Here are photos (now that I've learned how to upload them) of the daily progress painting my car, a 1992 Coupe, color 37U Cobalt Blue.

Day 1-5:

 

Days 6-10:

 

We thought we were finished painting. But we rolled the car outside to view the color & clearcoat in sunlight, and it was obvious the color turned out blotchy. So back in to wet-sand and repaint.

Days 11-15:

 

I took the OEM 16" wheels to Wheel Medic (www.theroundhouse.ws). And we continued putting the car back together until late last night. We're still waiting on a few parts, so hopefully it can be finished early next week.

 

Ok, two things.
Your car looks awsome!
How much for what you did to your wheels?

 

Nice job! What brake rotors are those? They look to be slotted and cross drilled. Very nice work. Betcha can't wait to start it up and enjoy

 

Nice work, nice color.

 

Looks great, yeah, i would like to know as well, what did they charge for the wheels? Did they do the backs as well?

 

As described in the Wheel Medic invoice:

3.....Recondition.....Repair & Refinish Wheel.....$136.50 each.....$409.50
1.....Refinish...........Blast & Refinish Wheel.........110.50..............110.50
4.....Mount & static dynamic balance tires.............14.50...............57.20
4.....Bright/shadow chrome (hypersilver) color......45.50..............182.00
........................................................................ TOTAL $810.45

They didn't charge me for the center caps, probably because I was ticked off that the tires weren't mounted when I arrived. I got up at 3 AM to drive to Columbus and be there by 8:00, and then I had to wait another hour for the tires to be mounted.

And, yes, they did the backs. The wheels looked like they were showroom new before they mounted the tires. The powder-coating material was pretty thick, as it obscured the rim-width and offset numbers near the valve stems; also, some of the material had to be removed from the inner hubs to fit back on the vehicle.

As for the rotors, they're proving to be an odyssey in themselves. I bought them from TriNET on eBay. The right/rear rotor warped the first time I drove it, either because I installed it wrong or because it was faulty. Whatever the case, that was in early November, and I've just today received the replacement. They were near impossible to deal with. I have no opinion on the quality of the rotors yet.

 

Looks great, can't wait to see some pics of it finished and outside. Any particular reason why you didn't take out the quarter windows? Wheels look great also!

 

Looks great, I take it you found all the molding etc. that was on back order. How many times did you shoot and wet sand the base color? It looks like it came out even with only 2? shoot and sands? If so I am jelous.. : ) Great job and keep up the pics-

I still haven't finished the red cab yet. I broke the down push rod for the door handle and have to rebuild it. What a PIA. - if you brake them DC Automotive had new ones in stock for just a few of bucks. Be careful- it snaped way to easy-- Mike

 

notthd, funny you should bring up the door handles. We had something of a contest reassembling the door handles. I had the advantage of having taken both doors apart.

In the process, I played my alter-ego, Dieter, who works in the Porsche factory:

"You sloppy American! I've been installing door handles for 18 years, including all five years we made this car. I got so bored building these door handles, I would do it blindfolded, as many as 12 an hour. You couldn't do it, could you?!"

See, fellas, I was born in Frankfurt, and my late mother (who owned this car from new) was German. I have a refrigerator button from her house, a photo of which is now my avatar. That button will reside in the car for as long as I keep it.

So I like poking fun at the Deutsche now and again. It's all about love.

And, yes, I'm going to drive the shizznitz out of this car!

 

Colin, we debated taking out the windshield and quarter windows, especially because they were fit so tightly that we knew we would have a tough time taping properly around the seals. At this point, I can only hope we made the right choice.

And BTW I'm a big fan of F1, too.

 

notthd, and anyone else who wants a good tip on choosing a body shop to paint your baby:

A fundamental question to ask a body/paint man is what part of the job he likes best. If he says the body shaping is his favorite, that's probably an okay guy to give collision work. If he says the wet-sanding his is favorite, that's the guy you want painting your Porsche. It's all about the finish work between layers, which means wet-sanding at every stage, and getting a feel of every contour and surface before going onto the next.

The 2nd and 3rd photos in the above "Days 6-10" post show the car in primar and sealer, respectively. It's very rare that you see someone wet-sand sealer, but my guy did.

The first photo above in the "Day 11-15" post was taken over 20' away, and you can stil see my reflection. That was before we wet-sanded and repainted.

That way you're not relying on the clearcoat to make up for any previous glitches. These photos I've posted don't really convey how smooth this car's surface is now. It's very mirror-like and slick and wonderful to look at on this car's sexy curves.

 

Can't wait to see the final product.
How many miles you got on the clock?