I am refurbishing the suspension on my 6 while the body is being finished and painted. I have noted while looking at different threads that folks usually finish the parts in a satin finish. Mine look to have been gloss black originally from what I can tell. So, what should the finish be?
Thanks, Bill

Satin

Thanks, Pat. Satin it will be.
This is an ex-Denny Benge car that he took apart in the 80's.

I remember Dennis and his silver/6. I believe he bought it in the summer of 1975.
Pat and I have wondered what happened to that car. It appears that you and the /6 are from the (Greater) Cincinnati area?

And, BTW,

Oh, and don't forget to add your VIN and vehicle data to the 914 Info database.

Paul

Dennis had a 914 convertible in the making last time I saw him. Any idea what became of that? I used to store my 911E in his place.
Pat

The 914 convertible was traded to Pete Corceran and will go back to stock configuration. The silver sixer is now owned by his pal Micki, and the other sixer he had is now mine. It is at Pete's shop having the body work finished and painted while I gather up parts to reassemble the car after sitting since the 80's.

All of the stock suspension components we've had come through the shop (both 911 and 914) are what I would consider "Semi-Gloss" when you get them clean.

Satin is a little too flat in my opinion.

It's more of a semi gloss / low gloss. When I paint it, I go with a 60-70% gloss. I've got a pile I'm going to take to the powder coater as soon as funds allow and will see what he has in a low gloss.

I'll stick with satin.

I know a number of "weenies" who have cleaned/polished the original finish to a level of gloss black (me included) over some 40 years.

Virtually any paint can be transormed from sation to gloss by polishing.

Satin was original.

You're entitled to you opinion... No matter how wrong it is.

We're talk'n flake off the undercoating and there's semi-gloss hiding there, not satin.

Semi-gloss is original.

I was just under the frog today, it does seem to be a semi-gloss, along with the 1/2 axles and shift rod. The Wurth satin trim paint can be polished to match it, if that helps any.

I've got those parts off my 73 spread out in front of me. Semi-gloss for sure.

Satin my friend. You are entitled to your opinion also....no matter how wrong it is.

When I was prepping for my first national concours it was all about bling. Originality matter for nothing. My suspension pieces were bland, so I set about with rubbing compound and Zymol to wow the judges. Worked then.

Since then (1974) I've kept the pieces as glossy as can be - yeah, not correct, but you can't go back without restoration. The paint is beginning to get thin so I haven't tried any retro-refurbishment.

Can't speak for the cars you've been working on, only mine. And I know it from delievery date - satin.

I might add that the petro products sprayed on by companies such as Ziebart (and I'm not denegrating the purpose) may very well have been absorbed by the suspension parts, turning them into a different finish when flaked off. Possibility.

Think we need from the Euro contingent on this, since I believe those cars were not rampantly rust proofed.

Here's some reference.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=103430

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I suppose it comes down to what % of gloss = satin, and what % of gloss = semi. The satin components from what I can tell on the 73 74 models I had, are the gas tanks, valances, and outer rockers covers. The 1/2 axles and trailing arms seem abit glossier. Thicker paint too. Steve has a trailing arm shot of his beige car posted. Absolutely right about the polish and wax Pat. It will certianly turn a satin piece glossy. I think the biggest problem when matching, is the German paints have a very slight brownish tint to them. You can notice it when compared to PC blacks or domestic rattle can blacks if you really want to split hairs.

Valid point. In my world (I own a printing company) with the various coatings we use, semi-gloss is closer to gloss (just not quite as shiny) and satin is closer to matte (dull but with a sheen). It's a pretty noticeable difference too with the reflectivity of semi being MUCH greater than satin . . but I see your point. It is in the eye of the beholder.

I don't have any pics handy but for what it's worth, mine look pretty much spot on to what Tod posted. I would call that a semi-gloss finish.

I have to mix this shit for a living :

The general rule of thumb is

Flat = 0% gloss

Matte = 30% gloss

Satin = 50% gloss

Low gloss = 70% gloss

High gloss = 100% gloss


Porsche suspension, 356 on, was originally low gloss

OK, I can't argue with the pro's. Maybe is was semi, but that's not how I remember mine. After two years of daily driving my '72 it was retired to concours/auto-x duty. When I started cleaning the suspension it was dull. Used several compounds to bring it back to what I considered "bling" status. Compounding/waxing changes appearance, but my suspension is now what I would call "gloss". Without taking all the components off & stripping/refinishing them to a "supposed semi gloss" finish my 914 will always be wrong.

BUT, and I say it again BUT, these pieces were NEVER EVER powder coated! These are vintage cars. Powder coaring is coarse, thick, hard and NOT what the Factory put on them.

Is it really that tough to strip, prime and paint hese pieces? Would you powdercoat the exterior of the car? Stupid question - I'm surer some have. Go ahead - ruin your 914 for resale. Weenies love it.

I still believe satin.

Powder is a tough finish but, agreed, it's too thick for suspension pieces. It makes fitting the brake line clips (rear) impossible. Then the powder needs to be chipped/ground off for the clips to go on.

Maybe you had a bunch of cosmoline on your suspension that made it look satin and then it polished out. Another thing to consider is, baked on automotive finishes are much harder to "polish out". The "Flat" on my GT bumpers remains flat (it's actually more satin) even after polishing the car because it's a proper automotive finish vs. a rattle can type finish.

Here's a shot that may help. Old suspension component off a Kalifornication car. Had factory goop in it. Where the goop chipped off you see the factory finish.

Enjoy.

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So 60% gloss then?

I'm with Eric and Tod....semi, not satin

However, 914-6's had light gray front struts, not black like the four's.

Has anyone sprayed out the Eastwood Extreme Chassis Blacks to see which is closer? It looks like it is available as either Gloss (85% gloss) or Satin (25-35% gloss). In a perfect world, I guess you'd want something in between.

If anyone is curious, here is a side-by-side comparison of Eastwood Chassis Black Satin (left) vs. Eastwood Chassis Black Gloss. These are the base rattle can paints shot on bare metal. Not Extreme.
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Sunlight


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LED 5000k color temp

Original 914-6 front strut, part numbers are for 6 only and were Boge Grey

NOS and restored for comparison Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment