 grit sand paper to your car.

It's gonnna look really nice when it's done Bret. Don't forget to take pics when it's finished.

Burma Shave

I am still a little wary of microfiber. Not that it will scratch the paint on its own, but it is made to pick up particles which may scratch the surface. Probably paranoid but I feel like I should throw them away pretty quickly and they're too expensive for that. I also don't re-use any wipes because of silicone contamination....death to a painter. I use DuPont Sontara detail wipes. Very soft fiber and they haven't scratched anything yet and all I deal with is fresh paint for the most part.

GOSANE

Lot's of good info guys.
Sounds like we have some good painters on the board.

Ski

They start taking it apart today, so I'll probably go out to see if I can get a couple of pics and get the sunroof out for them. I've been so busy messing with family and boats that I haven't even fired up "Blacky" and gone for a spin. However, if the sun shines today, that will change. It will be interesting to see what they get done in two weeks while I'm gone to work.