Painting a porsche

[DP944]

Hey guys,
I currently own an 85 944 and it is in very good running condition. About 6 months ago i was hit in the front of the car and i will soon be replacing the front fender. I have put a lot of thought into my options and i think what i want to do is paint my car myself, after i replace the fender. I actually work at a paint store so i can probably get a few of the tools there. The biggest problem with bringing my car to a shop to have it done is the cash. Ive been quoted by a few places and they are all asking for $1500+. Actually 1500 for the prep work and i nice coat of paint didnt seem too bad to me, but I am more of a hands on guy.

I have been told by a few people(some on this forum) that bringing it to maaco and having them spray it isnt that bad of an idea either....as long as i do the prep work or make sure they do it right. I need opinions badly. I am not opposed to doing the prep work myself...im not opposed to doing the paint and prep....i am also not opposed to bringing it to my buddy who works for the shop that quoted me for $1500. I really just want to have a nice nice alpine white paintjob and maybe save some money in the process.

If you think I should do the prep work myself and bring it somewhere to have sprayed, is there any additional info you could give me so that i know what to do and how to do it.

If you think I should do paint and prep could you give me as much information on this as possible. I would rather do it myself that way i can do more paintjobs with the tools I buy, but if it is too difficult id rather leave it to the professionals. I have refinished wheels and things of that nature but ive never actually sprayed a car.

http://www.eastwood.com/jump.j...ICKER

this is a gun that ive found for pretty cheap. I also need to find a good way to mask off my garage. Ive seen pop up stations that go up pretty easily im just wondering where i can get one and what the best one is to use. Paint is also something i will need. Any recommendations???

If you think I should just let the shop handle it then let me know what you think.

I'm basically searching through the dark on this topic. If you have any light to shed on my search it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Dave L]

Im not sure if it was a tread you started on not so forgive me if I repeat myself.

Find a local highschool offering night school in autobody. Its inexpensive, you have access to tools and more importantly expertise.

plus you get to play with welders

[speedracing944]

I bought an automobile body prep and paint book and read it cover to cover and then read it again. I never painted anything before unless it was with a rattle can. The area which Iwas painting was the ack end where I had a small rust spot near the rear tail light. I was quoted $500 to get it done by a shop. I knew a couple of guys who painted cars for a living at autobody shops and they were all dope smoking, fume huffing airheads. I figured if they can do it so should I. So I took my $500 and bought a 20 gallons air compressor, a HVLP gun and bought the needed paint, tape, degreaser and mask. I disasembled toback of the car removing everything including the bumper and tail lights, sanded the area down to the primer, repaired the rust and sprayed the primer, base and clear coat. The project tookme a whileto complete because I wanted to makesure the prep work was nice but in the end I was very satisfied with the results.
BTW i sprayed my tool box with some returned paint from the paint supply store to get use to how the gun worked and improve my technique BEFORE taking on the 944.

Good luck.

Speedy

[Razorback1980]

I did mine and I found it takes a lot of patience and time. It came out really well but it took me forever. Just when you think you have sanded until you can't sand any more during the preparation work, then you find out you have to do even more during the painting process. I color sanded mine between each coat which I'm not sure is necessary, but it sure turned out a very smooth bright paint job. I learned a lot and quickly figured out why it costs so much to paint a car because it took me a huge amount of time. I think a professional would be much faster but I also wanted mine perfect and that's why I decided to do my own. By doing it myself, I could make sure it came out perfect, of course by doing it yourself, you can save about 7 to 8 hundred dollars over the 1500 dollar price. There are a huge amount of articles on the internet with regard to painting a car and I probably read them all, but the key is take your time and be patient. Use good block sanding techniques and make sure each panel is perfect before you start with the painting process. The paint takes all your inadequate prepartions and magnifies them by at least 10....sometimes more. For my paint booth, I took 2 x 4 boards and built a frame and then put plastic around the frame. I then put a filter at each end blew air through the two filters using a squirrel cage fan to remove the overspray but keep the dust out. I also mounted some inexpensive lights shop lights in there for light. Always make sure you use proper breathing masks as paint spray is really nasty stuff. Even with the mask I managed to get some paint in my nose somehow. The other mistake I made was cleaning the gun in the booth. I thought I could spray laquer thinner through the gun and clean it but I didn't think about the spray being atomized and it all landed on my new paint job and every where the laquer thinner landed, it left a small bump in the paint which I had to sand out. Make sure you do that in a separate place. It's fun though, you should do it if you have a lot of patience and can do without your car while you are doing this.

Have fun...

Razr

[Ferrara_racing]

The answer to this question really hinges on how much of a perfectionist you are and how fussy you are going to be about the finished job. The first time someone does body work they are not going to hit a home run. I would expect some tiny filler scratches and a drip isn't out of the question either. If you can live with some small imperfections and you want the learning experience GFI. Otherwise, tap the experience of that friend you mentioned.

[wizkid918]

the good thing about paint.. is if you screw up, you can start over. do a base coat clear coat. an at home paint job is bound to get some trash landing in your paint, or a bug dragging its as through your final coat of clear. but thats where the sanding comes in. you can get a lot of what looks horrible out by sanding the clear coat.

hanging plastic works fine for keeping overspray off everything else in the garage

make sure to spray some test panels. we use just scrap sheet metal. and put up some paper or something to check your spray pattern before you spray EVERY TIME. especially if you are using one gun for it all. I tried your link but it didnt work. the more money you spend on a gun, the better... to an extent... we used a harbor freight gun and it got the job done. but their were times when i wish we had a nice devilbliss. (this is a never ending argument, but proper atomization at the gun, and steady air pressure through the gun etc. etc. all make a differience in how the paint is going to lay.

try www.hotrodders.com and http://leopardsystems.com/paintucationforum/index.php?sid=73e9544a6abc5e3a55cd9fe6c55d0c1a

there is a lot of information there, and paintucation has DVD's that are great for walking you through

[DP944]

Thanks for the input....The link i posted is the eastwood website for two devilbliss guns i found. The kit is like 90 bucks on sale. Ill try to get the link later today. Thanks

[Moneyguy1]

HVLP spray units result in a better job, much less overspray. A gun can be purchased thatg will function with a regular compressor, but the CFM is rather high.

If you do the prep, please do not forget the safety equipment: particle masks etc. If you actually do the painting, Razor and Speed give good advice. Modern paints are nasty and require a much more efficient mask than the simple particle type. Final sanding prior to color coats must be wet sanding with microfine paper. I buy mine from Red Hill Abrasives (no affiliation, just a happy customer).

Sign in a body shop:

If you want it done fast and cheap, it won't be right. If you want it fast and right it won't be cheap. If you want it cheap and right, you came to the wrong place.

[DP944]

What if i want it cheaper than bringing it to a shop and right....but time consuming.....then i could probably do it myself.

[Moneyguy1]

Consider it a learning experience. Whatever miustakes you make on a paint job are not fatal. I still like the idea of finding a night school course on body work. That is how I started years ago. Now I can say I have done paint jobs that have won awards in local shows on everything from Corvair Corsas, a 356, a 912, a 924 and a number of other cars. It is a "labor of love" and time should be the least of your concerns. It takes many more hours of prep than it does to apply the paint.

[speedracing944]

I loved the suspense of pulling the trigger on my HVLP gun, laying down my first coat of primer. It sort of had a "no turning back" type feeling.

3M makes a disposable organic vapor respirator which does a darn good job. It will take all the fume smell out and you won't get dizzy and die. I think it can be had for about $20

My work area didn't have a fan because I didn't want to blow dust onto the paint. I used plastic sheeting which can be purchased at Home Depot or Menards. Tacked it up on the celing and draped it on the floor. Since i was only spraying the back of the car the rest was taped off and was outside of the barrier.

Speedy

[Eldorado]

go to a junk yard.. buy yourself a door panel or fender off of any old car... and use that as your test dummy.. If you're happy with the results then go for it, but if not then either paint it again until you get it right, or take it out.

You're asking us for input - why not just go give it a whirl?? rent a paint gun and you're all set...

[DP944]

http://www.eastwood.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=12296&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=417&iSubCat=418&iProductID=12296


what do you think about this gun set. I want a good gun and im not opposed to paying like 200 or less.

[Moneyguy1]

I recommend the following site:

www.spraygunworld.com/information2/cfm.htm

As important as the gun, is the compressor. The gun you show requires 8 CFM @ 30 PSI. Generally, if the unit is to be used continually, the CFM should be 1.5 times the tool's requirement. If you go oil compressor, you will have to buy a filter for the oil that will get into the air stream. and in either case, oilless or oil, you will require a dryer to capture the moisture that can ruin a paint job.

[speedracing944]

My gun is a Devilbiss HVLP gravity feed. Bought it for $120 I think.

I would use a pressure regulator on the inlet for the gun this way you can have your air compressor charged up at max. I didn't see one in the kit you posted.

I would get a 5-6 hp 20-25 gallon direct drive oilless compressor. You can get them from Sears. Or heck if you know anybody who has one you could borrow you could save yourself more dough.

[speedracing944]

http://search.cartserver.com/search/search.cgi?cartid=a-6834&category=dataDescriptPaint&maxhits=5&keywords=DEVFLG635316

something like this?????
Mine is a model number FLG-631 but I don't think they make it anymore.

[Blackfoot]

I do not recommend do it yourself paintjobs unless you have a supplied fresh air system. The reason I say that is because a charcoal mask may be inadequate in completely removing the dangerous & odorless isocyanates that are in today's 2k paint. Just because you don't smell paint fumes through a charcoal mask doesn't mean you aren't being contaminated by iso's. The clear coat is especially dangerous due to the iso content.

I know it makes a home paintjob less attractive financially, as fresh air systems run about $400 or so. But it is really a must, in my view.

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