pookee

Does anyone know which paint products are better?
Which one does Porsche use at the factory?

Viken

Porsche uses more than one paint manufacturer but Glasurit is the one used most.

LAT

Actually when talking to Porsche North America I was told that Spies-Hecker. ... Standox were the factory brands....go figure.

Chris W. - '96 Targa

Spies-Hecker is great stuff. I did my '66 Chevy El Camino hot rod in S-H polyurethane ~10 years ago, and it's held up extremely well (although the rest of the car needs a restoration...).

-Chris

Dave H.

i worked in the paint shop of a mercedes tuner about 12 years ago. Glasurit is one sweet paint system. when i repaint my car that's what it'll be...

John.

My brother is a car painter and has sprayed everything from Nason to Sikkins. His opinion is that both Glasurit and Sikkins are very good painting systems. Both of their clears go on well and are very durable. His opinion is that Sikkins will match better than Glasurit, and they are also playing with some special systems that require much less paint, clear and dry time. This is obviously for production work.

To my knowledge, Porsche uses Glasurit, but that may have changed. The Glasurit you buy here is made by BASF. I have had repair work done on my 944 and 928 with Glasurit. They are holding up well, but I would have liked a better match.

If you are doing an overall, either system would be great. If you are matching, I have heard several people say that Sikkins has a better match. My brother claims to be able to edge match metallic colors with no blending into adjacent panels. This used to be a very difficult thing to do, and in some cases, entire cars have been painted to get a good match. Typical procedure is to blend out in all directions.

I would not use any of the traditional paint systems on a Porsche and make certain the shop you select uses all Urethane primers, bases and clear coats. A lot of shops mix systems up as well. If you get a Glasurit job, make sure the system is Glasurit, from the primer to the clear coat. Remember, the paint is only as good as what is underneath it. A Porsche body should never be stripped with a grinder, as this damages the galvanizing. Use a chemical stripper, and then an adhesion promoter before putting any filler on the body (assuming it need work).

If you are doing an overall, and your car has the factory paint....then you can wet sand the paint back down and go right over it with a good urthane high build primer, wet sand that, use a good sealer, and then onto the paint. The electrostatically applied primer on the car is very hard to beat. Don't be talked into having to strip the entire car if the base is still in good shape. It is messy and very time consuming. On the other hand, if you are going for a show car, it may be considered.


Good luck