Opinions sought on single stage or base/clear? I know base/clear is probably the way to go but will it have any impact on value compared to a more original restoration using high quality single stage?

Is there such a thing as high quality single stage?

I had my car repainted 5 years ago, single stage. I'm hating it ...

If i had to do it again, it would be two stage and 5 coats of clear.
Andy

Basecoat/clearcoat is not necessarily a more expensive paint. Single stage can be put on with another coat or coats of clear. Base coat/clearcoat is a non catalized base coat that is covered with a catalized clear. You mix a reducer with the basecoat to thin it to spraying thickness. You mix a catylast and a reducer with the clear to put over the basecoat. You can apply clearcoats over a singlestage paint to add clear coats if that is what you want. You can sand and buff single stage and then put a clear over it. You can sand a base coat to get dust or runs or sags out but not if it's a metallic. Also there is a timeframe on the clear application over the basecoat. A good brand of single stage, PPG, Dupont, Glasurit, Spies Heckler, all of them will hold up really good if applied correctly. The first part of even a good paint that will go bad is the clearcoat. Clear paint isn't as strong as the pigment in colored paint.

Really you should be asking the paint mfg. this question. AA has the color recipes for the original porsche colors but I'm not sure if they have b/c colors.

My paint store has PPG Deltron and PPG Shopline paint You can get either in singlestage or b/c but the shopline is the cheaper paint. Thats what the usedcar lot guys use. My bodyshop friends will not use anything but the higherpriced paints for custom paint jobs. They say it just takes more coats of the cheaper paints to get the equal thickness of the expensive paint. If the paint film thickness is not thick enough it will burn up in the sun prematurely.

Talk to the shop you choose and let them tell you their ideas on the differences and the time frame they think the paint will last they reccommend. The colors may limit the choices also.

Charlie obviousl;y knows his stuff.

However, are all those options viable under Cal. enviro. standards.??

Yes there is such a thing s high quality single stage but single stage does have it's limitations. Single stage requires much more upkeep to retain it's appearance and it is also much more chip prone. Cheaper yes, cheap............no, if you want good paint. As far as the car retaining value from the paint...it is repainted so it will never be original again. Go with base clear, it costs s bit more but will be just as good loking, holds up better, and is easier to repair if needed. Spies Hecker or Glasurit if you want the best