Time to paint...

gigagaia · 06-14-2007, 07:14 PM

So I have bought myself an older 911 2.7 (1974...) and am embarking with my father down the long road of restoration. Most of my technical expertise relates to little bits and fixes in keeping my '82 volvo 245 on the road, however my Dad is a mechanical engineer and has worked on quite a few cars... just not a porsche!

We ideally want to get the car painted before the end of the summer, to avoid any potential rusting (I live in rainy Vancouver, British Columbia) and also as a good start to working on this.

Admittedly, we are a little unsure of how to proceed, so I was wondering if anyone could give me some suggestions on getting my car ready for her date at the paintshop. The body of the car is largely assembled, except for the bumpers, so I am wondering if I need to take off anything more. I take it a given I will take off the doors, hood and trunk door...

Thanks for all the help in advance!

Ian

Mitch Leland · Mitch Leland's Garage

Ian, the quality of a paint job is mostly in the preparation. The more parts you take off the better the job... You remove the places where dirt is hiding which invariably will come out during spraying, also the job looks more like the original factory job.

I would certainly take out all the glass and rubber, including the door rubber and door sill trim. If the car has been painted several times then you might consider stripping the car to bare metal. This is good for a quality paint job, but can uncover some previous repairs that will have to be dealt with.

Today a big part of the cost is in the paint material so you might as well go the extra mile. Paint can be well over $100.00 gallon, plus activators, reducers, etc.

It all depends on what you want for a finish product. One thing to remember is to tape off your engine room, top and bottom. Once you get over spray on the engine it's hard to remove.

Good luck,

gigagaia · 06-14-2007, 09:24 PM

Hi Mitch,
Thanks for the tips, maybe I can elaborate a bit more too...

The car has already been Sand Blasted down to the bare metal and given an undercoat.
In terms of preparation, I am thinking about how much preparation I should engage in before sending the car out to a shop. I don't think that I trust myself with the paint job myself. Should I disassemble everything before I head out to a shop? I've heard of some people removing the suspension and wheels before sending the car out to be painted at the shop. Is this worth the hassle at all?

thanks again

Ian

pozee · 06-15-2007, 02:57 AM

Do you plan on doing most of the body work yourself? If yes, here is what I would do:

1 - To avoid rust, I would clean all bare metal (sand w/60-80 grit) and use metal prep or similar product.
2 - Apply Epoxy primer to all bare surfaces. (Can be applied outside). If you prefer not to apply the epoxy yourself, most shops that sandblast can apply it for you.
3 - Remove fenders, windshield, rear glass and quarter windows.
4 - Remove doors only if absolutely necessary.

Once in epoxy primer, you will be able to proceed with additional body work. As you complete body work and get down to bare metal again, apply the epoxy over the bare metal again. The epoxy primer will keep the metal from rusting while you take your time working on the car. You can do body work over epoxy primer... I'm pretty sure you will find issues that need attention once you remove the fenders, windshield and rear window, decklid etc.

Make sure you have an agreement wth the paint shop - most shops do not like to paint over someone else's body work and prep.

I don't think it is necessary to remove undercarriage components like suspension etc...unless you are doing a concourse restoration.

Bottom line, take your time with body prep. That's what will determine the outcome! If you are changing color, the workload will increase because you will have to get into almost every visible area to get rid of the old color.

Good luck!

Mitch Leland · Mitch Leland's Garage

Ian,

For me I wouldn't take down the suspension unless it needed to be rebuilt. Again it is just how far you want to go with the restoration. Maybe you want to paint all the wheel wells and floor pan then removing the suspension might make that easier. But for me I would have to have another reason other than the paint to get into the suspension if it's OK to start with.

I would do the removal yourself. Even with your lack of experience I'll bet you'll do a better job than the body shop removing and replacing the hardware. Plus learning about your car is half the fun...

See ya,