924Board.org

xanderdeg

So I'm a month away from buying a 1978 fully rebuilt 924 off of craigslist for $2500. It's a hideous turquoise color that the owner (a mechanic) did himself. I want the car to be repainted white, but I am not able to afford an expensive respray. My options are to either go to maaco for a respray (and I've heard bad things about them) or rent an air compressor, buy some spray guns and respray it myself. I would take all the necessary steps for the preparation and I would make sure I did the painting as well as I possibly could for a first time painter. I trust myself more than I trust somebody at maaco. What is your opinion on this?

ideola · Joined: 01 Oct 2004 Posts: 15550 Location: Spring Lake MI

My opinion is to do the prep work and taping yourself, and then pay to have Maaco spray it. Nothing wrong with the workmanship of their painting, it's the prep work that will cost you and so better to be done DIY.
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

RC · Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 2637 Location: Australia

xanderdeg · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 12:18 pm Post subject:

No, it's this one: http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/cto/3029481341.html[/img]

xanderdeg · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 12:27 pm Post subject:

My bad. http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/cto/3029481341.html

And ideola, that sounds like a great idea. How much prep should I do? and how do I prep the headlights?

joejax · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 1:22 pm Post subject:

Ditto to what Ideola said. I did that years ago with a truck I had that got rear-ended, did the body work, replaced bed, and shaker can primer. Paint was still wet when I went and traded it in.

Thanksgiving day weekend got the gumption to paint the truck I have now,(discovered that it too had been in a wreck

) thought it would only take the 4 day weekend then finish up the next week. A month later I was still struggling with finishing it.

I had never painted anything before with a spray gun. The base went down OK, the clearcoat was a real nightmare. Hard to fix goof ups in the clearcoat.

Prepping the garage was a real pain, keeping dust out of the clear even tougher, If I do it again will likely let someone else clear it, if not just paint the whole thing after I do the prep.

Over all, it was a learning experience, it sure looks easy on TV, if you do decide to it, do lots of research, talk to the paint shop people, and practice.
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I got nothin'
Uhhh...you got any pics?

xanderdeg · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 1:58 pm Post subject:

So I guess I should remove the old clearcoat, sand it, prime it, tape it and then drive it in? Should I go as far as removing the bumpers and such? And what about the door jams?

fiat22turbo · Joined: 18 Jan 2006 Posts: 4040 Location: Portland, OR

There's always rolling the paint on with a foam roller....

Cheap and doesn't use a lot of paint, just takes more time to put the paint on.

http://www.rickwrench.com/50dollarpaint.html
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Stefan
1979 924 Carrera GTS (clone-ish)
1988 944 Turbo S (Silver Rose)

xanderdeg · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 3:55 pm Post subject:

That's a beautiful car he's got there. I just dont know if I trust that method completely, how would I roll the paint on the doors and door jams?

fiat22turbo · Joined: 18 Jan 2006 Posts: 4040 Location: Portland, OR

Use a foam brush. Or a spray can of the matching canned paint.

Pre-war cars were painted in similar ways, so it's a perfectly reasonable solution, not ideal, but workable.

White is a very good color when it comes to hiding imperfections.
_________________
Stefan
1979 924 Carrera GTS (clone-ish)
1988 944 Turbo S (Silver Rose)

xanderdeg · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:04 pm Post subject:

I'm planning on white anyways, it's always been my favorite color for any car (with a few exceptions). So I guess now the dilemma is: Prep and have maaco spray it, or roll it on myself?

RC · Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 2637 Location: Australia

Please don`t let this upset your feelings, just meant as good advice. Can see you`re excited but you don`t even have the car yet. Don`t be in a hurry to spend your hard earned money just yet. Its not gay pink and even if it was, try driving it around for a while, at least to assess it mechanically, electrically, electrically again, structurally, handling, brakes, etc.

There will very likely be other more pressing issues to attend to. In all honesty, it is not a good feeling looking at a nice new paint job getting covered in dust because you don`t have the funds or skill to replace a clutch for example, a 2K job at a shop. Unless you`re a mechanic too, or very knowledgeable about these cars, or loaded, seriously consider a PPI. Have personally seen some of the biggest pieces of sh!t previously owned by "mechanics".

Best of luck with your purchase anyway.
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World`s quickest 924 2L slushbox

ideola · Joined: 01 Oct 2004 Posts: 15550 Location: Spring Lake MI

^^^That is good advice.
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

xanderdeg · Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 2:53 am Post subject:

xanderdeg · Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 5:19 am Post subject:

So I just went to see and drive the car. The paint looked better in person, and the wheels are black, so if I repainted it I would paint it black. The current paint job that was done is in good condition, but from it was first painted it has some orange peel. Would I be able to wetsand off the orange peel and polish the car? or after a year of driving would that be a problem? As for driving, it had a great, bitey clutch, and a strong engine (once you punch it). The brake pedal had a bit of play before the brakes activated, is this normal for a '78 924? Also, the fuel pump can be heard very well, is this a problem or is it standard for the 924? The lack of power steering was definitely something that I wasn't used to! And it was hella low to the ground compared to my current 2001 vw jetta.