Painting recommendations
 

I have a '99 Boxster I just bought, and after looking around there's no way I can rescue the paint on it. So I need to repaint it.

What should a good paint job cost in Southern California for this car? I don't want to get ripped off. At the same time, I want a good job. I don't want the paint to start peeling a year later or anything.

And for extra bonus points, do you have a recommendation of a good paint shop in the general L.A./Inland Empire area? I live near the border of L.A. and San Bernardino counties.

Thanks for any advice you can give me. A woman taking a Porsche to a shop is prime hunting grounds for ripoff artists, and I want to avoid being taken advantage of. The more knowledge I have going in, the better.

A good paint job will cost more than your car is worth. You might want to try a Maaco paint job and then have someone do a correction on it.

Like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPWhH8zPo-4

Good luck.

I had a Boxster that got the exterior repainted at $6800, including the prep work, that was done about 4 years ago in the Los Angeles area. It had a terribly faded exterior green color when I bought it. The trim pieces and body panels (clamshell, front and rear hoods, bumpers, doors) off the car when they were prepped and painted. It came out well and for a race car, I was really pleased with it. It's had its fair share of rock chips since then but it's held up really well. Below are a few photos.

Doing a quick search, I think these are also things worth reading. https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/time-is-money

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a27438340/cost-to-paint-car/


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Was quoted 6000 without prep work included at one place and 5500 at another without prep. Took it to TJ for 1200$ and couldn’t be happier. As other people mentioned, they are only painting the main visible parts but I’m good with that.

It does take a little bit longer but no complaints


https://imgur.com/gallery/rexAOrj


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I looked at the photos posted and have a couple quick questions. You went from silver to red and they painted everything (looks fantastic) including the underside of the hood and trunk, then what, you replaced the stock stickers under the truck lid?

Nope! I didn’t even ask and they took care of those parts. I’m pretty sure they only taped over it as they forgot to peel the sticker off the gas tank labels.

Also when I bought the car, all the plastic black trim were silver as well. They made it black without me asking which is what I wanted.

Plan to polish and ceramic coat this weekend.


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If you're painting it the same color, they should charge 25-30% less than Andy's since they wouldn't have to paint door jambs, under hood, etc that is required with a color change. Those are the items that take a lot of time (=$$$) to sand and prep for paint.

My knowledge of MAACO is OLLLD (like me), but based on what I know about them, I would stay away. I don't believe they do much prep work, so 2-3 yrs from now your nice paint will be flaking off. Speed work NEVER equals quality when it comes to body work / paint. Once again, MAACO may have changed but I would be very hesitant to have them do anything.

Not sure I'd recommend going to TJ by yourself or even at all. I'm sure they'd do a decent or good job, but you'd have bigger brass ones than me if you did. :eek:

it ain’t that bad! I don’t even speak or look Spanish. Had a wonderful meal 2 blocks away at Caesars, and walked back to the border through the main downtown street that’s lined with cops. Driving back with a red Porsche does stick out but there were a bunch of new fancy cars as well.

https://yelp.to/qTKq/MllV3ImVx8

I forgot to mention, if you pay them more they will take everything apart and paint every nook. Just not something I care for. There’s a place I was researching that has brought a bunch of cars to SEMA for their clients but that was way too far with similar prices.


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Yeah, even though I might get a great deal in Tijuana, as a woman I'm not comfortable with that adventure. Ima stick with the Mexicans here in L.A. :D

My mechanic is Mexican (or of Mexican heritage) and races Porsches in Mexico, including racing a Porsche in the grueling Baja 1000, and if he recommends someone he has a personal relationship I might take the chance. But otherwise, for a single woman such an adventure isn't worth the risk.

Maybe ask your mechanic if he knows of a good shop in TJ . Throw him $200.00 to be the middle man , assuming you trust him .

+1..


Perhaps offer your mechanic a bit more than $200 just for the pain that you have to endure getting back across the border..


As a 'certified beaner' I would acknowledge that TJ has great tacos and you can find awesome Tequila deals for brands that you cannot usually get in the USA, like the 3 liter '7 Leguas' for a bit over $100 :-)

PS: Sorry but I have to brag as '7 Leguas' is considered one of the best tequilas in México

All this talk of body work keeps reminding me of why I'm doing the paint/body myself. I mean $200 for being a middle man?!?! that's half of the money I have in paint alone. I know I won't have a SEMA ready paint job, but i'd say its a $1500-2000 job???


Paint and body is grueling, annoying, tedious, and slightly terrifying* work. So I guess that's why it comes with such an outrageous price tag.

* terrifying because if you do something wrong with the clear... you know you've gotta do it all again.

If you take the car to a good paint shop probably you`ll be charged for more than your car`s value, as pointed out above. And that`s not a rip off, that`s what it costs. But, perhaps you can find somebody on craigslist who can do it for a fraction of an official paint shop`s quote. A few years ago I had to have my motorbike repainted and went to a bike shop. They quoted me for $2500. Then I found this guy on Orange County CL who was working on cars and gave me o quote for $400. It was a bit sketchy, because I`ve never seen his shop, and he just disappeared with my vintage Honda parts worth way more than $500, but he probably didn`t know that. He eventually came back with the parts and he made a decent job. I know it`s risky, but maybe a bit less risky than taking the car to Tijuana...

I'm repainting mine right now. Almost done as i'm doing it panel by panel. I have $2000+ in high quality materials which included a few redo's and 3 coats of clear.

AzLvr...what brand of paint/clear are you using, I may have to do the same.?? Thanks frank

RM Diamont which is a sister to Glasurit and has very close color match at around $250qt. Clear is Tamco Euro high solids 2104 at $175 gal kit that you can buy direct, 3 coats. A lot of people luv Tamco.

EuroChem is a good starter paint. You can hammer on the clear and its really forgiving. Cheap too. A single car kit of HS paint is about $400. Which is pretty average.

BUT I feel like EuroChem is kind of a soft paint. It takes forever to fully cure IMPO.


I like the Limco finish I'm using on my box. I sprayed my RX7 with it and I can attest to the LC4000 limco clear being some tough stuff. I can almost hose my car off with gasoline. LOL Also about 4 years on that paint job and I've only really needed to buff it once.

Limco is a great DIY'er brand...decent quality.

I've used it many times - very reasonably priced. I just did my son's A4...front fenders, rear quarters, trunk, hood and front bumper cover. $400 in materials. BC/CC x3 each. Wet sanded and buffed. Brilliant black...such an awesome colour when shiny.

The major cost for a paint job is the labour to prep for paint.

Options:

If you ask around I'm sure you can find a painter who works for cash on the side and will produce a great result. Check with a custom shop who works on cool muscle cars...they'll know someone.

I've also seen Maaco jobs turn out decent, with a wet sand and buff. Remember, you can pre-sand your car for Maaco and ensure decent prep has been done, and remove parts for them. I assume if you're in the south there's no rust to repair, so a pretty easy prep job really. Don't be afraid to tackle it yourself.

By the way, just how bad is your paint? Clear faded/peeling clearcoat? You can fix that quite easily if so. There's 2K clear in rattle can that you can re-clear issues. Works like a charm...kind of like "cut in clear" used for touch ups by the pros.

Post up some pics.

Limco is also part of the BASF family only the next step below. Glasurit, RM, Limco, Norbin. Glasurit clear is about $750 a gallon kit but is good stuff, Tamco is a comparable product using fine German resins at a much lower price from a family owned company.

I might try Tamco next go round. How is the chemical resistance of their clear? That's all I really care about in a paint.


OP: What color are you painting your car? White?? or the dreaded black?? I wouldn't take my car to Maaco for a black paint job; white no problems (you can hide all kinds of mistakes in white finish).