OT: got my 944 painted! (kinda long and rambly)

[ferret100@juno.com (Brian Barrows)]

Sorry for the non-'Roc content, but I figured you guys might appreciate this.  And it might even be relavent for anyone planning on repainting their car!  It's a copy-n-paste from my Rennlist post, so forgive any formatting errors that I may have missed.

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OK, where to begin...?

While I truely love my 944, I must confess that red paint just doesn't
age well.  Add to that the fact that the car had previously been in an
accident and the repaired panels had started to change colors into an odd shade of...  purplish-red...?  So, after two years of looking at the
oxidizing paint and a few too many "two-tone paintjob" jokes, I decided
it was about time for a respray.

I started going to various body shops in the area, and it just wasn't
pretty.  Every place I went to, as soon as they got within eyeshot of the car, their pupils turned into little "dollar signs" and they immediatly said "$5-8k for a good paint job."  No, not a "great" paint job, a "good" one.  Now, I suppose it's possible that they could have been quick to come to this number because they have painted lots of 944s and know them inside and out.  And I know that it does cost money to "do this right".  But still, I couldn't help but think they were trying to jack me...  I even joked with one place "You know, there gets to be a point when Maaco really starts to look good."  That place, btw, tried to convince me that their paint job (which would be $4.5k for just the painting and not any parts that have to be replaced) would suddenly make my car (KBB ~ $5.5k) worth $15k. 

Uhh...  Yeah...

Anywho, remember my little joke about Maaco?

*pauses to put on Nomex suit*

For $hits and grins I went to the Maaco that's right across the street
from the family P-mechanic.  I looked at their work, and the cars they
had looked really good.  I had them do an estimate for the car, all the
while reminding them that this was a high profile car at my mechanics and that I'm sure there were other Porsche owners who are just as offended by the high costs of Porsche paint jobs and that if they did a really good job they'd probably get more business.  All in all, they quoted me some $1.6k for prepwork and painting with the two-stage clear coat.  

So, I thought about it for a bit.  I talked to some people who said that
if you can strip most of the stuff off the car and take it to a reputable Maaco you can actually come away with a pretty good "bang for the buck" paint job.  This place seemed to be able to do a good job applying the paint, from what I saw (I looked at cars they were working on).  And since I wasn't planning on showing the car, and that it was going to be driven alot and all, I just didn't see the need for a concourse winning paint job.  I could accept a few minor flaws.  

This left "durability" as the only variable...  But you know something? 
There's a four-year warrantee, so if I have to do this again in four
years, I'll still come out ahead.  And I could do it in *another* four
years and *still* come out ahead.  In fact, I'm sure I could repeat this
cycle a couple of times before I break even!  The choice seemed
obvious...

Armed with my stepmom's garage, a bunch of tools, an adventurous spirit,
a "sometimes you've just got so say 'what the f*ck'" attitude and a
steady supply of beer, I proceeded to strip down the car with the help of fellow rennlister Colin.  The car could have probably been stripped down more than we did, but my goal was to eliminate any tape lines, as that's where there would be potential "failures".  We had the car down to this:

http://members.rennlist.com/bcbarrows/944prepaint_1.jpg
http://members.rennlist.com/bcbarrows/944prepaint_2.jpg

I also followed Colin's advice and painted the door handles and aluminum
trim, for that added "niceness"...

Of course, this project (like all car projects) stayed nowhere near "on
budget".  As I found myself replacing various seals, I also fell into the dreaded "as long as I'm doing this" routine.  I love the turbo rear
valances on these cars, so I figured "as long as I'm doing this, why not
install the valance?"  And hey, since the quarter windows are out, why
not replace the rear speakers, as long as I'm doing this...?  Those two
things played a major part in spending about 150% of my intended budget.  This car is a far more efficient money pit than the VW Scirocco it replaced.  But I digress...

Today, I finally got the car put back together.  All in all, I have to
say that I'm really friggin' happy with it!  The paint application looks
really good, and there are very few flaws.  The ones that are there don't really bother me, as they easily offset the $3-6k I didn't spend...

http://members.rennlist.com/bcbarrows/944_17.jpg
http://members.rennlist.com/bcbarrows/944_18.jpg
http://members.rennlist.com/bcbarrows/944_20.jpg

How difficult was this whole process?  

http://members.rennlist.com/bcbarrows/beer.jpg

My data shows disassembly/reassembly to be a twenty-beer job, plus two
"Clearly Canadians" and some coffee.  A suprisingly low number, but I did place some emphasis on not being drunk while I worked on the car.  I've tried it in the past and it just doesn't work.  The double-vision
confuses me, and I end up working on the wrong thing...  :p

The only part of this whole process that has been a bit of a pain is that the paint is still kinda soft.  And it didn't help when that screwdriver slipped while installing one of the window seals...  *insert proverbial "blue streak" here*  Thankfully, they sent me home with some leftover paint for touching up.  For rationalization's sake (and my sanity), I think of the paint as simply "pre-messed up".  (It's kind of like when you get that first door ding...  after that, you are much more relaxed.)  My stepmom has insisted that I keep the car in the garage until the paint hardens enough to take it out on the road.  Fortunately, she's turned me loose with her 911, to "drive it as if it were mine".  

http://members.rennlist.com/bcbarrows/911_2.jpg

So, I get to have my Porsche fix, which helps with the patience.  But
still, the 911 ain't mine so I'm really itching to start driving the 944.  Give it another week or two to be safe, and I should be good to go.

Sorry for the rambling.  Just thought I'd share...  ;)

Later,
B.




'85 VW Jetta
'87 Porsche 944


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