What did you do to prep your car for paint?

[tdskip]

OK guys - time to share lessons learned, cautionary tales and what ideas you had "while I am doing this..."

Thanks!

[Jdub]

Good question - I will be interested in hearing the replies since I am thinking of repainting my car myself.

Are you asking because you are painting the car yourself (how to prep for home respray), or how to prep if handing the car over to a shop? There is a separate painting forum at this site just FYI.

[jager911]

I removed all glass, lights, bumpers, hood, tail, trim, rubber and handed it over to the paint shop.
It took about a week to do that. The shop had it for 2 months, then I re-assembled it in 3 weeks, the car was down for 3 months. I chose not to sand it myself as I wanted it done as quickly as possible but saved a bunch of labor doing it this way. Take lots of pictures and use baggies to label everything.

[tdskip]

Hi guys - asking to swap my labor for cost savings hence the question.

Jager - so basically all the exterior trim. My rubber bits are sun baked so that would the the time anyway. Did you have your read lid and tail painted seperately?

[RWebb]

here is an xlnt. guide to using your labor to reduce painting costs -

Saving the "Rat" - Restoring a 69T

[jager911]

Originally Posted by tdskip

Hi guys - asking to swap my labor for cost savings hence the question.

Jager - so basically all the exterior trim. My rubber bits are sun baked so that would the the time anyway. Did you have your read lid and tail painted seperately?

Yes, remove all exterior trim. I have a 1 piece IROC lid/tail. For a Carrera tail, I'd remove the grill and separate the tail from the lid. I was changing color and only way to do it right was remove the glass, not that hard. I also painted door jambs and interior of doors so I stripped the doors as well as I was making new door cards in the process. You can get estimates both ways to see what you will save but I figured I saved at least 2-3k. With fixing some minor rust and bodywork, I got mine painted in Glasurit for $5k so it was not that cheap. I had estimates as high as $8-9k.

[Bob Kontak]

What jager911 said.

Remove the strips on the front fenders next to the front cowl. I would not pull the fenders off if the car is rust free. Buy new oversized strips. They are a little wider than original where you can see them. Don't know if Pelican sells them. Stoddard does.

Door handles and window trim if not included in jager's list.

Antenna / wipers / fuel door.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by jager911

l as I was making new door cards in the process.

What did you use to replace the water absorbing &%$#@ cardboard? :-)

[jager911]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

What did you use to replace the water absorbing &%$#@ cardboard? :-)

I found a 4x8 sheet of 1/4" fiberboard at Home Depot for ~$12, it was already coated so water=resistant, easy to cut with a jig-saw.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

What did you use to replace the water absorbing &%$#@ cardboard? :-)

get the special foamboard from appbiz - it is designed to avoid this problem

[NeedSpace]

Originally Posted by jager911

I found a 4x8 sheet of 1/4" fiberboard at Home Depot for ~$12, it was already coated so water=resistant, easy to cut with a jig-saw.

I did the same. Worked pretty well. I also painted it with clearcoat to protect somewhat from water damage...at least, in theory.

1976 911S – from garage find to on the road

[porwolf]

I once prepared a 72 Targa for the paint shop. Saved a lot of money. I disassembled the car completely except for the Targa rear glass. Took of all body rubber pieces including the webbing between the fenders and the body. Loosened the fenders as much as possible. Masked of the inside of the car to have the door jambs painted also. The car had no rust, so I did not have that problem though it accumulated a few dents which I had the paint shop take care of. I left the sanding and paint preparation to the shop. After the painting was done I took the car back for reassembly. Cleaned a rubber parts with paint thinner, which took off all oxidization, and then waxed them. Bought new webbing for the fender lines to the body. Straightened out the support brackets of rear bumper corner sections. The car came out great, looked like it came out of the show room.

[strikee]

1/4 inch is 6mm, that seems pretty thick compared to the original.

[TDMPenske]

CUT the windshield seal all the way thru, all the way around, unless you wanna buy a windshield like I did

[Crimson Nape Racing]

we took EVERYTHING off. I was going to do the sanding & priming myself, but decided it was better for the experts to sand and decide what metal needs to be replaced. I took it to the body shop last week and he will have it for 3-4 months.

[kerthunk]

My tip would be to get some fender washers (m8) and put them and a nut over each and every one of the chassis grounding points. Helps to make sure that they stay clean and reduces the chances of electrical gremlins when you put it all back together.

[Ferrino]

Does the process used to remove the existing paint/primer and bring it back to metal differ when the metal is galvanized? i.e. to avoid removing the protective zinc coating.

[A horse with no name]

Originally Posted by tdskip

OK guys - time to share lessons learned, cautionary tales and what ideas you had "while I am doing this..."

Thanks!

Hi...I was furtunate to be able to restored our 1970 911T at a very high end body shop that a friend was the manger. He was able to provided some space for me in a corner of the shop to work in. I made sure that I had a lot of boxes for the 'nuts' and bolts' so as to speak, including taking a lots of pictures prior to and during disassembling it.

After taking it completely a part I paint stripped it with a 5 gal pail of DuPont's 'aircraft- automotive' paint stripper. When doing this you must mask all and any body seams such as you door skins so that the paint stripper doesn't get 'under' any of the such seams.

After paint stripping it, I immediately thoroughly power washed it then hand washed it with soup and then power washed it again . (You sand the body seam strips by hand and or by machine)

The next step was sanding everything with an air orbital sander using 800 paper to remove the 'acid burn' including any 'bits of' paint that weren't removed. Eventually after hours of sanding, the body and 'pieces of' will end up looking like stainless steel- The sanding is that thorough.

Then the car is cleaned with a silicon - wax- grease remover prior to the etching primer. Then a quality PPG primer undercoat was used.

The next step was some serious blocking and re-blocking - re undercoating and then more sanding so as to get the body as 'straight as an arrow'. The final sanding was done with 600 paper. The car was rust free and had no body damage other than 'dings'.

Again, prior to painting, everything was cleaned thoroughly with the silicon- wax- grease remover. It was then top coated with PPG's premium quality single stage, two component system called 'Concept'...The doors, trunk and hood were painted off of the car... Everything painted was then cured in a bake oven over night and the end result was a very luxurious looking, deep glossy finish.

Many tend to use the 'base coat clear coat' system but I personally prefer PPG's single stage two component system. I have used it on a few vehicles (5) that I have restored over the years due to it's overall quality of finish and durability....Again, this is only my personal preference.

After that it was a matter of putting 'humpty dumpty' back together again. I purchase all new Porsche rubber seals for the windows, doors and hood, including lenses ect.

I also had all the door, truck and hood latches and 'many other pieces' anodized in the same factory colour.

I found it very enjoyable - It was just a matter of just taking my time and using lots of house mover type blankets on the body so as not to damage anything when re assembling. I had the shop put the window seals and glass in and then I did the rest.

When your machine is finally finished; you make sure to have at least a couple of cases of cold beer to share with a friend or two ...Then you just sit back on the floor with your back against the wall and stare at it and grin non-stop for at least a 24- 48 hours.

* If you care to have a look at the project - In *'my garage' it is the 1970 black 911T.

Since the finishing of this car I went on to do my own painting and colour sanding and the was due to the 'tips' that I received on 'how to' from friends that are body men and painters - It's not rocket science - Just use good materials, take your time, and don't stop until it is 'spot on'.

Lets us all know how you go eh! - Like some photos along the way would be great.

I hope my hands on experience is able to assist you a little.

Take Care