Paint car but not into concourse resto- possible?

[shawn908]

Ok - my car is nearly done for updates, pending install of F/R Tarret sway bars... so now I’m thinking it looks like c__p (honestly I’ve known just focused on mechanical issues), relative to my perception of the fun I get from driving it. So my next goal is to paint the car - contract with a professional level painter (solo shop to large shop). Is it possible to get a glass out, doors/hood/deck lid off paint and not touch the wheel wells, interior anywhere including the engine bay and frunk? I mean I would like a QUALITY paint - down to metal level. Anyone know if this approach will be doable? Doable with a skilled painter (we know they exist from the beautiful work we see on Pelican).

If not, that’s ok (lottery win will fix it) I will just keep enjoying the car!

[shawn908]

to bump this and cover the mistake of multiple posts (was using phone...) here is the car. Absolute joy to drive - and even look at but new paint could address a few things (front valence) and get me to a better visual place.

[Cairo94507]

Hi Shawn,
It is possible to just paint the exterior of your 911. That is the way most cars are repainted. It is not that common in the 911 crowd but any shop/painter can do that. Keep us posted. Of course you should find a shop based upon personal recommendations of other Porsche owners and you should definitely go see some in-progress jobs so you can decide for yourself if you found the right shop. Of course, the easier you make it for them to do the work the better. Strip as much of the parts off as you can before dropping it off.

[onboost]

Shawn.. you want and need in this area is a little vague..

What you're asking can be done.. but there are a number of variables that you're not clear on..
A. What kind of budget do you have in mind

1. Are you bring the car as a shell, meaning disassemble or are you expecting the shop to do this
2. Has the car been painted before or is it original paint?
3. Is there any evidence of previous damage or repair?
4. Is there any bodywork, dings, and of course rust repair needed.. or is this strictly paint?

All of those will factor into A

[962porsche]

Originally Posted by shawn908

Ok - my car is nearly done for updates, pending install of F/R Tarret sway bars... so now I’m thinking it looks like c__p (honestly I’ve known just focused on mechanical issues), relative to my perception of the fun I get from driving it. So my next goal is to paint the car - contract with a professional level painter (solo shop to large shop). Is it possible to get a glass out, doors/hood/deck lid off paint and not touch the wheel wells, interior anywhere including the engine bay and frunk? I mean I would like a QUALITY paint - down to metal level. Anyone know if this approach will be doable? Doable with a skilled painter (we know they exist from the beautiful work we see on Pelican).

If not, that’s ok (lottery win will fix it) I will just keep enjoying the car!

is what your looking for doable? well of course it is and even then some.
the question is what's your budget to do the work your looking for?
1st off just bringing a cars finish down to bare metal doesn't always make for a better job. in fact it could mean for a worse job if your removing a finish with no real problems. there are times you would want to remove the finish but in no way is it always the best to do.
also things to think about are the fact that a shops estimate is only a guess of the cost of a repair never a set price. more often then not once you start working on a cars restoration you now have opened up a can or worms. estimates are based on what you can see with a car all together. you do things like start stripping the paint off and you very well could find lots of things you never knew were there.
you state you want a quality paint job.
to get a quality paint job it starts for the cars substrate and goes up to the top coats from there.
quality is not magic it's labor and lots of labor. labor means money and lots of money. but it goes much farther then just the labor. it's the materials also.
just for a low level job your materials would be about 8 to 10K easy this is for body fillers primers and paint. for top level your going to except to pay more then twice plus for quality materials. for instance low level body filler will cost 20$ a gal. top level body filler 70$ . a QT of low level paint 90$ top level per QT 250$ and this is just for the paint these kind of pricing doesn't include things like reducer clear hardener it's just the base coat color.
an average mid level restoration will run about 50K easy.
I have been restoring bugeye sprites one after another for the last few years now.
the last one I just did the customer gave me the car on a rolling dolly he took the car all apart to just a shell with no driveline no wiring no anything left on the car a total bare shell. we media blasted the shell to bare metal did the body and paint work and gave the car back to the customer ready for reassembly.
the cost of the job was just over 43K for a top level job.
so the 1st and most important thing to think about is your budget.
if your thinking your going to get a top level job for 10K your not.

[shawn908]

Thanks for responses - getting a car painted is simply not as straightforward as other things I do to this car to improve it.

I'm not looking for the Most Expensivist Paint Job.

Onboost - good Qs- basically - repainted >30yrs ago, no evident damage from inspection under car, frunk etc. No rust evident. Who knows whats under the paint though. Not perfect - probably average "condition".

962Porsche excellent questions/perspective (as usual in this forum!) - so if bug eye sprites are rolling through your shop - most expensivist is $43,000 - what was the lower end of the range like - approximately? Please don't say $30,000. Maybe it needed minimal to zero body work (like my car), just remove or prep current paint to level needed. Some blemishes and a few nicks to correct. Customer helps with removal of bits before dropping off. Car has engine/drive train in place and wheels on car. My 911 situation.

Cairo94507 - taking it to some shops is a good idea and doable - I think I will cast a wide net. I'm sure there are some shops in greater Philly that paint custom cars. A 911 might be of interest to them... Take a day off - map out 6 shops - go for visit. This will give me the info I need.

It would be cool to get it painted a color that I choose. Similar to how one chooses suspension set up, seats, steering wheel - except a bigger check all at once... with more unknowns and greater risk.

[962porsche]

again when it comes to repainting a car it's what your budget is.
a simple sand it seal paint and color sand and buff at my shop will run you about 8K. but there are so many factors that come into play like color in many cases the color will effect the cost as well as how much of the car is going to be painted like jams under hood and so on. then how much of the car is coming apart for the repaint?
cars get repainted for a reason.
is it because the paint is shot and then how is the paint shot?
dings and dents ?
hidden rust ? none hidden rust?
glass out if so will it need new gaskets and seals? in my area not one glass shop will do a targa rear glass and for us to do them it's not cheap! glass shop along with us if the glass breaks coming out or going in it's on the customer not the shop/s.

a good quality long lasting paint job starts with all the things you can't see.
you can put lipstick on a pig and the pig will look great for a year or so then it's just a pig again but this again comes down to your budget.

[s5uewf]

About 5 years ago I had my 911 painted more or less as you describe.
I reduced cost and increased my sense of safety by removing glass, interior door panels, wipers, etc. myself and storing them at home, then trailered the vehicle to the shop

Paint shop block sanded entire exterior, etc. to expose primer etc. and applied new paint, clear, sand, etc. - Came out fine - looks really great - your proposed approach is very doable

Front bumper was probably the area with most damage from thrown up debris over the years and it came out fine along with everywhere else.

I did not have the protective rubber layer stripped from the rocker panels and front valence, just sanded/cleaned up and re sprayed...although the painter could have easily replicated the finish if I had wanted it to be done so.

[Dpmulvan]

Was at local basf jobber yesterday a gallon of glasurit 55 line is up to $1500. Bought a quart of rm ep 569 and some dolphin glaze $108. I think last time I bought a quart of ep it was $70.

[shawn908]

Price check on post #9. Is that a typo on the price posted of $1500/gallon? Wow if that is correct. I'm going to a local auto paint supply shop today - fiberglass for a bumper install project - I'll see what they say about paint costs since a year or two ago. Seems that due to the pandemic effects on production and supply chain much of the economy is seeing price increases. Auto paint no exception.
(does not explain used 911 prices though... LOL)
checked the price at auto paint store and $1500 is possible for paint.

[962porsche]

for sure BASF 55 line glasurit is about 1500$ now.
I just bought a QT of BASF's limco line's hardener and a Gal. of limbo reducer with still getting 20% off my bill was 155$.
if you don't know limco is BASF's lowest grade paint line we use it for things like the race cars.
is it a good paint ?well yes it's good being user friendly and at a ok cost and holds up well.
the down side is the color matches are not the best. one of the mixing machines in my shop is the limco system so if a color is off I can just tint it myself.
the other down side to the limco line is they do not offer it as part of the BASF color max system. this is they have no paint spray out like they offer for the RM line and the glasurit line so to see how the color really looks you have to do the spray outs your self.

[Cairo94507]

You definitely pay the price for quality paint. My car is shot in Glasurit. I could have bought a nice lightly used Honda Civic for the cost of the paint.....