Hey 914World

This is my first post as I am new to the site. I am 17 years old and decided to take on a 914 project. The car was stripped down when I bought it but came with almost enough parts to build 2 cars minus the second body. I am finishing up the metal work and am looking into painting in the next couple weeks. I am going to paint all the interior of the car myself but I think I will let the shop take care of the exterior. I was just wondering what a decent price is coming from your experiences. There is a few small dents to be worked on and then probably 2 colours of base coat, clear coat paint. Any idea of the cost to expect from the shop? Anything I should ask that most first timers forget?

Also I realize the Bumblebee is an LE car. I like the look of the black and yellow but I didn't know what the 914 community thinks of painting a regular 914 like this. I like the look but I don't want to try to be a poser I guess is what I am saying. So is painting it black any yellow fair game or do I look into other colours?

I have ten months till my high school graduation. Thats going to be its debut!

Thanks,

Clow

A: It is your car, do want you want for a paint scheme. Just be honest about it when and if you try to sell it

B: the cost of the paint all depends on how nice you want it. Will there be any body work involved ? You also are not accounting for the cost of the primer and time to apply it. You can spend 1500.00 and get half assed job that will most likely look good form 20+ feet or you can drop upwards of 15,000.00 and have a over restored show quality car.

A fair average price for a decent driver including body work ( bondo ) would be around 5000.00 Price will also vary by the location.

Show us what you are starting with

And thats a tough question with out seeing the body, and are we talking a MAACO paint job or A good paint job ? IMO out here expect to pay at minimum 3,500 for body work and paint. I have seen some pretty decent MAACO paint jobs if you do all the bodywork, and do the full paint prep yourself. Don't let them do it, it will be a over spray mess. And remember, black is a huge PIA to keep clean and shows ANY body imperfection. As far as a LE paint scheme, it's your car.

Thanks for the quick replies. Your right, pictures!

$5000 eh? damn I need to drop out of school to pay that off!


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The body itself is nice. Only over both rear fenders needs to be filled and smoothed.

I am hoping $2500 might give me a decent job? Like I say I am 17, thats really all I can afford.

Get the bondo work done yourself and you could get a 2500.00 job that would look O.K. But remember, in the end the car will only look as good as the body work under the paint. You would be ebst off with white or yellow if you want this done for 2500.00 or less. For that price it will be low end paint and would be shot with no gaurantees. No wet sanding, it will get back to you just as it layed out of the gun. If the painter is decent that would be pretty close to a factory looking paint job.

Alright, thanks! The bondo work I could manage to do. I have done a decent amount on my daily driver Civic.


Clow

You might paint it yourself, then it's the cost of the paint and the cost of your time.

That's probably doable with your budget. It won't be as perfect as a body shop, but it can be done.

That being said, black is the hardest color to get right and requires the most work. Any imperfection in the body shows up like it's magnified. All other colors are way more forgiving. Did I mention A LOT more work with black??? Which is one reason why I don't mess with it. Well, that and the fact black is my last choice for a car color.

Go for it. Heck, I painted two cars by the time I was 17.

Hmmm I might have to rethink my colour choice then. I was thinking red but then, thats more expensive.

And I painted my Civic for $350 and it looks decent for being outside. I might have to do a garage overhaul and think about spraying it myself.



Clow

x2. I did just about all of my body and prep work on the track car and even bought the paint from TPC Global Kustom Shop for about $300. Then I took it to MAACO. They quoted me $300 to shoot the exterior. I asked them to paint inside the cabin, the two trunks and inside the fiberglass front and rear deck lids. I think it came out to be $1300 - $1400. I am very happy with the results.

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That looks nice! I could settle for something like that. I will see about finding a MACCO shop in the region. I never heard of them before. Anyone else have a good (or not so good) experience with them?


Clow

The MAACO guys do know how to lay paint. They need to get it sprayed with no blemishes, cause re-work=money. They just don't prep worth a S*it.

You're getting some great suggestions to save money and get a decent coat of paint. No reason you can't do the body prep and send it off for paint. Then you could do the color sanding and buff out after it's shot. The money you save would allow you to buy some of the tools needed for prep and buffing it out.

If you like the LE scheme, think about some alternative combinations to the bumble bee look; like olympic blue/signal orange or everybody's favorite: the grasshopper. 914s had so many great factory colors that you can have a lot of fun choosing colors to make your ride unique.

Have you carefully evaluated your rust situation? don't skip over that part before you go to the paint stage. Your budget paint job can be wasted if you haven't gotten rid of the tin worm.

The people here can steer you right and there is a treasure trove of information on how to do a CSOB resto. Good luck, you're off to a great start.

That looks like an original yellow sprayed over with silver, so why not just go back to the OE color on the Karman Plate (LF door jamb - number in bottom box, then look at 914 info & colors at the top of this web page for that code = color).

A word of warning though - esp. as a 17 yr old (or for any of us!) - cops LOVE to pick on yellow sports cars - right behind red & orange, so invest in a radar/laser detector (if legal there) & keep your head on a swivel looking out, & most of all - be smart about when & where & how you test the limits of your 914. Otherwise, you may end up without a license & unable to enjoy all your hard work!

... and ....

My sweet Baboo had her miata painted by the local (bellingham) Maaco. They cleaned a few small dents, did engine, trunk, doorjambs, the works. They did the prep and paint. US$500. A great deal hinges on the individual shop. Some have pride in their work and some are just a pain shop. IMHO, do as much as you can yourself for "sense of ownership" and look, shop, look and get the best deal. Does your school have an auto shop class?? The instructor could be talked into using your vehicle as a "project paint" Does not hurt to ask.

Thank you all for the great replies. This site and community is great!
Yes it was yellow and sprayed over. I have thought about the original colour. So many options that look so good!

I still have sometime to look through colours though and shop around some local shops for paint quotes.

Good point about the cops. What does a 1.7 do anyway. I read its tops at about 110MPH?

Clow

Glad you're having a good time thinkin' about what to do with your car!

The drama and allure in this car isn't how fast it will go but how it handles. That means you can pilot your mid-engined car very fast in the corners when others have to slow down for them. Porsche has been known as a giant-killer (specifically against Ferrari in the olden days) because on twisty technical circuits, they shine in the turns.

Now-a-days you can make big power with newer technology. But one of the most interesting and exciting 914's belongs to a friend who has wisely put his money into suspension upgrades and good tires rather than worry about more power. That's where your forte is in a 914.

I'd make sure the engine is reliable but the suspension is superb. That means...

1. Good shocks
2. Good swing (front and trailing (rear) arm-bushings
3. Front sway bar (no rear is needed on your car)
4. Good brakes regularly serviced
5. Good tires

You can read a lot about all of that on this site.

Oh nuts, I just realized this was a hijack. Paint it any color you like, it's your baby! Just remember as stated above prep is everything. Do it yourself!

Good luck

Everyone knows that yellow cars are faster!

Doing the body work yourself will save you the most money. The next thing to save a few bucks is investing in cheaper paint however you don't want to use a cheap clear coat it will likely flake off in a few years, that is if you are using a base coat clear coat. Any good paint shop thats been around awhile can give you great advice on which products to use. I started doing my own painting about ten years and have gotten very good results. I use a paint booth made from PVC pipes, cheap plastic tarp a few sets of flood lights and a few cheap box fans with filters zip tied to them (prevents the overspray from getting on the house). I think it cost me around 300 bucks and i've painted 5 cars with it, just never reuse the plastic tarp. If you take your time you can end up with a show quality paint job that you did yourself. Another option is a vocational school, some of them will paint your car for you if you buy the supplies and they normally dont charge (keep in mind they would be students learning to paint).

I build a paint booth when I painted a tractor.... if I end up painting my 914 I'm going to buy one of those inexpensive temporary garages.... you can get them for $200-$300.

That looks like a solid car to start with.

I painted my car outside, no filters, no tarps, no nothing. Just a nice 5 mph wind
to keep the bugs away. I had no issues with dust or anything. It is really meant
as a track car and fun street car so I wasn't worried about it being perfect. I
used single stage paint from Sherwin Williams Auto Paints. They make paints
that are resold under a lot of other names. Three part paint was about $500
for 2 stage primer plus a gallon of color.

My car is not perfect but it still looks pretty good.

The important thing is to get your car running safely and drive it.

Then you can work on little stuff while enjoying it.

John

I tried it once with out my little booth, started off with a nice wind then it stoped just as i finished laying down the clear, lesson learned nats love clearcoat. Good thing it was my crappy work truck.