I have a bit of a dilema with my newest '73 914. Awful lot of small paint chips and and 2 small dents (that drive me nuts). The car has original Sambesi green pain which is getting dull. Do I do re-spray or keep it as is? And... your estimates for a re-spray?
Should be an easy job for a shop.

Thanks

It's Zambezi Green.....

They are only original paint once. You can paint it anytime but can never get back original paint. The older they get, the fewer there are of cars like yours and mine. Wear that original paint like a badge of honor, even if it’s not perfect. You’ve got what most will never have... an original paint 914. Keep it that way. I call the imperfections true patina.

Talk to a pdr guy for the dents. The pdr guy might know someone who can fix the chips/paint correction. Or vise versa.

I agree, keep it original!

Pictures of your car look pretty good.
I agree, original as long as possible.

Some professional detailers are very good at fixing paint imperfections. Don't be afraid to spend substantial $$ for paint rejuvenation; it will still be much cheaper than a respray and better quality.

The pdr and paint correction guys that come in to work on the cars at our shop are like magicians. Worth every penny.

A good detail shop can do the paintless dent removal, touch up the chips, and polish it. Maybe $600 or so.

A repaint of just the exterior (assuming the jambs and trunks are in good condition) will still require a lot of disassembly, at least blocking out the original paint if not completely removing it, epoxy, dent repair, high build, blocking, sealer, color. I'd count on $1500 for materials (sand paper, paints, reducers, hardners, masking supplies, filler, expendables) and 60 hours of labor ($100/hour?).

Did I miss the pictures? Please re-send....thank you.
gg

If you get it let me know when but I can show you how to cut and buff, and some paint repair. Just give me some heads up.

From another thread ...



... you found the best 914 forum in the 'World'

The car looks pretty good from the photo.
I agree with keeping the original paint. If the chips and small dents bother you to the point of not fully enjoying the car, then you should take care of them. A dent repair guy should be able to take care of de dents depending on the location, and a body shop should be able to take care of the chips and buffing the whole car. If the paint is too dull, the body shop can do a light wet sanding and preserve the original paint. All this will cost a lot less than repainting the car.
Good luck and show us some photos after it is done.
Bill.

I agree with the Paintless Dent recommendation. I would have them go around the car and see what they can do for any dents and then give it a nice light cut and polish. Is the passenger side as nice as the driver's?

I would start by contacting a very good dent man (we have a good one we call in this situation) and have him work on the car to remove every dent. These guys perform miracles many times.
If the guy can accomplish this feat, then leave the original paint as the car is mufh more valuable untampered with . A repaint for a car now as valuable as a 914 is at least 15 thousand by the time everything is said and done, and if not done properly, the car will be ruined and be worth much less than before it was painted.

I proposed this same question a few years back and the consensus was overwhelmingly "it's only original once"

PDR guys are magic, do that as the 1st step and if nothing it will put you ahead should you decide to go for a repaint. Quality paint jobs aren't cheap, on the west coast a decent paint job can easily hit $10-20k depending on the shop and level of effort.

The good doctor and Eric are right on the money. I think you get what you pay for in paint jobs. Here in CA, you can get some 24-hour paint job at Miracle Auto Painting and the likes for $1K plus.

Or if you just have the exterior shot, no color change and absolutely minimal body work -forget panel replacement or rust repair, for $10-12K. Looking at the color of your car, a very desirable color IMHO, I would hope all of your door jambs, trunks and engine compartment are fine and if you decided to paint, all you would need is the exterior.

Of course, if you were to pull the car apart as much as you are able or comfortable, bumpers, emblems, lights, trim, door handles, etc., it drops the costs. These cars really do come apart pretty easy. Just take a ton of photos, tag and bag everything with good notes to make reassembly easy when the time comes. Documentation will make it much easier.

You have a nice car there and I am sure whatever you do will enhance the value and quality of the car. Just take your time and be patient.

Preservation before Restoration

^ This (not sure if kidding or not).

What a nice car—the pic above indicates it might be nicer than it looks right now, and you're getting great advice—paintless dent wizards can do amazing things, with dents big and small, waves, and far more. After that, a paint correction (today's terminology...) will likely do wonders for this car. I'd go with both of those long before I'd repaint this car, then see where you're at.

Having painted my 1973 914 three times now, I can tell you a proper paint job is seriously invasive (so much has to be dissembled, which is easy...assembly—done right—isn't). And there's only one way with paint, and that's the right way—which isn't for the faint of heart. And original survivors > restored cars, and this 2.0 is not only in a desirable color but looks like it will respond very well to a sympathetic restoration.

The money you'll save by not painting the car will help you track down correct original bits like mirrors, etc. Your wheels and other bits look really nice. I think you'll be amazed by what a very talented detailer can do with this car.

I agree with the suggestions of a PDR and detail.

You will be amazed at the difference.
My car was heavily oxidized when I bought it and it has paint chips everywhere. Something was spilled on the trunk and etched the paint. All in all it isn't worth a professional detail/paint correction but I took a buffing wheel to it myself and the change was much better than expected. Here is a shot after I buffed one side of the trunk. The entire car looked like the right side of the trunk when I picked it up.

Click to view attachment

This is how it looks now.


Click to view attachment

Totally serious, chalk it up to incorrect use of emoji!

The old proverbial "that'll buff out" phrase applies here

What won't buff out is a case of failed clearcoat, such as I had with my teener. Single stage paint is more likely to respond well to a good buffing job, but clearcoat usually is applied over a metallic base and has to be completely removed, and that is not easily accomplished. My repaint was only exterior, in original color, and I doubt it substantially reduced the value of my "original" survivor 1973. And even if it did I don't care, my car is a driver, not a concours queen.