Thoughts on Paint Repair?

[FlyingDutchmann]

Hey all,

I'm in the market for a 3.2 Carrera and have stumbled on one in my area that checks most of my boxes. However, the exterior paint seems a little extra worn. Everything is original, although has been frenshened up with a little sanding from what I understand. I'm curious to hear everyones thoughts on how much it would cost to 1. repaint the rear lid which is patchy 2. repaint the side mirrors, 3. do minor touch ups around the car. I've posted some pictures of some of the damage. I'm not sure how expensive or easy it would be to freshen this car up without an entire repaint. Any insight you can provdie is appreciated!

[FlyingDutchmann]

Here's the mirror.

[scottrx7tt]

I would just leave the spots on the roof. I would repaint the rear deck lid, mirror and front bumper. Should not be more than $1000

[nathanbs]

Roof is a big project. I would say at least double above quote for all except the roof to be done right. If decklid needs to be stripped would be more

[josephvman]

I would think you can have the front fascia and mirrors refinished for maybe $1000. I would start with some compound on the patchy areas of that engine deck and see if you can get any of it to come back. If it does, I'd find someone who can do a professional paint correction on the car and start there. It's single-stage paint and Porsche put a fair amount of it on these cars. Someone who really knows their stuff can get amazing results. The car looks way too nice to warrant a repaint. I'd be more focused on mechanicals, as everything I can see from your pics is comparatively minor cost to correct compared to a gearbox/engine rebuild or broken head studs. Rust would also be a deal killer, at least for me.

If you're going to repaint the front bumper you should budget for a new black plastic "smile" trim piece, as these are almost impossible to remove and reinstall without bending them, and once bent they never really fit flush again. Refreshing the exterior rubber trim pieces can really improve the looks if you freshen up the paint, and most of the pieces, with the exception of the big rear bumper pads, aren't terribly expensive.

[jkuntze]

Drive it like you stole it

[jac1976]

There are experts here, but I am not one of them. From what I have heard, the nonmetallics from that era were single stage. To my eye, that looks to be an issue with a clear coat. Hard to tell if that is a metallic black or not, but I believe the metallics had a clear coat. Post in the paint and body forum.
Great looking car nonetheless.

[Bill Douglas]

I'm not an expert, but...

With the engine lid, I'd just use a polisher with a couple of grades of cutting compound, and see if that fixes it. Trying to get it color matched may make it a lot worse. I've heard black is very hard to get right. The mirrors and under the bumper - any ole touch up will do.

[scottrx7tt]

I would not touch that rear deck lid with any compound. It’s already been wetsanded/ buffed. It was taken too far already. There is literally no paint left there. Only option is to repaint. Btw, I had my front and rear bumper and valance repainted for $500. I took the parts off myself and delivered to the body shop and reinstalled. There is no way I’d pay $2k for that little paint work. I guess things like that are just cheaper here in TN

[josephvman]

A top-notch detail shop will paint-meter an older car before starting work on any problem area, and let you know if they think the paint is too think to work with. That mottled look on the engine decklid is strange, since it seems to be only on the left side. It almost looks like like a stain from something that reacted with the heat from the engine. The spots on the roof by the drip rail looks similar to what I've seen when adhesive gets on the paint and etches into it.

[AndrewCologne]

Originally Posted by jac1976

From what I have heard, the nonmetallics from that era were single stage. To my eye, that looks to be an issue with a clear coat.

To me it seems that this comes car in L700 pure black no metallic single coat paint.

A very professional car body painter artist is able to do a very good blend/fade out job, where you won't see the repair ... even on that part of the roof.
The engine hood will be shurely completely repainted as its more ecoconomically cause the defects are to big in their size

[Fairview]

It looks like damage from a car cover that’s been left on too long with moisture under the cover. If the light areas on the engine lid are thin paint, repainting the lid is the only option. On the other hand, if the light spots are reflections of clouds, the paint might be thick enough for block sanding with 1500 or finer sandpaper and buffing.

The paint on the mirror looks like it has peeled off down to a non-factory sealer, so probably has been repainted in the past. Stripping and repainting certainly needed on the mirror.

The roof is weird. Looks like a case of poison ivy! It is hard to say what is going on there in photos and if anything can be done to save the paint.

Keep the original paint if at all possible. Nice looking car. It looks like it’s a repaint the more I look at it though. Original paint seems to chip more than peel off, bubble up, or fade in stripes, all problems you have here.

[sugarwood]

You can try to do it yourself.

[FlyingDutchmann]

Thanks all! I'm told this is original paint (L700 Black). This is basically a 1 owner car (seller only had it for a couple years from original owner) where the guy left it under a cover in an outdoor covered bay down in Monterey. So makes sense about the read lid. The guy who I'm buying it from tried to sand it down to freshen up the paint and that's what caused the issue on the rear lid.

I'm thinking of buying this 87 Carrera which is listed at $48K with 100K miles. Aside from the tired exterior, the interior looks great aside for some cracked rubber parts (speaker casing etc.). He's willing to negotiate based on all the exterior repairs I think this car needs and perhaps some new rubber parts as some have suggested here. Other random things like the center cap on one of the wheels needs to be re-painted and put back on.

I'm thinking, based on what everyone is saying, it might cost me $2-3K to touch up all the paint and freshen this car up a bit. Hopefully I can negotiate the price accordingly!

[drcoastline]

Like others I am not an expert but have done a few restorations and refreshes including a few bare metal repaints and repairs to my vehicles due to my wife's mishaps.

The pics are hard to decipher. First thing is you need to determine what paint you are working with. Is this a clear coat failure on the roof and engine lid or a single stage failure/damage. Worst case scenario is a repaint of the parts. The mirror, bumper and valance are relatively easy repairs. The level of repair depends on how involved you want to get and how perfect you want it to look?

Once you determine what paint you are working with you can begin to move forward. The bumper and valance appear to be paint transfer not paint damage? Use solvents on a rag such as Goof off, xzylene, paint thinner, etc on a a rag to try and wipe the scuffs off. You could also use a mild scotch brite pad with solvent to remove. A quick polish and those parts should be good to go.

The mirror is a little more involved. You could fill the chipped paint with a two part paint slowly building up the film, wet sanding and polishing. For a better result it should be repainted. This is an easy DIY. Remove the mirror disassemble. Sand to feather the damage, wet sand to 400. Get a catalyzed rattle can of your color matched paint such as Spraymax. Spray on several coats let dry. Wet sand to remove orange peel and polish. Reassemble, reinstall.

Rear lid, again first course of action is to determine paint you are working with and worst case it will need to be repainted so good part to experiment with. It does look like a clear coat failure so should need to be painted but not positive. Remove the Carrera script and grill from the rear deck, tape off the edges of the grill opening and the edges of the car where it meets the deck lid. I would start by compounding the area with a cleaner compound to see if there are any effects on the marks? If so continue to compound out the defects and then polish. If the compound doesn't show any results you will want to get a little more aggressive and go through a wet sand and polish process to try and get out the defects. If neither of those processes work you will need to paint the deck lid. Wet sand to 400-600 as with the mirror and spray with the same can of paint as the mirror. Let cure a few days wet sand and polish.

All of those processes will help you determine how to approach the roof issue. As of others have said the roof is the most troublesome as it is part of the body and could involve a larger repair, not that it is hard but more involved. All the other parts can be removed and repaired independently. If nothing else maybe a professional tackles the roof and you can repair the other parts.

Hope this helps?

Good luck.

[FlyingDutchmann]

This is very helpful. I will likely have all of it professionally repainted aside from the polishing I might be able to do on the front bumper.

I'm curious what the community thinks of the price? Again as a recap (assuming PPI doesnt pick up any additional mechanical issues):

$48K
87 Carrera, 100K miles, 1(ish) Owner, all maintenance records, matching numbers, relatively good condition aside from these cosmetic issues.


I'm thinking given the detail work that needs to be done, including new plastics inside and out of car (cracked speaker casing etc.), I could perhaps negotiate closer to $44K? I feel like low 40's seems to be a fair price for a car with this many miles. Slight premium for Coupe and G50 transmission.

[josephvman]

I think you're on the right track on pricing, provided the mechanicals check out.

[Bill Douglas]

Sweet car. If you buy it you will love it. How exciting!

[Fixer]

Black should be single stage.

To test (if you buy) white cloth and compound gently, if color on cloth it's single stage.

The deck lid looks like someone clear coated it with a cheap jamb type lacquer clear that doesn't like UV. again test with cloth.

Btw, single stage paint is simply color and the clear in one.
When you shoot it it is best not to color sand much as the shiny stuff settles on top more and thus you'll lose depth.

Roof damage is odd.

I think you're paying too much for a G50 carrera with bad paint, 100k and during a pandemic. To repaint one of these cars right it's very expensive (I did my 86) it's a million little nuts and bolts associated with the impact bumpers and trims.

Body shops must have hated them back in the day.

[megerian]

I have no skills at all and I managed to repaint my pitted and badly chipped flags mirrors. My car is single stage black. The biggest hassle is actually removing the flag mirrors, but there are many threads here to guide you on that.

That interior looks very sharp, but then I am partial to the two-tone black and champagne, since that is exactly what I have.