**HELP**'01 Boxster option P69 sport design interior
 

I have an '01 Boxster with option #P-69, the sport design interior. In addition to the diamond pattern leather on the door panels. lower console and dash, the seat backs, rollbars, dash surround, map pocket flaps, center console, etc, are painted a textured grey with flecks of black, dark grey and light grey. It's quite unusual, is a factory option and quite attractive.......here's the problem. I have a few rub marks on the seatbacks where the paint has been rubbed off. I went to a number of automotive body shop paint suppliers with my interior code (AW) and the option code (P-69) in an attempt to get some matching paint mixed in order to wet sand, featheredge, and repair the rub mark. No automotive paint supplier has the paint or a reference to mix it. I went to my dealer, gave them all the codes and my VIN and they said they have no way or order the paint...then went to their body shop with the same information and got the same result. I called Porsche North America with the same information and they were no help. My dealer's solution was to order a whole new seatback for $450.00 (part # 986-521-303-11) since it is available pre-painted. Surely an OEM subcontracter or Porsche themselves paint these parts, and SOMEWHERE the information exists. Can anyone help or has anyone else encountered this problem?

Any very qualified paint shop should be able to photograph the paint with a special camera and duplicate the color. Almost every paint you see on a car is a variant of a commonly used base paint, matching that color close enough to never see that it has been matched should be an easy task. The flects are the issue but even that effect should not be insurmountable for a good paint shop, just expensive.

My car has that option. I searched far and wide to find it and finally found my particular car in Dallas. It eventually picked up a few nicks and wear spots and I also found there was no effective way to match the texture. It's really the texture and flecking, not the color that is the problem. In the end, I actually repainted everything rather than try to match the paint.

I wish I had a solution for you John, but instead I can just give you my empathy.

I have some rub marks around the door handle that I'd love to cover up - but I've relegated that I just have to live with it. I wanna keep the car looking good for a long time - so I now just keep my hands of anything grey!

I showed it to a automotive/harley graphics painter yesterday, and he said that if I left him a part he would play with the textures, flecks, and color...... it would be trial and error, but he thinks he can do it. If he's successful, I'm going to have him mix me a quart of it........otherwise I'll have to break down and buy a new seat back.....seem ridiculous though, as I'm sure other parts will need touch up or refinish over time. I have restored a lot of cars over the years, and when I lived in Dallas there was a company named Ellis Color off of I35 and Walnut hill that had the color books and formulas back to 1946 including the interior colors.............but any foreign car was always a custom mix if more than 20 or 30 years old.

That's great if he can match it. Good luck!