My car is on it's second color already, and I would like to change it from the previous owner.

I'm wondering how the body shop goes about painting over existing colors to get it to stick??

Primer. The paint has to be compatible or it will react which might be what you mean by "stick?"

How would they determine if it is compatible?

By sticking, I just meant, not chip or flake off because of lack of adhesion?

quick, cheap and easy ( MAACO ) they would scuff it with a red scotch brite a coat of sealer then color. Better job would be to sand with 320, prime, wet sand the primer with 400-600, then color. after that it gets involved. The sealer/primer separates the old and new paint so there is no reaction.

You can always tear it down, and have the old paint removed by media blasting.

this one needs the glass removed, and it will be ready to blast.

Is everything in the interior all removed as well?

The seats are just sitting in the car, everything down to the wiring harness has been removed.

Maybe it's not as bad as I think on removal of some things, but the dash and what's under it is down right scary, but ultimately would be the best to remove everything down to the bare bones. I would have to see if my mechanic would be interested in stripping it down for a potential blast job to get things in order, just in case I do the LS/Boxster trans conversion.

If you don't want to take it that far down you can have it baking soda blasted. The nice thing about baking soda is that it is water soluble. There are steps you must take when it returns to you after the soda blasting. I have done around 10 cars this way. About 4-5 of them were 911's. It is a nice way to go.

If your car has been painted twice already then it's time to remove some of that build up before you add to it.

Are you saying the baking soda would remove just the last layer?

Can't say at this point, but haven't heard of baking soda blasting, much less anyone in this area who would have it, but I don't know that for a fact. Sandblasting would be more readily available. Would be nice to keep the mechanical, and body side of things in close proximity to one another if I were to do it.

Would be nice to try and do everything except the cab. The only rust spot I have on it is on the passenger sail panel the size of a .50 cent piece.

I think scotty gave you a good answer. If you want to drive the car, another layer isnt going to hurt anything. You wont get a great paint job, but, and here is the important part, you will get a paint job. If you want a great paint job it is most economical to buy a car with a great paint job in place. Next in line is spend either money or time with car out of commission and tear into the layers. I am doing this and while it is a money saver the car is moving along with all of my spare time at maybe a 4 year project. It isnt just paint but it wont be for anyone once they start.

As a basis for comparison. Paint last week. 1 quart $133. Not reducer, no harder, not including the epoxy basecoat or the sandable high build primer. No just the color not yet applied. I use paint more than some and am figuring on $1500 for painting supplies including body schutz etc. makes maaco sound a bit more realistic - sort of.

thats a good starting number for materials and dont forget the sandpaper, tape, masking paper, buffing pad, rubbing compound. but i still wouldnt let maaco paint my car its worth the money for peace of mind knowing it was done correctly

You're blasting that one? It looks pretty clean, and besides--it's the best 914 color out there already.

Personaly I would never paint over an old existing paintjob but if you choose to and many people do, a mechanical bond (sanding) is good enough though some might suggest a adhesion promoter also then your primer sealer etc. I strip all exterior paint with paint remover (aircraft paint stipper) and all interior, underside etc. with media blasting. If the exsiting paint has checking (small cracking that looks like dry desert mud) this will show through the new paint no matter what. If not right away, in a very short time it will. This is just one of many problems that can swell through and show in the new paint job and not to mention the old filler that may be in the car that is ready to give up. Hope this helps. It's a dirty time consuming job to strip to metal but it's well worth it in the end and you can skip the blasting of the interior underside etc.

I would only repaint over the original finish. Factory paint on a 914 is hard as nails. Here's the deal. You spend time=money sanding, repairing dents and dings, masking only to have a reaction two coats into the paint job. The most costly losses in the body shop business are in the paint booth. Why set yourself up for failure. On cars with multi layers I use a heat gun and scraper. A wood chisel works really good. I use an 8" sander and paint stripper in combination.

I'm just finishing a 911 that had 10 paint jobs on it.

Click to view attachment

Has anyone used oven cleaner to strip a respray? I read about a guy who got down to his original paint by using easy off.

Going to keep it the same color. The blasting is more for searching out rust, so it can be removed.

that's it. I quit

That would be too easy. (no pun)
Hmmm, I better email E-Z Off to get the particulars...........

Just do the plastic dip & see what you like. Let it ride for a while & try a different color. Sounds relatively cheap & comes off if you really don't love the color

I run a fabrication business and I take in restoration work as filling work. It keeps me in the shop so I am more accessible to my employee's. I do about 3 body restorations a year. Sometime more sometimes less. I have prices that I use as a baseline. I come out ok on these numbers, but I always have more time in than I should because I like to do things correctly.

I have attached an estimate that I wrote last year and the car just showed up to my shop for me to start the repairs. This car is rusted, but is savable. I break down each aspect of the job for all this type of work. I currently have an early 70 BMW CS2800, Early 60's MGA and a late 60's 911. Last year I did a late 50's Jaguar and late 60's 912. Not to mention all of my current projects... A couple of 914's, late 40's Willy's Wagon, 1915 Model T, and a few more I haven't started on.

My point is that body wok takes time... Lot's of time. You can either choose to do the work yourself and save some money or pay someone to do it for you. Lot's of ways to go about doing a body restoration. The right way cost money. Doing it yourself will take a lot of your time....

Man, if you're sure you only have a .50 cent piece of rust on the sail panel, blasting of any type may be overkill, but that depends on what the purpose of the car will be. I'm not sure it is necessary for a regular driver.

Same goes for the paint itself...certainly stripping it to bare metal is the best approach. But I ended up hiring a guy to spray over the factory paint and a respray. I spent some time filling and sanding imperfections out of the last layer of paint, but it turned out very nice for a 9 month daily driver.

Supplies, primer, paint and paying the guy to spray it cost me about $800.

im in the process of doing a "simple repaint" on a customers 75 VW beetle that for all purposes doesnt really need a complete paint job if you look at just the surface. its been stored indoors in a heated building for the past 15 years under a cover and hasnt been out in 10 years. what the surface doesnt show is the bondo that was packed into the rust holes and painted over. i hate surprises a year after i finish a car, its easy to say strip it or dip it but in the end you cant see whats there till you dig in.
you dont really save anything by doing the job twice. my advice would be to look it over really well see exactly what you have to work with. if youre not ready to do it correctly leave it alone, just drive it till you are

Just want to change the color is all I am after, but didn't know how involved to get, as it has been painted black over the original color of green.

id say scotty was onto something then. the best method would be to sand with 220-320 paper, lay a couple coats of sandable primer then water block with 400-600, seal and paint.
i think most of us are just trying to advise you on the unknowns that are common with body/paint work. i personally prefer restoration jobs but sometimes i do quick resprays. its the painters job to give the info but in the end its the owners choice how its done.

I bought a small blaster that looks and works kinda like a gravity feed paint gun.Gets those crusty spots clean fast.Less than $30.Works great just make sure you don't blow any moisture out of your airlines.wet sand won't come out.