got my 944 painted! (kind of long and rambly)

[pbureau@attbi.com (ATS - Patrick Bureau)]

nice job!

and there is nothing rewarding than a clean paint job on a car that we
love...
I understand this... and I love the paint job I got on mine though expensive
1.6K canadian
I don;t regret the minor flaws either.

==========================================
ATS - Patrick Bureau
1985 8v **Planning 3A/JH  Upgrade**
1988 16v ** FOR SALE : 1500.00$ **
Web Site : http://longcoeur.com/scirocco


=>-----Original Message-----
=>From: scirocco-l-admin@scirocco.org
=>[mailto:scirocco-l-admin@scirocco.org]On Behalf Of Brian Barrows
=>Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2002 12:38 PM
=>To: scirocco-l@scirocco.org
=>Subject: OT: got my 944 painted! (kinda long and rambly)
=>
=>
=>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.
=>
=>-------------------------------------
=>
=>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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