Truck color?

[joncdeke]

I'm in the process of having my 914 painted pearl white. Any suggestions as for the color of the trunks and engine compartment. My first idea was to match the rest of the car. But I'm afraid that may not be as functional as one of the multicolor paints with a more durable finish. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Jon

[Joe Bob]

Some people use the grey pebble finish that goes by the name of "Duracoat". You see it in truck beds. Tough and resistant to rust. Rust is the 914s biggest enemy, don't ya know.

[Jim Philpot]

Seems to me that there are three groups of people into re-doing a car 1) those looking for authenticity; (2) those into customization; and (3) those into utility (daily driver, auto-x, track work). These categories tend to meld with each other at times, such as the guy who wants a daily driver, as original as the day it was made, if possible, etc.

In the 1st category, you've got to stay with original factory colors,of course, preferably the original color of the actual car in question.

In the 2nd category, anything goes, of course, but the present trend seems to be toward monochromatic schemes, and this certainly includes areas not normally seen with all the doors and lids closed.

In the 3rd category, it would appear that there are parts of the car that can be made as functional as possible, with little or no regard for appearance (rust resistant; resistant to high heat,fuel & oil spills; easily cleaned; good for visibility in low light conditions, etc. For instance, on a black car, visibility inside the engine compartment is greatly improved with a very light color on the surrounding sheet metal. Not really easy to keep clean, but I would think the improvement would be a good trade- off.)

There is probably a 4th category, but I can't think what it might be..

It also seems to me that your choice of pearl white puts you in the 2nd category, but I can't envision a car with a beautiful pearl white paint job, and when the trunk is opened some other color stares you in the face. The normal thought would be "Oh, he couldn't afford to get the rest of the car done, so he spray-bombed it." (One of the most costly parts of changing colors on a car involves the prep, upholstery removal, masking, etc. that has to be done on door jambs, inside trunks, and engine compartments.)BTW, have you thought about using Perlon carpet on the two trunks, covering those areas normally simply painted?
There is a factory precedent for this in the eleven pre-(aborted)production 916s. Done properly, this is a treatment that can be reversed at a later date, if need be.

Of course, this is only my opinion, and in things of an aesthetic nature, such as paint jobs on a specialty car such as any Porsche, there are as many opinions as there are colors of paint. To be more specific, my own preference is to stay with factory colors from one end to the other. This certainly is important to most potential buyers.

[This message has been edited by Jim Philpot (edited 07-20-1999).]

[John Rogers]

I did both trunks on both our 914s with black POR-15. Both had some rust and they are daily driver and a race car. If it was for concours then match the exterior, but white doesn't hold up well in those areas.

[joncdeke]

Thanks for all the great advice and ideas! It's a close call, but I believe I'll go white all over! I would hate think that I'm willing to accept anything less than what I truly want.

Thanks!

Jon