Paint gurus..I have a couple of ????

[pookie]

Hey paint experts I am going to tackle the project of painting my car but I have a few questions. Is it better to strip the current paint off with a sander or an actual paint stripper? How long do I have after the paint has been stripped before a primer needs to be put on? Is it something that has to be done a few hours after the paint has been stripped, or a day or two? Is it better to strip the car a panel or section at a time or do the whole thing all at once? I was thinking it may be better to do a section at a time which would all me to go a little slower.
Any other tips would be greatly appriecated.
Ryan

[dean]

I would only strip the car if the paint is really bad. The OE paint is really good from the factory. It is hard and stuck very good to the body. If you are going to strip the body then I would use chemicals because if you sand you will hit the galvi. You should find a good paint store and get some primer for galvi metal. Then primer, then finish paint. I would use very good quality paint. The faster you get a finish on after stripping the better. Minutes is better than hours.

Good luck, it is a ton of work

[pookie]

Ya that is what I have heard about the factory paint, but I think my car may already have been resprayed. The paint is coming off on the rear fender. I mean you can peel chunks of it off by hand. I have to be careful when I wash the car because the water from the hose even knocked a few flakes off.
Ryan

[dean]

Does it go down to bare metal when the paint falls off. If not then just sand down the respray layer and reshoot.

[gr8fl4porsche]

Is the paint coming off down to bare metal, primer, or the original paint?

Metal is easy to identify. Primer would be an off color like tan, gray, red, or flat black. Original paint would be the color of the door jambs.

If its just the repaint coming off, then you can use stripper to remove just the layer that you want - sort of. Work in small areas, apply stripper, and wipe it off. The longer it sits the more layers it will eat through. You will have to experiment.

Sanding will do the same but will take a long time.

I can't see why it would be necessary to go down to bare metal unless you are doing a full restoration and have to check the integrity of the metal, look for bondo, or do rust repairs.

[john70t]

If there is a finish masters near you, they have these small "Preval" CO2 powered sprayers ($6) that you can put your paint/reducer in for spot painting.
They also will do a (semi-close) computerized matching if you send them a metal sample. It helps to get some small test cards, paint that like you would the surface, and compare (in bright light) to the area. If the paint is faded at all it may need a very small amount of tweeking.

Also make sure the car was(n't) clearcoated before and spray while paint is wet.
A light sanding of 1000 grit and some degreaser will help prep the area. Clean, dry and warm will make the job easier.

[Oliver911]

I am not sure what your budget is, however my first choice would be to remove all of the trim from the car and have it plastic media blasted. This would probably tack on $600 or $700 to the project price. Otherwise, I would DA the whole car with 80 to get the old non-factory paint off then follow up with 320 making sure to throughly scuff the factory paint. Painstaking detail in sanding is what will give you a durable and professional looking product. Follow the sanding up with an epoxy primer. I would use PPG OMNI MP170, It is Identical to PPG DPLF. Now is the time to fill any dings. Depending on how much bodywork needed to be done I would either wetsand and paint or follow with a high build primer such as PPG k36 or NCP270. Then wetsand thoroughly, check for imperfections and apply base and clear. If you need any direction along the way, feel free to email me or ask your autobody supplier. Good Luck.

[JmuRiz]

Pardon my inexperience but what does DA stand for, in reference to DA'ing the car with 80 grit to remove the respray? Also the PPG primer you suggest is because of the make-up of the factory paint correct?

I'm planning on doing some touch-up work on my car and would like to know how to prep the area...w/o removing all the orig paint. Thanks!

Nathan

[Oliver911]

DA refers to a Dual Action Sander, also referred to as a Random Orbit Sander. I only suggest PPG because it is a high quality product that I am familiar with and can recommend the product numbers and how the products are used. Glasurit was the original paint supplier to Porsche. These are also very high quality paints, along with many other brands, however I am unfamiliar with them. To answer your next question, touch up on a car of your vintage with original paint is very difficult. The great thing about having a clear coat is its ability to hide blend lines, your car does not have a clear and is most likely painted with a lacquer or enamel that has faded significantly. I would suggest dabbing the stone-chips with lacquer based paint. Then, wetsand with 1500-2000 grit 3M sandpaper and buff to a shine. Good Luck.

[Zeke]

Pookie, most painters will use a solid base of factory paint and any decent repaint. Any pelling paint MUST be eliminated. If some of the paint comes off with the hose, may I suggest that you try to remove as much as you can that way. Man, if water could remove everyone's paint, life would be much easier. No chemicals, no blasting. Once you are satisfied that there is no more loose paint, a through degrease and dewax is next. Do not sand a car that has any grease or wax present, you will just sand the wax down into the paint. Sand as mentioned above and prime. Epoxy is good, so is polyester.

You asked about how long you could wait before priming bare metal. Most painters prime any bare before they go home for the night. Depends. IF you have a warm, dry shop, you might be able to start where you left off the next day without prime. Don't paint over rust.

Most of the painting process is preparation. Lots of block sanding. Going over a car willy-nilly with a DA is a good way to ruin everything. I use them sparingly to blend in spot repairs. I mostly hand sand, dry or wet, with a block. Shows up every flaw.

[Moses]

This chore has got to rank up there with wheel polishing as pure torture.

What does it cost to get a quality repaint? $5000?

I'd rather work a second job at $10/hour for 500 hours then pay someone to do it right.

I put myself through school doing bodywork and "light" mechanics. In my view, the paint guys had the toughest job. Hard work-even harder to do it right.

I re-did the body and paint on my girlfriends '64 Mustang and if I close my eyes I can still see all the mess-ups. I'll never tackle a job like that again, certainly not on a Porsche.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Moses
This chore has got to rank up there with wheel polishing as pure torture.

What does it cost to get a quality repaint? $5000?

I'd rather work a second job at $10/hour for 500 hours then pay someone to do it right.

I put myself through school doing bodywork and "light" mechanics. In my view, the paint guys had the toughest job. Hard work-even harder to do it right.

I re-did the body and paint on my girlfriends '64 Mustang and if I close my eyes I can still see all the mess-ups. I'll never tackle a job like that again, certainly not on a Porsche.

Right on. You just about have to paint the thing and then fix what you missed, lightly sand it and paint it again. The pros sometimes get it right the first time.

BTW, I deviated from my ususal go-out-of-state to get paint because of CA envirionmental laws and bought some urethane paint for my race car instead of acrlyic enamel (like Glasurit and Dupont Centari). Never again. Extremely slow dry. This paint requires a heated booth IMO and is not for DIYers. Very durable though.

[RoninLB]

A DA is a great tool and in experienced hands a great time saver. and urethane can be color sanded in 4 hours acording to PPG tech, and I have done it. and my '77 was factory shot w/acrylic urethane. so a whole repaint could be a fun, but PIA, project. if not a metalic, a panel at a time works great.. I would rather do a repaint myself.. Oliver911 has the attitude you want. because you have to want to do it. If your no sure/debating the subject, follow Moses, IMO.. a good 911 repaint IMO means pulling windows, door panels, fenders, bumpers, door handles, etc.. a metalic complicates the shoot.. proper tools and materials costs add up on the first /beginner paint job. but when you ding the car in the future, no big deal..and I would sand till I got down to good paint or primer.. then maybe do it again in 10 or 20 years.................Ron

[lcjjbeav]

Here are some links I found helpful that answer about any question.

http://www.members.tripod.com/~bobstory/faq.html

http://www.autobodypro.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.shtml

http://www.scottgrundfor.com/ideas/paintoff.html

http://www.sherwin-automotive.com/reference/troubleshooting_guide/

[springer]

I'm a do it yourself guy but this is the one job I chose not to do in the restoration I am currently working on. I've painted cars in the past and had enough experience to know I'd be better off paying someone to do it right than go through the pain and agony of doing it myself. Painting without a booth is a nightmare in regards to dust and ventilation not to mention anything that isn't covered will end up with overspray on it. Personally I think the paint job if anything is the one thing that is worth spending money on to get it done right. JMHO.

[widebody911]

Aw c'mon guys, it's easy!

http://vintagebus.com/howto/paint/

A weekend to strip the parts, one week to do bodywork and prep, a weekend to paint, a week to colorsand, a weekend to assemble. Piece of cake when you're unemployed!

Actually, painting a car yourself is a very rewarding experience, but it's not for the impatient for faint of heart. The payoff is very visual and very rewarding in direct proportion to the amount of effort.

And while the paint isn't cheap, it's not hideously expensive, so if you do fsck it all up, you can always punt and have a shop re-paint it. If you botch an engine rebuild, I think it would be much more expensive to get yourself out of the jam.

I guess I'm weird. I'll paint my own cars, but I won't rebuild my own engine.