On the talk of Aftermarket spoilers. Which painting process should I look for to accurately match the OEM finish? ie: Have a body shop to paint it to match and air dry? Go to a powder coating company to powder coated? Earl Schieb? Any recommedations on a quality painter in So Cal? Bring it in to a dealer and pay dealer's cost?

 

I suspect most if not all Porsche dealers farm that out to someone they know from the past for their excellent work. (They have the pickiest customers). Any reasonably decent paint shop today has someone who is their master painter, and that individual will match it very well. This guy could be 18 years old or 68. They wind up shooting a few test shots, let it dry, and then compare it to the original. Sometimes it takes quite a bit of time to do this, but it's part of the job. They will use a down draft chamber to keep junk from settling on the tail as it is being painted, and as it starts to dry. Today's paints are water based as opposed to containing highly evaporative chemicals which used to dry faster but would go into the atmosphere and lead to nasty enviromental issues. With a water based paint, it is naturally a bit slower to dry. They will keep it well protected until it can be handled. Powder coating is an entirely different business, which involves the electrical bonding of paint to a surface,--quite different and not something for the surface of your spoiler. Earl Schieb, and funny as one might think, is really not that bad but of course, would you expect super quality to match the rest of your car. 80% of the effort to paint anything is in the prep so for a car Earl Schieb would be out of the question.

Keep in mind that a big part of adding an aftermarket spoiler is the work needed to get it to fit. Some cheap spoilers are thin, need a lot of work, and just are a big effort to get them to work. Do not go cheap here. You wind up paying more in the preparation work. There is no free lunch. Primer. Today's paint shops are always in a rush to get the work done. If you can (with something as 'elective' as a spoiler) leave the work with them for as long as you can. You want the primer (hopefully, all of this is Glassurit,--factory original) to dry and settle into the handwork as much as possible. The longer the primer has to dry and cure, the better the finish will be down the road. They have added things to primers today to cut down on the cure time, but it still is a good bet not to rush that phase of the work. Metallics. These colors are obviously the hardest because they literally contain metal material, and it is that material that is suspended within the paint that the shop works the hardest to match. They have to find the right size and shape, and then lay it down just like the factory. One reason all my Porsches have been solid colors, and never metallic, is because matching metallic is very hard. I know that any car I own will need paint work at some time so I have tried to avoid that issue with a solid color.

I highly recommend my shop in Goleta,--outside of Santa Barbara. Prestigious is at 805 964-8900. Rene is the top guy at (mobile) 805 331-3000.

 

In Long Beach, Class Auto is where the high end cars get taken for quality body and paint work.

 

Am looking at Tech art Type 1 spoiler. Small piece of works. Planning to purchase it @ GMG. Think it's wise to have them install and paint? Just wanted a durable finish so it wouldn't flake a year down the road. Cobalt Blue..Metalic...Anycase, thx in advance for both of the wiseman responses. Wil drop into GMG tommorrow for quote.

 

MyEmily...Just had the TechArt Type 1 spoiler installed yesterday on my Midnight Blue C4S, and am very, very, pleased with the look. I had a local body shop who does all high end cars do the painting and installation and it came out pefect. The painting is flawless and the installation does not look like and after thought. I tried to post pics on my other thread, but am having difficulty. If you would like me to P.M. them to you, let me know and I will try that way. Cost was $350.00 for prep, prime, paint, and installation.