“How I Painted My 1974 911”

 

This is not necessarily a “How To” story as much as a “How I Did It”.  I may not have done everything right and there are some things I’ll probably do different next time – but most importantly, there will be a next time.  If I wasn’t somewhat happy with the outcome I would never attempt to do this again – it’s way too much work!  Also, there were numerous people on this list who were very helpful – spending much time writing lengthy explanations about how to do this and that.  I’ll give credits to everyone I can think of – forgive me if I forget to name someone --

 

OK, I started with a 1974 Porsche 911 that was originally a Chocolate Brown.  A PO (Previous Owner) decided to have it re-painted Sienna Red several years before I came to own it.  It wasn’t a bad job but it was beginning to show its age.  The clear coat was becoming separated from the color coat on the roof and someone had keyed the left front fender.  Also, the front hood appeared to have been closed with too much luggage in the truck and the paint was cracked in several places.  This area was to prove the most difficult to repair –– but at least there wasn’t any Bondo present!  In addition to the above blemishes, there was numerous chips, scratches and very minor dings. 

 

I wasn’t too crazy about “Sienna Red” to begin with and the above paint problems made be decide to try my hand at painting.

 

Location & Stuff -

I used half of my 2 car garage (20x22 total size) and it worked well except for the side of the 911 closest to the wall – getting back far enough to see well was a problem – now that it’s in the driveway I can see things I missed when buffing and color sanding – but at least the paint looks good in that area.  Also, I used a 15 year old 2hp 20gal compressor which by all accounts was too small.  But it worked well for me without any problems – except I had to shutdown my AC when the compressor started! 

 

Tools and Supplies -

I bought a new Devilbiss HVLP gun for around $150 to use as my quality gun to shoot color and clear.  I also bought an inexpensive Touch-up gun for around $30 and a $70 standard Pressure/Suction gun from Home Depot to shoot the primer.  I used the gun on some small projects to familiarize myself with spray painting – all the guns worked well.

 

The Paint Supplier -

I also got to know the guy at the local auto parts store that sells PPG paint – he was very helpful and I went in several times before buying the paint so he’d know me if I called with a question.  I bought the HVLP gun from him and told him what I planned to do.  I can’t overemphasize how important it is to have someone who sells the paint on the phone answering questions.  Also some professional painters on the list provided a huge amount of information.  But before you start painting, get to know the “Paint Guy” at the local auto parts store – it won’t be a AutoZone or Advanced Auto – you’re looking for (possibly) a NAPA or a older store not part of a chain who provides paint supplies to the body shops in the area.  This store sells paint to a lot of body shops in the area.  My “guy” helped me select the most compatible paint products along with the proper sanding supplies, paint stripping supplies, cleaners, etc.  He also assured me that the PPG Omni AU was the most user friendly system of paints he knew of and if I followed the directions I’d end up with a nice paint job -- and he was right.

 

Safety -

I also bought a respirator with a full face shield – it seals against my face and I didn’t smell any paint odors when I was shooting the nasty stuff – the color and clear are the worst – I didn’t want any in my lungs or eyes.  It comes with disposable cartridges that screw into the face and it also uses tear-offs that have tabs allowing the clear cover to be removed in a second – even while painting.  I bought it and other stuff from www.AutoBodyToolMart.com  Because they have a great selection and very good prices, I also bought Rage Filler, Evercoat Filler (so I could see which works the easiest for me) along with various other supplies.

 

Instructions -

I also bought a couple of videos that tell how to paint cars.  One from Eastwood and another from somewhere I don’t recall.  They both showed a lot of great techniques and  “seeing” really shows better than a thousand words would.

 

 

Now to begin -

First step:  Clean the car – I did this numerous times at various times.  I used DX330 to wipe the surface several times followed by a wipe down with a clean cloth.  BTW, I bought a “Box of Rags” from the Paint Dept at Home Depot – for $20 you get a lot of paper rags that pull easily from the box.  And you’ll need a lot of rags.  Consider buying a package of red or white rags from Costco or Walmart cause you’ll be cleaning things often.

 

Disassembly -

Next I started disassembling the car.  Since I was replacing the headliner I removed all the glass – don’t know if I’ll do the same again, not sure.  One very important thing – buy some boxes of zip-lock baggies in various sizes to hold the parts that come off – then store everything together so you’ll find things when the time comes – I’m still looking for a few things! ;-)

 

Getting close to sanding – but before you start sanding, clean the car again – I used the DX330 again and again and just before I started sanding I wiped the car down with Lacquer Thinner, twice.. 

 

Sanding Supplies & Sanding -

I made some sanding blocks out of several things like: Pipe Insulation, a child’s Styrofoam pool toy cut to the right size and some pieces of packing that looked the right size, shape and density.  I started with 150# paper and went over the whole car – before moving to 320# and finally 400#.  It didn’t take long to type, but it took a looooong time to do!  I did use a palm sander in places, but being a novice I was concerning about sanding too deep in one spot and then having something I’d have to repair.  Perhaps someone with more experience could use more power tools but I was cautious and I didn’t create any problems.  Also, the 911 has so few really flat panels I wanted to be sure the paper was against the paint properly.

 

Getting Ready To Prime -

After going over the whole car with 400# sandpaper I was ready to spray the primer/filler/sealer – there’s a variety of different products available and I’ll leave it to you to research the different ones and decide what’s right for you.  I used Kondar, another PPG product that I confirmed was compatible with the “PPG Omni AU” system I planned to use. 

 

I  wiped the car completely with DX330 before wiping it down with Lacquer Thinner followed by a wipe down with a tack cloth.   Finally, I used the air gun to blow down the car completely – going around the car several times – this is a critical step – especially during the color and clear coats – and you’ll be amazed how much stuff comes out from all the cracks and crevices.

 

Practice and Gun Setup -

Spend some time and spray some paint on a piece of scrap to make sure the gun is adjusted properly.  The spray should look be a vertical bar with a bulge in the middle.  There should be 2 adjusting knobs on the gun – one will adjust the spray pattern mentioned above and another which will allow you to adjust how far the trigger is pulled before paint comes out of the gun.  When the trigger is 1st pulled only air comes out, then as the stroke continues the paint will start – the 2nd knob determines how far the trigger is pulled before paint material comes out.

 

Trial Run -

Also, make a trial paint job on the car so you can plan how to move from area to area – start in the center of the roof and work toward you, then move to the other side of the car and start in the center again and work toward the side windows.  Next the front or rear hood, the fenders and continue working around and down – being mindful of where the hose is at all times – even when working with primer you don’t want to create errors to fix.  After your fake paint job you’ll know where to go 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc – you should be on automatic when you’re shooting paint.  It’s important to think the paint job through from beginning to end – and only then start putting real paint on the car.

 

Mixing Primer -

Now, mix the paint *exactly* as shown on the paint can label – precision is needed to get consistant results that will accept the color and clear coats without problems.  Use a strainer to make sure the paint is clean and will not clog the gun at a critical time – the opening in the gun is only about 1.5mm in diameter.  Also, use a mixing container – you should get free mixing sticks, strainers and mixing containers when you buy paint.  Also, depending on the Primer you select, you may need to use a additive to match the temperature.  But you can go too – if mixed incorrectly your primer might dry while it’s still in the gun!  Ask your new friend at the paint supply shop – he can be a huge help.

 

Keep the gun around 8”  from the surface and perpendicular to the surface of the car – if the gun is swung back and forth with the gun moving away at each end of the pass, you’ll get an uneven application – heavy in the middle, light on each end.   This can be a real trick with a low car like the 911.

 

You may want to consider buying some wheel stands with casters to make moving the car around the garage easier – it also raises the car 8” or so to make it easier to get under the rockers, etc.

 

Next comes the primer painting – it’s kind of anti-climatic after doing days/weeks/months or preparation work and then apply a coat of primer in a few minutes!  But if your prep and planning are done correctly, that’s the way it should be – a non-event.

 

Next comes one of the most unpleasant parts to me – cleaning the gun.  I use Lacquer Thinner and lots of cloth rags along with a “Paint Gun Cleaning Kit” I bought from the auto-body-shop mentioned above.   Cleanliness is critical – the next time you use that particular gun you don’t want gray primer to come out with Canary Yellow when you decide to paint the kitchen cabinets!  Which is another advantage of having several guns with a gun for each step. 

 

After applying the primer paint it was time to start sanding again.  Smooth is what you’re after here and it’ll take a lot of time to get perfect.  Now’s the time to take as long as needed to fix any blemishes.  Starting with 220 and going to 400 max, start sanding again – you want the primer surface to be as smooth and as perfect as possible because any imperfection will be magnified big time!  Don’t go over 400 with the sand paper because the color coat needs something to ‘bite’ onto.  Also, you may want to invest in some sanding boards that same autobody place will have them – I bought a 11” long board is good for large flat areas. 

 

You’ll likely sand thru to the color below – and it’ll probably happen in several places – plan on shooting the whole car with primer again – then start the sanding again.  The better the substrate is, the better the final paint will look.

 

Ok, you’ve spent weeks sanding the car, have re-shot the primer again and sanded it again – you’ve also done any repairs needed.  If there are any minor surface blems, you will want to use a “Light Body Filler” but not the stuff in the tube – get a can of it as the stuff in the can lasts longer I’m told.

 

The Color & Clear Coats -

Now it’s time for the color and clear coat – again, mixing the ingredients is critical to ending up with a decent paint job.  The current Color/Clear coat systems are very forgiving – but mix it properly with the proper materials – use the same “family” of ingredients.

 

Now, for the color and clear now that the sanding is done, you have your respirator on, the compressor tank is full, the paint is mixed and in the gun – you’ve already done your practice run so you know where you’ll go 1st, 2nd, etc.  and you’re ready to start laying down the color and clear.  No big deal here except to be aware of the time requirements between coats.  Also, the time between color and clear has a time limit also – what I used had a max of 24 hours – if more time passes you may need another coat of color.  No need to sand between the color and clear although some procedures I’ve read say to sand between some products but what I used it said it wasn’t needed. 

 

After the clear has cured – some say to wait 4 weeks but my paint guy said 2 was fine.  Now it’s time to start the color sanding.  This is the ultimate wet sanding  and you should add some detergent to the water to make the sandpaper glide smoothly across the surface.  Start with at least 1000# paper (after you gain experience you may get brave and start with 800) and gradually sand the surface in 1’ square sections taking the high spots of the orange peels off – don’t worry, even the best will have *some* orange peel – and as the 1000# does its job move to 1500 followed by 2000#.  Keep the surface wet and always use a backing pad – never just your hand – and soon you’ll have a non-glossy surface.  Do the whole car before moving to the next step although I went ahead and did the full color sanding/buffing 1 & 2 and polishing 3 over the whole car to satisfy my worry that the car was going to look terrible and never improve!  Anyway – you get the picture – sand with 1000#, then 1500#, then 2000# before moving to polishing and buffing.  Try to buy the different grades of paper in quantity – you’ll be tempted to stretch the paper but that’s a mistake, fresh paper works much better.

 

 

Buffing and polishing - 

One of my photos shows the 3 products I used with the numbers indicating the order to use them.  I have a Ryobi grinder I used on my boat that had an adapter to allow velcro sided buffing pads to be attached – I would never attempt to buff/polish without a power buffer.  I’ll post a photo of the other buffing supplies I used.  I bought polishing/buffing pads at Griots as well as a couple of places on the web – and the store I bought my paint from.  There are other brands but I used 3M and I think it worked well.  Actually you’ll be amazed at the difference the polishing and buffing will do.  But it’s not time for waxing yet – I was told to wait at least 2 months for all the paint to cure from the inside-out.

 

And that’s IT!  ;-D

 

Sources/Credits/Other Stuff.

People who provided paint info – some used screen names –sorry if I don’t have the real name – in no particular order:

Dan Metz, Jay Cohen, Ron Madiao, Jeff Roberts, Robert Ziino, Jan Skilbinski, Thom Fitzpatrick, Thomas Sollars, Dan Petchel , Pete Cowper, Rednine (Harold at Bruce’s), Art, Lawrence Bonkoski, Walter Fricke, Doug Anderson, Elmer Mann, Walter Schneider, John Duncan, Sam Gore, Art Guilfoil, John Duncan, Bud Osbourne, Dennis Kalma, and probably others.

 

Special Mention – Jan Skilbinski who came by and used my MIG machine to repair the front windshield flanges that had rusted at each lower corner and who came by to help me (actually, *he* did most of the work) install the front and rear windshields.

 

Sources of some stuff I bought: (again, no particular order)

Griots Garage (www.griotsgarage.com)

AutoBody Shop (www.autobodytoolmart.com)

Staples Auto Parts, Colonial Heights, Va. – PPG Paints, Devilbiss Paint Gun, etc.

PPG Paints    (www.ppg.com) source of MSDS sheets, product data sheets, etc.

Replacement Cartridges for my Respirator (http://www.lifesafety.com/shop/product_info.php/products_id/110)

Tapes, adhesives, etc - http://www.rshughes.com/

 

The End (Almost)

This will be a work in progress as I recall more stuff to include or try to answer questions from people.  We’ll call this “Rev. 0. 7/1/04”.