Originally Posted By: wolfestone
Thanks guys.
It's porsche paint (didn't really consider that may make much of a difference). Sections of the paint need refinishing including the stone guard areas of the quarter panels and fenders, the engine bay, front bumper and small areas here and there.
The car is white and I've been told by a couple of shops that we'd need to paint most of the sides to blend those areas to a good color match. The factory quality also wasn't great at the plant this car was painted; there's quite a bit of dirt in the finish.
I know original paint is more desirable, helps with value etc. but I feel like with all the patches that need attention, I'd be happier with fresh paint over the whole thing. It's going to be a thorough job with all glass, mechanicals and interior removed, and a lot of extra effort put into the finish to get it orange-peel free.
It's interesting to read some of the comments about hardness. I guess what I mean by durability is how well it'll hold up over the long term vs. factory paint. Once the car is restored it's going to be a weekend/fair weather driver in a warm climate. Is it realistic to think that a quality repaint will last as long as factory paint under these conditions?
Horse123 - I'm far from an expert on this but for what it's worth - I had some minor paintwork done on another car, the tailgate had a small ding and the hood had been etched by bird droppings. On both panels, the body shop sanded the clear, fixed and spot painted the damaged paint, then re-cleared the entire hood and tailgate. When they were done it looked perfect.
Some factory paint jobs are indeed desirable and make an excellent base for new paint others are not. A lot of factory finishes base/clear had peeling issues.
Some older GM "Mirror Magic" (just one example) single stage finishes had bad cracking issues when they were just a few years old.
Todays base/clear paints are superior, the one i use is very hard but remains flexible enough to use on bumper covers with no flex additive (it sounds contradictory doesn't it?).
I did a bumper cover 8 years ago that got hit last year, the paint remained intact, no chipping or peeling and the cover took a big hit.
I did one of my own cars 9 years ago, use it only in the summer, it sits outside all summer and the paint looks as good today as it did then. I would say durability is very good.
There are hardly any stone chips even though it sees a lot of highway use, the paint is that durable and resistant to chipping.
I use Dupont Chroma base and Nason (owned by Dupont, its the original Dupont glamor clear). The Nason is cheaper but after shooting the new Glamor clear i still prefer the Nason.