Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Lo,

I did a bit of stone chip touch up etc on the car having purchased some paint in a small pot from a popular local trade type paint shop. The bits I touched in on the back of a wing mirror are a terrible match in my opinion. Now I know the paint is 20 odd years old and can't be identical but I'm wondering how to do better matching the only small piece of the car I have to repair and spray ( about 3" of the infamous front wing corner on one side).

Is it likely that the paint looked such a bad match because it was only brushed on , or is it likely that the paint I purchsed was just a very poor copy of the original colour or the car is just aged and theres no way round it.

I am happy to try a different supplier but obviously dont know if this will make a blind bit if difference. The lower wing corner is so out of sight that to be honest it's hard to spot even in the current silver primer ! , so im not to sure it will matter. however I want to re do the two wing mirrors as well as they are quite chipped and would like these to be a good match to the car. Any advice / experiences would be appreciated.

Regards Mas

From experience silver is an absolute pig to get right, usually the older the tougher. I think the laquer has a serious affect in how the paint appears. With a touch up stick you dont really get the laquer just the base coat.

I would try and find an official Porsche Paint touch up (usually £12 ish) as if the colour was mixed from records or non official you just dont know how far away from original it could be.

I would also clay bar the paint touch up back to flat so there is no difference in height (if that makes sense) polish, wax and see what it looks like with the Porsche paint.

After that at least you know you can do no more.

Thanks for the reply , I think I need to get one of these ' clay bars' I keep reading re them and have never seen one I must confess.

I did wonder re the laquer but to be honest dismissed it as not a major factor thinking well it is 'clear' (ish) but now you have me wondering on that score. Maybe the combination of it being spray as opposed to brushed tough up plus the coats of laquer will make a much better match. I have now ordered an aerosol from a different supplier as I think it will be handy anyway and I will see how it all looks with several coats plus laquer. I will probably take up your suggestion of getting a touch up stick direct from Porsche in the near too.

Cheers Mas

There will almost certainly be more than one shade of Zermatt Silver, so if you are just going off the colour code, the chances of hitting the correct shade are very slim. You need to take the car to the paint supplier and use their colour chips to determine which shade is closest to your car.

This is before you start considering the effects of age on the paint too.

You also need to make sure that the area you are going to paint is as clean as it can be.

Clay bar and polish with paint cleaner/restorer (not T Cut) is a must to remove as much oxidisation as possible.

If you go to the local paint factor they'll mix up a can after colour charting your car.

Ta, I'll put all that lot together and try and do as good a job as poss !

Mas

What is this clay bar stuff? Any tips on where to get, how to use?

Sssshhhhh, it's secret...........oh well,
You can get it pretty much anywhere (well, Halfrauds sell it). Just get a clay bar kit. You'll need to warm up the clay (a bit like plasticene), flatten it out, spray a bit of detailer on the vehicle a bit at a time and GENTLY rub over with the clay.
You'll see the clay getting dirtier as it removes all the surface imperfections - all those gritty bits you feel when gently rubbing your fingers over the paintwork. When you've done a bit, rub your fingers over it now and all those gritty bits will be gone.

Try it, you'll be surprised with the results - I was. I personally use Meguiars, but I'm sure the others are fine.

I clay once a year (no more is necessary), then polish (pretty much once), but primarily make sure it has been waxed.

Thanks Graham, the secrets safe with me!
I will purchase and try it out.
Regards
Paul

I had the same issue getting a colour match for my 1991 Titan Grey S2, I bought some paint mixed in a tin not a stick from a company that is supposed to be able to match any paint code and it was far too dark. So I bought some from Porscheshop again about £14 and this was completely wrong so now I have made up my own by lightening the darkerr version with some alloy wheel touch up paint I got some time ago which has many different shades of silver and also courseness of the silver from fine to course. This seems a better match but not perfect, yet the bodyshop that did some paint work on my car got it dead right I wish I had asked for a small sample when I collected it but forgot to ask.

Just an update in case anyones interested/of use. My hunch that the paint shop didnt provide a very good match was right. I tried an online paint supplier in St Helens and the aerosol they sold me for 11 quid delivered was an excellent match once some laquer was on. I would highly recommend them on quality and price and will use them in future.

Cheers Mas