New Paint Job

[KevinS]

I'm looking for some advice on painting my '71. It is going to be stripped down to the bare metal and repainted it's original light or medium ivory (not sure which color have to identify the paint code yet) color. The paint is original except for the rear deck lid where the previous owner backed into something. First, is it really necessary to strip the car down to bare metal? Second, what paint to use. Must it be Porsche paint? Would like some advise as I will be heading up to Seattle on Tuesday to talk to the restoration company which has never done a Porsche before.

Thanks,
KevinS

[tonypeoni]

i went through the same thing you did years ago only i refused to have it stripped and it came back to haunt me depending on if its had any body work if it has and i guessing like most porsches it has the body filler becomes acidic over time and will eat back through the paint it looks like a water stain on wood and it wont come out this time they took it to bare metal.

[hoff944]

I've got a Targa that I'm going to be getting painted. I'm wondering about these things as well. Can any paint and body shop remove and reinstall a targa window without breaking it?

[KevinS]

thanks that was the kinda info i was looking for...........

[lateapex911]

Stripping to bare metal is a big step, and has it's own problems....

But...you must be sure of the current paint and substrates if you want to spray over them. Certainly a sealer/primer is a must do step if you choose not to strip.

Sikkens, and Glasurit are good paint brands.

[Halm]

Here is a thread you might find helpful regarding Targa glass:

Quick Targa window install trick

[lateapex911]

Originally posted by KevinS
Would like some advise as I will be heading up to Seattle on Tuesday to talk to the restoration company which has never done a Porsche before.

Thanks,
KevinS

I saw you were from HI, then reread and saw you're going to Seattle..

I would consider a shop with 911 experience. You never know what might come up...and a shop with experience could be a better choice. And there are good shops with 911 experience in the area.

[Ron.G]

I decided to get rid of the 25 year old stuff and have the car plastic blasted.
The car is left with a smooth finish down to the Galv.

I'm going to epoxy prime (Vari Prime)the metal to seal it up and than after very miner body work, Prime and block sand all the way up to 400 grit.

What is nice about this route is there is nothing to hide. once the paint and primer is gone you can see exactly what has been done to the car over the years.

I was lucky to find no damage at all on the entire car. So It should go quickly at this point.

[KevinS]

Ron, Looks like your doing a great job. KevinS

[Ron.G]

Thanks. It's getting there. I think from here out it should go rather quickly. putting it back together will be the most time consuming.

[lateapex911]

Interesting...I found the prep, prep, sanding, prep, blocking, prep, wet sanding, cleaning prep, painting, sanding, etc, etc, etc, to be the most time consuming.

Putting it back together was the fun part, and seemed to go fast.

But maybe I'm just a slow sander, LOL.

[Ron.G]

Lateapex911, your dead on about the blocking and sanding thing. It takes alot of time for sure.

I was implying that the body is in such nice shape (which was a nice surprise) that It shouldn't take long to be ready for paint.
I thought for sure I'd find some major body work to deal with.

I hope you have found my reply ......... Interesting

[KevinS]

I'm heading up to Seattle area on Tuesday. I will try to take some pictures and post them of the before shots. The restorer can not take the car in till August/September time frame.

I have done all the work on the car myself for the past 15 years, but living in Hawaii for the past 5 years I've had to rely on others.

I just can't take it any more, I thought I'd be back in Bremerton by now and do it myself, so I'm gonna go ahead and have it professionally done. The plaice I'm having it done at has never done a Porsche before, they do mostly custom hot rods. But, they do beautiful work, a local ma-pa-son shop. I really want to keep the work local rather than shipping it off to CA or some where.

I'm open to suggestions if anyone knows of any good Porsche restoration places in the area.

[jhladousa]

I just had my 75 Targa re-painted over the winter. They stripped the car down to the bare metal and started from scratch.

One advantage I found was that by ripping the car apart down to the shell, you can really address any areas of concern as far as rust and body deterioration goes. By taking the car completely apart, we found a couple spots that probably would have gone unnoticed if we can simply re-sprayed the car.

That said, it is much more expensive as it takes not only more time but more parts. As we pulled apart the car, the majority of the rubber seals fell apart and needed to be replaced. And of course, you get into the “well, if I am going to replace the ______ I might as well replace the __________”.

As for the Targa back glass – it came out easy but the paint shop went through two glass companies and a Porsche specialty shop before finding someone to put the glass in correctly.

All said and done – if I had to do it over I would go the exact same route I did!

[lateapex911]

Good points on the "Starting with a clean slate" concept.

If you do the strip, budget for all new rubber. MAybe you'll be surprised and be able to reuse some, but if it's half worn, it just makes more sense to swap it now. No sense risking scratching the paint dorking with it in 3 years. Also think about how far under the chassis you go...where do you stop???

There is a guy on this board who just redid his 911, name ecapes me, from up in that neck of the woods. Car was fantastic...shaved rain gutters and on and on. Might want to see who his shop is.

I am sure your chosen shop is capable, but it never hurts to consider the alternatives...and if you end up where you started, you've at least removed any nagging "homework" doubts.

[KevinS]

Jesse/Jake,

Thanks for the input. Jesse after seeing the pictures of your car will probably go with the strip it route. I am already planning on restoring all the seals and exterior trim, so it is in the budget.

KevinS

[Ron.G]

Thats one of the nicest Targas I ever seen.
Very Nice!

[jhladousa]

Thanks Ron!

KevinS - You will be very happy when you get done with the car! I find myself out in the garage just staring at it every day!!! Good Luck!

[KevinS]

Jesse,

That sure is a beautiful car. Next to light ivory, silver with black is my favorite.

KevinS