Porsche respray

[Maverick73]

Evening

Anyone got any idea how much it will cost to repair a scratch (not too deep) on the door panel of a 997 (basalt black)? I will be calling the OPC tomorrow (naturally, trousers down, ready and waiting) but would like to know how painful the experience is going to be? The scratch is not too deep but quite long (20cms) (not keyed but the damage from a handlebar of a push bike!)

Thanks

Maverick

[sambaman]

im afraid its not just the point of repainting the scratch..it will be into a panel or maybe 2 i would expect........

[Pickled Piper]

Difficult to say without seeing it. However, based on my recent experiences with a Porsche approved body shop I would suggest the following; if it can be polished out then about 1 hours labour (£55 to 100). If it requires respray of the door and blending into adjacent panels then you are probably looking at anything up to £500.

Sorry to be so vague.

pp

[off your marks]

can you feel it with the fingernail? is it confined to the clear coat or gone throught to the base?

you would be surprised how effective corrective polishing can be done properly and cheaper than OPC

kind regards

Matthew

[Maverick73]

It can be felt by a fingernail for sure - guess its sounds like a full respray. Kid's parents will not be contributing to the cost so looks like it will be a very painful experience.

Thanks

[Anatol]

Basalt black is not a difficult colour to match or blend. Unless the scratch is essentially the full panel, pushing into adjoining areas should not be necessary.

Pricing need not be quite so frightening either - we are repairing a 5" vertical scratch just to the front of the doorhandle on a basalt black Cayman this Saturday coming - the customer will be invoiced under £200.

As always with paintwork, go with local recommendation for the quality of the work of the actual tech who will be completing your repair, check customer charter and warranty details carefully and (although I'm obviously biased!), compentent independents don't have the overheads of franchised main dealer premises and can usually pass on significant savings for the same quality of work.

HTH

Tol

[pete.g]

I have repaired a scratch myself using a touch up paint mixed by Halfords (Seal Grey)! You get a little pen which has a nib at one end and a very fine brush at the other. I built up three layers of paint using the brush so it was proud of the clear coat, rubbed it back with 2000 grade wet and dry and soapy water, masked it off and put on two coats of clear lacquer, which I then rubbed down with a rubbing compound and waxed as normal with Zymol Carbon. You really cannot see where it was. Total cost was about £20.

Not sure it would work on a very long scratch

[Anatol]

The downside with a flatted coat of paint is that with any effect finish (metallic, mica or combination), the flakes of aluminium or pearl are by far the largest particles in the finish. As a result, the flatting process is very likely to pull them out of the top of the paint layer, leaving a filled scratch where the top surface has less sparkle and more tinted binder than the surrounding area. The process is excellent for flat colours, but the coarser the particulate matter in the touch-in, the worse it can look.

In addition, if the filled scratch isn't done very smoothly and evenly, and only just proud of the good surface, the flatting process, even with a small block, can rub through the original clearcoat either side, causing a much bigger problem.

That's not to say it can't work - some businesses offer only this sort of "sprayless scratch repair" and stay afloat with it. But for the DIY repairer, only for the brave (and steady of hand!).

HTH

Tol

[Maverick73]

Anatol

Thanks for that - do you have contact details/website? My local OPC has not got back to me yet and it appears they outsource to a bodyshop anyway.

[Maverick73]

Porsche are unsurprisingly saying it is likely to need blending with the other panels as the 20cm is too long to do anything but. The initial quote was £2k over the phone, but when I said it would not be put through insurance it might be a bit cheaper!

[pete.g]

You could try your local Chipsaway - which is a franchise operation. They match the paint and spray over scratches and scuffs for around £100 a panel - if they'll let you watch them do a car you'll get an idea of the quality.

I know for a fact that the local guy here does all the work for a multi franchise operation and works regularly on tidying up Ferraris, Maseratis, Bentleys and Astons. Most dealers use these sort of sevices - paintless dent removal, bumper scuff repair and scratch repair prior to retailing a car.