H2

My stock-paint front hood looks like it may have some acid rain etching. I could probably have it polished out but the leading edges of the rear fenders have some "sand blasting" making me think that a repaint may be in order. Because of this I've toyed around with the idea of painting the whole car so it matches well.

I have more experience with the 928 and they are a bear to prep for painting as it's very time consuming to prep and some of the (expensive) trim is often torn up on removal.

What's the scoop on the 968? Ideas? Suggestions? What might it cost for a reasonable paint job? (BTW, I'm not talking Maaco quality).

H2

FRporscheman

I have prepped a 928 and a 944 for paint. I know what you mean about the 928 trim, and pulling the fenders on those cars is a PITA.

What level of prep are you talking about? Taking off some bumperettes, taking off the doors, somewhere in between? When I did my old 944 I did it all the way hardcore, except I left the body panels on the car, due to the situation of having to drive the car to the shop myself. Also didn't have a ton of money, so I had it sprayed at earl scheib. It came out great!

For a 968 I imagine much of the same work as a 944 will be needed, with a little overlap with the 928 prep work (e.g. the headlight stuff). I can't think of anything that will be very hard except maybe the fenders and lights, which I haven't done on 968s yet. It's a lot of fun taking it apart and reassembling!

Shameless picture post:

RajDatta

There is a lot of beading which should be changed if its original. This would be around the bumpers, rockers, door handles and mirrors. Its not cheap but not as bad as some of the seals on a cabriolet. Most of the work is well within the levels of DIYers. It takes a bit of time to get the beading aligned, but nothing that is beyond anyone's level here.
The entire headlight section can be removed in one piece to avoid overspray. All you need to do is disconnect the body harness, remove a few 10mm nuts and the entire enclosure can be removed. This is usually the area where most body shops get over spray. Some of this stuff can take some time, but it will save you $$$ and I mean serious $$$. My body shop guy prefers I do most of this and he can then focus on what he does best, paint. This provides me an opportunity to do it right, have it up to my level (he calls me a royal PITA to please) and everyone walks away happy.
The price of beads/seals wll be very small compared to what you would pay in labor if you had the body shop do it.
Raj

notthd

I Recently completed a like factory job on my 968 cab. I did not want overspray or tape marks. The process-

removed the bumpers and all lights, grill off them
removed the door handles and mirrors
removed the cab top off the quaters so it could be painted under the rear top seal
removed the door window seals
removed the badges and the winshield washer sprayer
removed the front fenders- probaly not required but I did it.

Painted the car in PPG factory coded. The dissassembly took 4 hours and the car was delivered in pieces, but it saved me $2500. The finish and spray cost me 3K. I picked up the car and the assembly takes twice as long because of the gasket installation and adjusting. All the gasket trim pieces and clips only cost me $170 total from JPAM in vegas. BIG NOTE- if it is a cab do not throw out any of the top molding becasue it is VERY expensive- my window seal for the uprights were priced at over $700 each- the top needs 4. I found them used.

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...FQekHgodt1bgrg

Something to note- clean out the gasket groves prior to painting, mine filled with excess paint and had to be ground back out- not a big deal but I wish i noticed prior to spray. If you are willing to spend the time you can cut the expense in half, but you are going to have to find a body guy who is willing. I would even go as far as asking to see the paint booth to inpsect the filtering system or a car they have already done. MY total job was $3300- Good luck, Mike

In process of assembly





Exterior completed

rdhayward

If it's any help to you regarding cost, re-finishing supplies are costing me about $1000 (PPG urethane stuff, including Ditzler color & clear coat), and replacement parts are costing me a bit over $1200. If we get it done by the end of this week, that will be two solid weeks of shop time (2 of us working on it). I would estimate this at something under $5k if I had to pay someone else to do it all.

notthd

Very true. I was quoted $6500 for a turn key job but they would of taped off stuff and you could of easily known it was a repaint. What replacement parts did you purchase? just curious... Mike

Lord_Galva

Nice step by steps. Very helpful.

rdhayward

I'll post a list later of all the parts I ordered. I'm actualy pulled over at a gas station now, using my Verizon card to access the internet, so I could post a list of the parts I need to find domestically or else wait several weeks for them to come from Germany.

And BTW, I was wrong about the type of paint we have. It's actually PPG's Deltron 2000, which I'm told is their best stuff nowadays. I guess there's been a change or merger with PPG since I've been out of the body shop business.

rdhayward

Okay, here's a basic run-down of what I ordered:

Front: grill, vent cover, and both turn signal lamps, headlight retaining ring (the larger of the two painted bezels), and bumper cover gaskets (the ones notthd stapled);

Rear bumper: both rubber buffers (2-4 weeks from Germany! Arrggh!), license plate bracket, one license plate lamp, bumper cover gasket;

Doors: both door seals (need a right-side one, people!), hatch seal, door handle gaskets, outer right-side door latch, door lock **** ($33.76 - you friggin' kiddin' me?!);

Also a bunch of moulding clips and grommets, some roof-trim clamps, and new side moulding gaskets.

H2

This is great information! After looking at the photos, it looks like a repaint is in the future of my 968. I kind of hated to paint since stock paint is often preferred and my paint is not bad.

My 928 is a polar silver repaint (professionally done by a PO) but that was in Arizona.

Based on what you're saying, I need to order some bits, disassemble, and get a good painter to spray. I can do that. I appreciate the list of parts and how-tos. Gracias amigos!

H2 (BTW, the paint on the car shown is great looking. Thanks, Arash.)

FRporscheman

H, your car will come out looking great, and hopefully you'll have fun getting "intimate" with your car! That 944 was just a budget job and my first experience with a complete paint job... it was fun!

On a side note, while everything was off and stuffed in boxes, while the car was getting sprayed, I started restoring trim pieces and what not. Black leather dye or shoe dye works really well on some plastics and can be found at Walgreens. SEM paint is another good buddy of mine.

notthd

WOW thats quite the list- Did you have an accident or were the parts that wore out. I reconditioned my bumperettes with back to black. I actually lightly sanded them down and sprayed them with the dye- came out perfrect. If your lenses are not broken they can be polished back to like new condition. I used a premitex kit for plastic lights or lenses from your local AutoZ. The lock mech is the same I think as a 944 so used should not be a problem. Here is a DC auto info for used stuff

DC Automotive USA-NC(Rocky-Mount) E-mail 1-800-579-2410

If you need some clips for the rockers I'll send you the 4-6 I have. I think I have 1 threaded and a few snap on ones. Let me know I can get them out later today.... Mike

rdhayward

Thanks, but I already paid for them from JPAM (or whatever their official name is). The rear bumper thingamabobs were dry-rotting and the bolts were corroded to the point that we had to cut through the rubber to remove them. The turn signal lamps had broken tabs. Same problem with all the brittle pieces and clips. Just old plastic and rubber that needed replacing.

notthd

I understand- it's amazing how brittle some of these pieces become- did you get all the clips- do you need me to send you my left overs- no charge, just trying to help... Mike

rdhayward

Muchas gracias; however, someone else will need them soon. Count on it!