924Board.org

[augidog]

I want to study up before I paint my car this summer
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1978 924 95 mile daily driver.
Audi TB/POR174M/High Flow Cat/2.25" exhaust
I knew that positive thinking thing wouldn't work.

[Snotzalot]

[welder]

I can't tell you any specific web site for painting a 924 but I have seen numerous books on the subject. I painted my 924 about 2 months ago. Fortunately my son is a body man and a good painter so I had someone to bounce questions off of. I painted the origional color but used much better paint ( base / clear). The paint was a little over 175 dollars, substantly more than the 2 step enamal used origionaly. The most expensive part is the prep work, removing everything you DONT want painted; body work; grit blasting rust or grinding it off; sanding off old paint; and the priming. If you want this to not be very expensive, and still be great quality, do as much of the prep as you phisically can. This is the most time consuming part hense the most expensive. If you have never painted, do the prep and get it as paint ready as possible and then take it to a good painter to squirt the color. The actual painting(not priming) requires considerable skill. If you have never painted a car before, you can make a serious mess and spend many many hours sanding it back off cause you did'nt like the end result. Although some have done it. My paint job came out stunning , as smooth as glass, but not because of me but my son's critical eye. After all my work and priming it only cost me 75 dollars to have it shot by a competent pro cause everything else was done. This will save you many hours of wet sanding later. The success of the job lies in the prep. Also if you don't mind taping, again a big money saver. All your plastic and rubber parts, door handles, bumper pads, and many other small parts can be hand sprayed by you while off the car and when reinstalled raises the overall quality up several notches. You're paint choices are endless, the better the paint the longer, and more durable it is. Base /clear seems the most forgiving, with best results for the buck ( although again your choices are many with many differing opinions). If you go to a pro talk to them and ask what you can do to get it as paint ready as possible.
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I have a 78 n\a currently under restoration.

[augidog]

Good advice welder.
Vince told me the same thing about prep.
How long did you drive around with a primed car?
I wish there was a black primer so it would not look so trashy while I prep it out.
It’s my only car and I have to go to job sites with it.
Its good to know the paint cost is reasonable.
_________________
1978 924 95 mile daily driver.
Audi TB/POR174M/High Flow Cat/2.25" exhaust
I knew that positive thinking thing wouldn't work.

[D Hook]

Welder:

When you did your prep work, how far down did you take it when you sanded? That galvanized body thing is a concern I have...I don't want to take it so far I have to retreat the body panels. Any advice?

[wdb]

chemical strippers work well , they are easier , and faster , but toxic . I think deisel used chemicals to strip his car ,he may have some insights .

[dpw928]

Hope you aren't going to try to paint yours over the weekend as it is a much longer job if you do it correctly. On mine, I toyed with the idea of spraying it myself or having Zuffen shoot it, but in the end I did most of the body prep (rust treatment) and trim removal then let a professional shop spray it. I removed all the trim possible while leaving it street legal and water resistant then took it to the shop. They took two weeks rather than the 4 days promised but did a super job. They had to strip all of the old paint off due to previous multiple paint jobs. It took me another weekend to get the trim back on. In the end I had a $2,500 base coat/clear coat paint job for under $800. My silver 928 goes in next month.

Dennis
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81 931 5 sp
78 928 5 sp Silver
78 928 AT Euro Black

[welder]

D Hook, yes most of the origional green color was sanded off down to the primer, although many areas were down to bare metal especially the grit blasted portions. Some small areas will require body filler touch up then the complete car was shot with a self etching , sand able primer.( high body yeild, which lays on thick and stands up to light sanding after for that mirror finish). You are right, you do remove the outside layer of galvanizing on areas where the sanding bares metal. These areas are not usually to large. However, current good quality, self-etching primers are easily up to the task, in fact can be sprayed on a little at a time as you progress over a few days with the sanding prep. Todays self etching primers are so good they can handle steel, aluminum, and even stainless . There are numerous brands , some much better than others. The self-etching aspect is when the primer reacts chemicaly with metal to promote better adheasion, and longer paint life and lays a good foundation for the top color coat. Oh yeah there are many types of black primer too. Another aspect of the primer is it shows up every imperfection before painting, thus what makes a good paint job really long.( endless sanding, but worth it) You can add greatly to the finish product by painting door handles, wiper arms, headlight surronds, bumper pads, front valence after removing from car. Your bumpers, sunroof, and headlight covers paint much better off also.
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I have a 78 n\a currently under restoration.

[Paul]

Another choice is to sign up for an evening course at your local vocational technical school.

[augidog]

[dpw928]

Remove all the side reflectors,side and rocker panel trim, bumper pads, trim above the doors, sunroof and rear hatch seals. It is also a pain but the gasket for the side mirrors look better unpainted. If you are going to leave the bumper pads off, have someone that can weld aluminum fill/weld them rather than using Maaco/bondo. If you are going to drive it to be painted, remove the front and rear lights after you take it to the shop.

Dennis
_________________
81 931 5 sp
78 928 5 sp Silver
78 928 AT Euro Black