Ever wonder why paint jobs cost so much? PIX

[RarlyL8]

I have a new found respect for you paint & body guys.

I purchased a Euro 930 bumper from GaryR some weeks back for a muffler project of mine. His bumper was pearl white and my car is guards red so a little work was gonna be involved to make that work.

Dissasembly went well with only a few broken rusty bolts.
Stripping the half dozen coats of various shades of white and pearl was quite labor intensive. I can't imagine how long it takes to prep an entire car. Wow.

My car was painted 10 years ago by a Porsche body guy for what I considered to be a tremendous amount of money. I still think it was too much but I feel a little better about it after this bumper experience.

Anyhow, we go the the paint store to buy a pint of paint, a pack of sand paper, and some aircraft stripper. How much can that be anyway?

Try $550 a gallon just for the paint! And they won't sell me less than a quart.

Well that's not happnin' so we decide to take a chance on the 10 year old paint at the bottom of the gallon can I have left over from the original spray. All I have to buy is about $50 worth of hardener and curing agent. Worth a try.

Well it worked wonderfully!

HUGE props to TomF who made this all happen. He took over the project going way above and beyond to make it work. The paint so closely matches the original that you cannot tell what is fresh and what is 10 years old.

[911 in SC]

Looks great. That's crazy that the 10 year old paint was usable after all that time. What brand paint is it?

Oh yeah, it looks great! Any documentation on how you modified the valence?

[SCWDP911]

Looks great Brian! You need to drive that beast up for th MTFR #4 on 7/21. Are you going to Ardmore on 8/11?

[azasadny]

Beautiful!!!

[RarlyL8]

Thanks guys. It was quite a project. I had the bumper on and off the car a half dozen times trying to get everything just right.

The valance is stock. If you notice the top picture, when it was white, the leading edge was very wrinkled. Tom straightened that out for me! The result was perfect.

If I remember right the paint is DuPont. I still have the can so I'll find out. It was just good luck that the can was properly sealed when they finished painting the car. I had it stored in a dark pantry cabinet in my heated garage all those years so it never froze.

I have to meet up with you guys in Ardmore, it's only 30 miles from my house. Looking forward to it!

[911 in SC]

I understand. I was curious about the lower part of the valence too. It did look pretty wrinkled. Very good job. I can imagine all of the hard work. In fact, I need to either replace my front valence, or take it off and work on it someday. It doesn't look 'that bad', but not great.

[IROC]

Originally posted by RarlyL8
I have to meet up with you guys in Ardmore, it's only 30 miles from my house. Looking forward to it!

Ardmore? I'm in! When? Sorry to hijack...

[SCWDP911]

here is the info for Ardmore...

Hello Shane,

An opportunity for a road trip for you and your team. I wanted to invite you to our Aug 11th 2007 & Ardmore Car & Truck Show. This show continues to grow bigger and better each year. It will be located @ the Alabama / Tennessee Stateline of Interstate 65 (Exit #1). This is a family oriented Car & Truck Show in a park atmosphere with plenty of Shade Trees. There will be a Kids section so that they can play while parents can look @ all of the great vehicles in attendance. Some of our event coordinators had an opportunity to see some of your clubs vehicles @ a previous show and we would love to have you in attendance this year.
In addition if you pre-enter you get a dash plaque and an extra chance for the drawings & cash which has been up'd to $3,000.00 = (3 CASH drawings for $1500, $1000, & $500) Ardmore Car Show on Sat Aug 11th, 2007
* Registration is only $20.00
* Park Atmosphere with plenty of Shade Trees -- Bring the whole Family
* NOTE: PRE-ENTRANTS get an Extra Chance @ the Money
* Over 50 Awards / Trophies
* $1000.00's in Cash & Prizes
* Interstate 65 @ Al / Tn Line (Exit 1) to Ardmore Park (Turn @ Railroad Bridge)
* Steve Hall Contact
* Phone: (256) 431-5140
* E-Mail: art@statelinesptgds.com
Ardmore Car & Truck Show Web Site
www.aqbc.net/carshow.html
Tell your Friends -- Hope to see you and your group there Thanks, David Sharp
2007 AQBC Event Announcer
Aug 11th 2007 = Ardmore Car & Truck Show

PS This info is posted on the Newsboard Page at our website www.pca-msr.org