What must be removed before repaint?

[ThePointman]

I am curious what must be removed from my 85 - 911 +sunroof Coupe before a repaint? My car goes into the body shop tomorrow and I want to be clear when I drop it off what he is removing and what is staying on. Obviously the cost skyrockets the more that must be disassembled then reassembled. Thoughts?

[javadog]

Bumpers, valences, rocker panels and anything attached to them; sunroof, glass, emblems and external trim pieces, lights, mirrors, door hamdles, wipers, fresh air intake grill, windshield and headlight washers, front fender welting, rubber trim/seals in front trunk, rear engine cover area, door sills.

Basically, all easily removable panels and anything that would leave an obvious tape line if masked off. If there are any rust issues, I'd also take off the front fenders.

JR

[LakeCleElum]

I agree with taking off the fenders. The PO of my 73.5 changed the color from Beige to red and painted the rubber trim between the hood area and the fender........It looks like hell.....Someday, I'm gonna have repaint to the stock color, pull the fenders and replace the trim.......To add to JR's list, many would pull all the glass, remove the door and take them apart.....It's all time and money....

[ThePointman]

True enough. It is an original color repaint less the bumpers, front and rear valences, door sills which I will have done at a later date.

[Grady Clay]

WOW, that is a big question. You are correct, the cost escalates the more that is removed and then has to be reinstalled. Some parts are necessarily expended in the process.

This is where you need to discuss with your painter all the details. If you feel you need more time, hand him $100CN and a case of Guinness and reschedule. This is worth being done right.

I’m assuming your 911 is in reasonably good condition and it is a keeper.

There are a lot of threads about this subject.

My personal recommendation is at a minimum all the glass needs to come out, all the lights, mirrors, handles, trim, S/R, etc. needs to come off. The doors, lids, bumpers, S/R, mirrors, etc. need to be painted off the car. The masking should allow painting “around the corners” under the glass gaskets, inside the door returns (or the entire door jambs), around the edges of the panels, and more. Over-spray should not be anywhere! I find it very offensive to find wiring, fasteners, brackets and other parts of the 911 somehow painted. That is sloppy workmanship.

Preparation is everything! Have it done right! !! !!!

The choice of paint, the level of preparation, the masking and the skill & equipment of the painter are all very important.

The 911 needs to be reassembled with some new parts. At a minimum are window gaskets, S/R felt seals, front fender seals, door handle & mirror seals, and more. You need to carefully evaluate bumper seals and more. I would choose to replace the windshield, turn signal lens, parking light lens, head light lens and more. You need to evaluate the condition of your turn signal, parking light and headlight assemblies. If distressed, now is the time for replacement. On reassembly all the fasteners need to be like new and protected with grease, Tectyl or other. If some body repair was done, protect the interior unseen surfaces from corrosion. All of these parts you can either save as spares or sell to offset the cost.

Have all the new parts in hand before you start the disassembly. It will be tough enough to find the unexpected stuff. Many take a year or more collecting the parts.

With care and some luck you seldom have to repaint a 911. When you have it done, do it correctly and enjoy for many years.

Best,
Grady

[ThePointman]

Some great info Grady. I Thank you for such generous input! I think all that you mentioned is being removed.

Here is what the car looks like now less the dents in the trunk, hood, right rear quarter panel, right upper door, left front fender & fuel door. All of the car except the roof and drivers rear quarter panel need to be painted to fix the wind storm damage caused by the portable garge it was being stored underneath. (the portable garage is now bolted down) So I decided to paint the entire car less the bumpers and valences.





The repaint will be same color as seen above.

[Grady Clay]

Is that all original paint? It still looks great, even with some abuse.

If so, you might consider delaying the paint for a few years and just enjoy driving with some abandon. Not worrying about stone chips allows you another whole world of driving experience. You can stick the nose under the back of a tractor-trailer and then blast by without fear of damaging precious new paint. This is what 911s are all about – driving. Look at this as an opportunity.

Kiss off the paint and add a few handling & performance mods and really enjoy the driving.

I understand if that isn’t your thing. For many, having a pristine 911 at the country club can be just as important. Been there (50 years ago) and then realized what was important.

Best,
Grady

[KobaltBlauSC]

I just went through this, I couldn't stop and probably would not have if I could actually afford to buy all new everything. You find out that parts you think were excellent (ie. bumper rubbers, bumper shocks, head lights, windshIEld just to name a few) need to be replaced and that you might as well do this since you are already there...right after I put it all back together I found a broken head stud, split the case and had a worn intermediate shaft, bearings shot on the #6 Cly rod which damaged the crank and that I belIEve was due to the oil pump, which means the cam was also worn on the #6 because oil wasn't getting to it. Anyways just know how much you want to spend and still be prepared for any other surprises more important than the appearance. Just have fun with it however you do it and realize it can be a time consuming and expensive project!

Grusse von Iraq

SGT B

[red964]

If your paintshop is worth their salt the wont offer to do it with anything less than a pretty hefty stripdown (wings/glass/trim/finders/doors).
Anything less than that compromises the car and would show them up as perhaps not being the right people to paint Porsches.

If a jobs worth doing...

otherwise I like the look of it already in that dark red.

[Brian 162]

I'm in the same boat. I have had glass, fenders, doors, sunroof,and interior (including dash).Work has been slow to say the least. It has been over a year and I am hoping to have it back this year.

[S2GART]

Pointman, I don't see anything wrong with your as it is in the pictures.

[mackskibum]

I am going through this right now, and my car currently looks like Kobalt and Brian's cars. Grady has it correct- do not take shortcuts. My recommendation is to remove the fender if for nothing else than to inspect the condition of the mating surfaces and the cowling. Mine was just beginning to rust at the seal between the fender and cowl, and removal was the only way to repair. In adddition, the mating surfaces of the fender to body use a strip "goo" to seal, and after 20 years this should be cleaned off and replaced. In addition, I wouldn't skimp on the repaint of the front and rear bumpers and valences- the small effort required to repaint these will pay off in the end, especially since you have to take them off anyway.

I am replacing the front and rear valence and rocker panel covers due to misc. damage, all rubber seals and gaskets, and some of the damaged hardware. My car has the wing, and that is disassembled for repaint as well. I removed the fuel tank so that the area could be properly cleaned and checked for battery acid leak damage, and a new seal installed on the tank.

You may also want to consider dash repair if required since the windshield needs to be out for the repaint, and headliner replacement since all the fixed glass and the door seals need to be removed to properly install.

Good luck on your repaint!

[JayMac]

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?threadid=190006&highlight=from+white+to+guards

I think a lot depends on if you are doing a color change or not, the above thread shows some pics of a complete recolor from white to guards.