First, please verify what you're doing. Is your 986 originally Ocean Jade Metallic or are you changing the color to OJM? For some reason I have your car as red in my mind from when you were a member yrs ago. A color change from red to green is best left to the experts.
Second, my comments on the video... Use a sanding block as it keeps more sand paper on the surface of the car. Then do what I'll call cross-hatching motions - sand from 10 to 4 and 8 to 2 on a clock. Use long, sweeping motions. This keeps the sand paper on the contour of the body, with a 986 having a lot of contours. Going 9 to 3 will create flat spots or troughs.
Now for the tough part. To get a properly prepared surface, you'll need to sand it 4 times. Start with 220, next with 320, again with 400, and finally with a Scotch pad. Each time reduces the amount of scratches with the paint feeling almost "smooth" when the Scotch pad sanding is done. You could probably do the first 2 steps with a dual action sander but the last 2 would be best with sanding block for the 400 and by hand with the pad. When my dad and I were rebuilding wrecked cars in the 70s and early 80s, we didn't have dual action sanders so we did all 4 steps by hand. I haven't done body work since my dad passed away 34 yrs ago, but the basics haven't changed based on what I see on today's TV shows.
If you're changing colors, you'll need to remove all the parts that are attached (doors, hood, etc) so you can get paint on all painted surfaces. This means you'll also need to remove any attached parts too. LOTS of work. You won't have to sand these areas to perfection, but you'll have to rough it up enough so paint will stick.
I would assume a 20+ yr old car would have accumulated a few door dings over the yrs. You'll need to deal with them now, as you don't want to leave them and paint over them. This opens a whole new can of worms - body filler. That's a whole 'nuther set of YT videos.
I'm not trying to scare you out of doing it yourself. Just remember - the prep work is the foundation of a great paint job. It's easy to cut corners but the final result will magnify in a negative way any time "savings". It's not rocket science, it is very labor intensive, but it does require a bit of knowledge to get it right.
__________________
GPRPCA Chief Driving Instructor
2008 Boxster S Limited Edition #005
2008 Cayman S Sport - Signal Green
1989 928 S4 5 spd - black
Last edited by husker boxster; 08-04-2020 at 06:08 AM.
First, please verify what you're doing. Is your 986 originally Ocean Jade Metallic or are you changing the color to OJM? For some reason I have your car as red in my mind from when you were a member yrs ago. A color change from red to green is best left to the experts.
You must be thinking of someone else. I was not a member years ago. I've only recently joined since I bought this car in June.
Mrs. Peel's original paint color is Ocean Jade Metallic. That's what drew me to it. And I understand it's a rare color. So I'm not changing the color, I'm just restoring it.
You and others have convinced me that I don't want to tackle this as a DIY project, not even the prep. I'm just going to shell out the bucks to get it done right by a trustworthy painter. I'm not going to boat bed it.
What does that mean? Years ago I had a boat. That boat had a huge, irregularly shaped bed platform. I tried all sorts of things that were cheap solutions, including cutting my own foam, to put a "mattress" on that bed area. For three years I tried things and had three years of a crappy bed. Finally, I gave up and paid the bucks to had a custom mattress created, 6' wide at the top, curving to 9' wide at the bottom. It fit the space perfectly and I slept like a baby. From then on, when I consider cheapening out on a project to save a few bucks, I remember that I spent a lot more in the long run and had a miserable three years, and should have just sprung for getting it done right the first time.
No boat-betting for Mrs. Peel. I'm just gonna shuck out the big bucks necessary to restore her to her original glory.
My apologies. I have you confused with Porsche Chick who was a member several yrs ago. She had a red 986, then moved up to a red 987.2 and I think on to a 911 from there and stopped participating on this forum. It just made sense to me when you mentioned you found your original 986 that you were Porsche Chick.
So an exterior repaint will not cost you as much as a color change since you won't have to remove a bunch of panels and do a bunch of extra sanding / painting.
My first car was a 70 Mach 1 that was originally an olive green color (similar to Porsche's Peridot). I hated it and wanted to change the color. Dad was fine with that as long as I did all the extra sanding. Was a crap-load of addl work but was glad I did it. That was also the last color change I ever did (that was in 1976).
Before:
We replaced the trunk lid, tail light, qtr corner piece and the bumper. Repaired everything else, including the qtr panel. This pic is when we got it done hrs before my JR prom. We didn't have time to put the Mach 1 decal on the back but it eventually got put on.
__________________
GPRPCA Chief Driving Instructor
2008 Boxster S Limited Edition #005
2008 Cayman S Sport - Signal Green
1989 928 S4 5 spd - black
My apologies. I have you confused with Porsche Chick who was a member several yrs ago. She had a red 986, then moved up to a red 987.2 and I think on to a 911 from there and stopped participating on this forum. It just made sense to me when you mentioned you found your original 986 that you were Porsche Chick.
So an exterior repaint will not cost you as much as a color change since you won't have to remove a bunch of panels and do a bunch of extra sanding / painting.
My first car was a 70 Mach 1 that was originally an olive green color (similar to Porsche's Peridot). I hated it and wanted to change the color. Dad was fine with that as long as I did all the extra sanding. Was a crap-load of addl work but was glad I did it. That was also the last color change I ever did (that was in 1976).
Before:
We replaced the trunk lid, tail light, qtr corner piece and the bumper. Repaired everything else, including the qtr panel. This pic is when we got it done hrs before my JR prom. We didn't have time to put the Mach 1 decal on the back but it eventually got put on.
Ah, the wonderful energy of youth, eh husker?
Though I was much older than you when you did your work on the Mustang (hat's off to you, btw—a nice repair following a ton of elbow grease!), I was enough younger when I picked up the Boxster (2006) that I was constantly detailing her. Washing, claying, sometimes polishing, prewax prepping, sealing/waxing (sometimes BOTH), treating the vinyl back window, wheel care, etc etc. Would be nice to still have that energy!
First, please verify what you're doing. Is your 986 originally Ocean Jade Metallic or are you changing the color to OJM? For some reason I have your car as red in my mind from when you were a member yrs ago. A color change from red to green is best left to the experts.
Second, my comments on the video... Use a sanding block as it keeps more sand paper on the surface of the car. Then do what I'll call cross-hatching motions - sand from 10 to 4 and 8 to 2 on a clock. Use long, sweeping motions. This keeps the sand paper on the contour of the body, with a 986 having a lot of contours. Going 9 to 3 will create flat spots or troughs.
Now for the tough part. To get a properly prepared surface, you'll need to sand it 4 times. Start with 220, next with 320, again with 400, and finally with a Scotch pad. Each time reduces the amount of scratches with the paint feeling almost "smooth" when the Scotch pad sanding is done. You could probably do the first 2 steps with a dual action sander but the last 2 would be best with sanding block for the 400 and by hand with the pad. When my dad and I were rebuilding wrecked cars in the 70s and early 80s, we didn't have dual action sanders so we did all 4 steps by hand. I haven't done body work since my dad passed away 34 yrs ago, but the basics haven't changed based on what I see on today's TV shows.
If you're changing colors, you'll need to remove all the parts that are attached (doors, hood, etc) so you can get paint on all painted surfaces. This means you'll also need to remove any attached parts too. LOTS of work. You won't have to sand these areas to perfection, but you'll have to rough it up enough so paint will stick.
I would assume a 20+ yr old car would have accumulated a few door dings over the yrs. You'll need to deal with them now, as you don't want to leave them and paint over them. This opens a whole new can of worms - body filler. That's a whole 'nuther set of YT videos.
I'm not trying to scare you out of doing it yourself. Just remember - the prep work is the foundation of a great paint job. It's easy to cut corners but the final result will magnify in a negative way any time "savings". It's not rocket science, it is very labor intensive, but it does require a bit of knowledge to get it right.
I don't think she's looking for a concourse car. Just a simple re-spray on a $5000 car. No reason to shell out $3000 on a car worth just that.
FWIW I think a wee bit of wet sanding and a $1000 Maaco re-spray and the OP will be right as rain.
I don't think she's looking for a concourse car. Just a simple re-spray on a $5000 car. No reason to shell out $3000 on a car worth just that.
FWIW I think a wee bit of wet sanding and a $1000 Maaco re-spray and the OP will be right as rain.
I think maybe something in between Maaco and a Concours car. This 21-year old car is in great mechanical condition, with only 50,000 original miles on it. And as soon as I got it I replaced the clutch, the rear axle, convertible top, and a few other things because they had wear. My goal is to make it look and run brand new. It already runs like new.
Now I'm past repairs (for now) and the things I'm trying to fix are cosmetic, such as:
Paint
Restore worn leather seats
Re-wrap steering wheel with leather threading the same color as the exterior paint
Find or make floor mats with Boxster logo and piping the same color as the exterior paint
When the tires are worn, replace wheels with 18" more aggressive wheels
Then make a couple basic improvements:
Heavy duty brakes
Change exhaust for tone and HP
Short throw shifter
Maybe upgrade headlamps
So, this is just part of a project. I'm going to be spending more than the car is worth, anyway, and I'm okay with that. I plan on keeping this car for a long time. And I'd like to be able to show it off now and then. I'm not going to pay $15,000 for new paint, but I'll pay $3,000-$4,000.
I think maybe something in between Maaco and a Concours car. This 21-year old car is in great mechanical condition, with only 50,000 original miles on it. And as soon as I got it I replaced the clutch, the rear axle, convertible top, and a few other things because they had wear. My goal is to make it look and run brand new. It already runs like new.
Now I'm past repairs (for now) and the things I'm trying to fix are cosmetic, such as:
Paint
Restore worn leather seats
Re-wrap steering wheel with leather threading the same color as the exterior paint
Find or make floor mats with Boxster logo and piping the same color as the exterior paint
When the tires are worn, replace wheels with 18" more aggressive wheels
Then make a couple basic improvements:
Heavy duty brakes
Change exhaust for tone and HP
Short throw shifter
So, this is just part of a project. I'm going to be spending more than the car is worth, anyway, and I'm okay with that. I plan on keeping this car for a long time. And I'd like to be able to show it off now and then. I'm not going to pay $15,000 for new paint, but I'll pay $3,000-$4,000.
Base model?
I just got a set of LLOYD floor mats off ebay. They are REALLY nice little expensive but worth it. ($140)
IDK you've got nothing to loose if you attempt to block it down before paint. I mean they are gonna block it down if you go with a $4000 paint job. Try it out (worst case scenario you get a good arm workout) and post your results here and we can judge you.
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