914 6 Paint Options

[xsurfer]

I have to paint the car, something I've never done. What paint is correct for showing? I'm starting read about paint. I'll start taking the car apart over the winter.

Color change is acceptable to Judges I think. Can someone verify that please.

Thanks from the newbie. Say, when to I loose the newbie title? After a restoration? LOL

Gene

[Pat Garvey]

I have to paint the car, something I've never done. What paint is correct for showing? I'm starting read about paint. I'll start taking the car apart over the winter.

Color change is acceptable to Judges I think. Can someone verify that please.

Thanks from the newbie. Say, when to I loose the newbie title? After a restoration? LOL

Gene

Gene,
I'm assuming your six is an original, not that it matters. There's only one way (ONE) to get a concours paint job - a specialist. And, you won't believe the things you/they find when it starts to get stripped down. I don't care if the car has spent it's life in the Sahara - if it's been washed, you'll find rust. Particularly in the sail panels.

I'll take you through the episode with my '72 four banger. This was in '79 - 28 years ago!

Car had been a Parade-quality concours prepped car for 5 years at that point (one class win & wanted more). Driven 48k miles the first 2 years I owned it - rain, snow or shine, before I caught the bug to make it better. Besides, I noticed a small bubble under one of the sail panels. Took it to a Cincinnati Mercedes speacialty shop for a repaint. Said they wouldn't touch it, because it was a "throw away" 914. Just so happened, one of my best friends (now deceased) was the attorney for them & they owed him a favor. They agreed to do the job, but only if I delivered them a tub. OK with me - always needed an excuse for a party. Stripped the car of everything but the windshield (easy to do, by the way), wenched it on a trailer & delivered it in 10 inches of fresh snow (40 mile trip, BTW). Ramchargers rule!!!

Long story, short. The sail panels were rotted badly & had to cut out. In '79, there were no aftermarket replacement panels available. The shop cut them out about a foot into the quarter panle, finished them with LEAD (try to find a living lead guy these days), stripped everything to bare metal, except the door jambs and engine lid - I mandated that they copy the orange peel finish of the engine lid to the entire car (which they did perfectly). I didn't change the color, because that would have been catastrophic - besides they refused. They also refused to R&R the windshield, because they were ceratin it would crack (good decision). I asked them if they would use Glasurit paint & they refused, saying that better paints were available on the then-contemporary market. Always trust your painter to know what the best current goo.

So, 28 years later my 914 can compete with the best of them - beat most. The paint & bodywork have beaten the test of time. Cost to do in 1979 - $4000. Cost to do today? Scary, but if you have a six, worth it because you'll get it back.

Point is - if you cheap out, and painting it yourself is a big mistake, you'll lose equity. It's like a house - an investment. Cheap it up & you'll lose resale.

However, if your's is a "true" six, and you don't want to make a serious investment in it - I would be happy to take it off your hands, at an equity-adjusted value, of course.
Pat

ps: pardon my verbosity - I get like this sometimes.