Amount of paint to re-paint a 914 Options

[Sea Dragon 914]

I'm considering shooting my own car this summer. I am thinking of using two stage paint and will be painting the exterior up to the weather rubber channels in the trunks and the door jambs.

Anyone know about how many gallons of paint it will take to shoot? I'm thinking three coats of base followed by two or three coats of clear. I've already finished most of the body work and have most of the car stripped and primered.

Thanks

[914GT]

A lot of things go into how much base is required in addition to the area to be sprayed. Lower cost base (Nason, Limko, etc.) will take more coats to get full coverage then more expensive paints (Chromabase, Diamont, etc.). Lighter colors like yellow and white may need more coats to ensure maximum coverage then darker colors. I probably use a little more metallic over solid colors to allow getting the metallic evenly distributed on the final spray passes.

The last full 914 paint job I did a few years ago was L80E ivory and I used a bit less then 1.5 gallons of base which was reduced out 2:1, so about 2 gallons sprayed on. However this included painting inside the trunks, engine bay and completely underneath the car (done on rotisserie). For just the outside panels and jambs you should be able to do that easily with under one gallon of a good quality base and reduced per manufacturer's mixing instructions. Best to error by putting on more coats then necessary rather then trying to skimp on paint, then noticing shading variation with the primer showing through the basecoat later. The darker colors and reds are going to hide the primer better then say yellow or white, but important to get full coverage regardless of the color. If you are painting for the first time you probably should plan on minimum three coats with enough flash time between coats. A gallon of clear + activator + reducer (if needed) will be more then enough for two coats over your base coat.

Always good to have some base left over in case of future repairs or you want to paint inside the trunks. The base will hold up for several years kept tightly sealed in the can and away from heat.