abe

Today they have paints that when sprayed on platic it chemicaly reacts forming a permanent bond....too bad these manufactures don't use it an thus avoid these annoying issues. Its not that big of a cost factor to use these paints!
abe

MUSSBERGER

Mine has a small spot on the edge where the paint has come off.

Edgy01

I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, these are often things that we only learn about over time, with each new 911 model. (Where things wear inside, etc.)

This is where a really good salesman can make all the difference in the world. My salesman, Walt Branscome, here in SB, was very good about warning me about certain ares that he knew would be problem areas. For example, many consider the threshold areas made with leather, but those areas get significant footwear. They just can't hold up. Sure, they ooze quality and workmanship, but made of leather, they will look terrible in no time.

Sometimes it's up to us to feed this stuff back to Porsche. I had to do it with the overhead leather between my visors. I'm sure I was one of literally a handful of buyers who had that area in leather AND a hardtop. In no time I discovered how mutually exclusive they are--putting on and taking off that hardtop was hard on the leather. Why? Because parts of the hardtop were not refined. They were produced rough, and would gouge the leather. I wrote a letter to Porsche, explaining things, and included photos. PCNA took care of me and the factory came through, replacing that entire area of the car for me, at no charge.

The so-called slush finish on these cars represent areas that may or may not be optionally covered with leather. The stuff clearly doesn't hold up, but over the short term, feels better and conveys quality--but only for a short while. I'm sure most of us who have had a 997 at least 2-3 years could easily advise a friend of the areas to a look at on a used car purchase, that they might otherwise miss.

I would continue to work with my dealership to get the point across that things like that should be serviceable for a long time, and not be falling apart in 36 months or less.

Pete Lech

We have a guy here in Orange County called Pioneer Leather Restoration that uses a computer scanner and special dyes to match the leather color. He can do amazing things with fillers to fix cracks, etc before he resprays the affected areas. He did the 997 driver's seat bolster and some nasty age cracks in my 14 year-old Bimmer's seats. Blends perfectly, and seems to be very durable.

I am sure other parts of the country have these guys also - call your local high-end car dealerships and ask who they use.

MattAu

Dan,

Do you remember the brand and the color? I have Sand Beige and I need to touch up a few spots. Are these model color matte or glossy? Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Edgy01

Here's what I bought. Manufacturer is Model Master.

I use Military Brown FS30117 three to one with Dark Tan FS30219 to come close to natural brown. They are flat paints. Experiment with the ratios. The best solution is if you have a small paint spray gun (which I don't--I used small camel hair brushes) for your compressor.

gellie

sorry to revive a old thread, ny sand beige ash is also sshowing signs of wear. I have the"leather package " around the dash and the Makassar wood around the PDK shifter ****/E brake as well as the dash trim. My options are to replace with real leather or go with the Makasssar. Any thoughts of the Makassar standing pout too much? Thx

Edgy01

Personally, I really like the quality of some wood in the cockpit--everyone's tastes are different. However, I was concerned about the darkness of the Makassar so I changed my order to a console (central) to leather. I'm happy with that because it's easy on ME, as an armrest.