Type of Paint

[texomawaves]

Is it lacquer or basecoat/clearcoat? I can't really tell. I'm going to have my front bumper repainted (and a few small scratches) and want to make sure not only the color is matched perfectly, but the type of paint is matched as well.

[Lobo1186]

i think it may be a clearcoat... but not sure. however, depending on the color of your paint will be the effectiveness of your color match. especially those little touchups. if you are using touchup paint and you have a light color (ie silver) use less and work it up to the right shade.

[texomawaves]

I'll be having the bumper painted by a professional. Just wondering if it's lacquer.

[Lobo1186]

the latter was refering to ur scratches but if those are pro work too then nvm and hopefully it comes out perfect!

[blue2000s]

I'm sure Porsche uses a urethane based paint like everyone else. They would be using a clear coat over base coat. If you get it done by a competent professional, they should know what to use. Repainting the bumper should run about $500 at the low end for a good job.

[texomawaves]

I was quoted $435 to repaint the bumper at a custom paint shop. They use the polyurethane basecoat/clearcoat which includes having them remove the headlamp assemblies before they paint. I figured I should find out if Porsche uses this or lacquer. I'm sure that if there is a difference in appearance I would be able to tell (like a door repainted), but maybe it won't be noticeable just doing the bumper.

I also had quotes for the same work as high as $1,100. Some of the larger paint and body chains (like Service King) wanted to remove the bumper and charge me labor for that as well which I think is bull**************** (and I told them that) Last thing I'd want to have is a rattle or something else outta wack.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by texomawaves

I was quoted $435 to repaint the bumper at a custom paint shop. They use the polyurethane basecoat/clearcoat which includes having them remove the headlamp assemblies before they paint. I figured I should find out if Porsche uses this or lacquer. I'm sure that if there is a difference in appearance I would be able to tell (like a door repainted), but maybe it won't be noticeable just doing the bumper.

I also had quotes for the same work as high as $1,100. Some of the larger paint and body chains (like Service King) wanted to remove the bumper and charge me labor for that as well which I think is bull**************** (and I told them that) Last thing I'd want to have is a rattle or something else outta wack.

Good price.

It's not the paint base that you would notice by looking at the car, it's the color matching. The base will dictate how well the paint holds up over time, especially on a bumper with material expansion and contraction. I wouldn't use anything but a urethane on my car.

Color matching is such an art form. If your car is a solid light color, it's easy to match, if it's a metallic or dark, it's much harder. This is why they prefer to "feather" the new paint into the existing paint instead of just painting individual panels. It makes the color mismatch harder to see. Hopefully they've shown you their work so you can tell that they're good at the art form. Now they're not only trying to mix colors to match Porsche's recipe, but they're trying to get it to match what the sun has done to the existing paint over the years.

[texomawaves]

Thanks for the tip blue2000. My Boxster is black. No feathering needed since it's just the bumper. I've already had this place paint my truck hood and the roof of my Accord. Both are also black and they perfectly matched the color. They did a good job on both so I figured I'd let em try my Porsche. My price was discounted since I was a repeat customer. Hopefully they'll fix the scratches perfectly so I'll sleep better at night

[jmatta]

The Porsche factory was featured on "Ultimate Factories" Discovery show or like, and showed the paint process. Base coat is hand painted, water-based urethane with robotic clear coat.

Great show to watch...I'm sure it will be repeated.