I've got a beautiful 1997 Arena Red C4S. I purchased used & there a minor imprefections/stone chips in the front bumper and hood. I've been able to correct a few with touchup, sanding, clearcoat, resanding & polishing but ultimately it's not pristine - and quite time consuming. I'd like to get them resprayed.

I'm located in Huntington Beach, CA - anyone know a quality body & paint shop they could recommend (edit: in this area/SoCal/Orange County)?

Thanks,
-Eric

 

AVIO Coachcraft in Santa Monica (No affiliation just a satisfied customer). They specialize in Porsches and Bentleys.

 

I would not do it if you plan to keep the car for a few years. CA sun will just make sure that the paint will fade to a different color (or a cheap paint will just start peeling off- presumably it will not be your case with a good body shop, but I see plenty of cars like that around, Porsches included). Plus it lowers the resale value (at least for people like me - I always check for the original paint with paint thickness gauge) - to a lot of people a repainted front often means an accident. If it was something like a grand prix white it could be easier (no fading), but not arena red... IMHO
George

 

Thanks Tony,

I'll check them out.

-Eric

 

I am a stickler for origina paint, but if the owner can produce enough evidence the repaint was for minor reasons, it could change my thinking.

Try Deshlers in Orange. Ask for Tim.

 

George993,

I'm pretty good at the touchup - in fact, it's not really noticable from 1-2 feet. But if you were buying, would you feel better about a fairly good "touchup" job or a professional respray - with an honest disclosure if sold (and it matches)? Just curious.

My 993 is garaged most of the day, but does sit in a few parking lots in the hot sun now and then. From my perspective, I love to drive the car and it is eight years old. It will invariably get some frontend defects. My thought was to get a quality respray, allow the paint to cure and then apply a clear bra.

Thoughts?

-Eric

 

Chris - thanks.

Just curious, how do you deal with the chips and scratches?

-Eric

 

I'm with Chris on this one...but if it's the front respray for the cosmetic reasons done professionally, I'd take that over a touched up front any day.

 

Eric,
If you take before/after photos, keep receipts etc I suspect it should convince any potential future buyer about the reasons. Mabe paint techology has improved over the years and the today's paints will not fade - I don't know. All I know is that all my cars which had some resprays faded or changed colors after about 5 years and looked bad (the only exception being 1988 grand prix white carrera - it was in showroom condition when I sold it and 3+h inspection paid for by the new buyer revealed some respray using special body shop lights , possibly done at the factory to correct some manufacturing defect - this one was so good that I did not detect it myself).

That's why I also avoid buying second hand from dealers - they typically re-spray front bumpers etc to make the car look better, but those cheap jobs don't last.

So it's up to you - if the current paint got damaged enough that you don't like looking at it, go for a quality respray - the worst which could happen is that you will need to do it again :-)

George

 

Yes, I fundamentally agree with Chris as well. This would be strictly a cosmetic only respray - no damage here. Any work would be documented before & after.

I am a little conflicted here, maybe it's my newbie-ness. Considering the depths of some of the modifications to the 993's on this board, why would a cosmetic respray be an issue? True, it could be hiding damage - but maybe not. Even without a respray there could be damage. I understand keeping "all original" to maintain the highest possible value, but wouldn't engine/suspension/any non-OEM mods be the same?

-Eric

 

Thanks George993, I agree.

I guess my ultimate position is that I want the car to look as good as new, even if it is eight years old. I can & will maintain it, and get the necessary repairs. I plan to fully document everything, so I'm not too concerned about convincing a future buyer (I'm having a hard time thinking I would ever sell).

I guess it is just a continual restoration process. But, I'm enjoying every minute of it ;-)

Thanks for everyones input - and any more to come.

-Eric

 

I second Deshler's in Orange... I had a new euro front bumper installed about a month ago, along with turbo S ducts, and their paint work and reassembly was excellent.

One thing I appreciated (and showed me that they stand firmly behind their work) is that they refused to modify a US-spec bumper to fill the bumperette slots... they felt it wouldn't turn out right over the long haul and didn't want to take the risk even though I was willing to pay them to do it.

Tim and Marcelo were both great and I highly recommend them.