Porsche 944 being restored for my dad

[haris300]

So my father has had this 1983 Porsche 944 sitting around for a while. It's a pretty fun car to drive around town but the exterior looked a bit tired. The single stage paint was severely oxidized, there were tons of etchings from bird droppings, and one of the panels which had been repainted did not match the rest of the car. Aside from a few little paint chips and a missing piece of door trim, the body was still in fairly good shape.

My father got quotes to repaint the car for more than 3 grand, so I decided to give it a whirl before he shelled out so much money on a car that we hardly even drive.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4423_zps2f648cc0.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4423_zps2f648cc0.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4420_zps6fab3a57.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4420_zps6fab3a57.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4424_zpsb093e1b3.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4424_zpsb093e1b3.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4427_zps2056a687.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4427_zps2056a687.jpg.html)



As you can see, this 31 year old Porsche was not in such great condition. After a wash, IronX bath, and decontamination via Nanoskin Speedy Prep Sponge, this thing was ready to go under the knife.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4443_zps4a6ebbdb.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4443_zps4a6ebbdb.jpg.html)


Most of the panels responded quite well to polishing with a Lake Country orange pads and Meguiar's MF cutting discs paired with Wolfgang Uber. Some trouble spots like the bird dropping etchings needed a little damp sanding via Meguiar's Unigrit discs.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4446_zpsb8cf81a5.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4446_zpsb8cf81a5.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4447_zps5e9aa701.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4447_zps5e9aa701.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4448_zps9143144a.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4448_zps9143144a.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4451_zps79360ae7.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4451_zps79360ae7.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4453_zps27dd67b9.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4453_zps27dd67b9.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4454_zpsd3c7131d.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4454_zpsd3c7131d.jpg.html)



Overall it was coming along nicely. There were a few little defects here and there that were too deep to remove, so I left them alone. My father would never even look hard enough to notice them anyways.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4432_zpsba39ee8d.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4432_zpsba39ee8d.jpg.html)


The panels that had been repainted in the past had absolutely no gloss whatsoever and weren't responding well to just polishing. I had plenty of paint to work with so I sanded them down with a some Unigrit discs and Unigrit paper on a sanding block.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4498_zps1aea092a.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4498_zps1aea092a.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4495_zpsc3f12742.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4495_zpsc3f12742.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4489_zps888ee050.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4489_zps888ee050.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4501_zps71016700.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4501_zps71016700.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4491_zps92f372e3.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4491_zps92f372e3.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4502_zps1b378be1.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4502_zps1b378be1.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4506_zps75a76046.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4506_zps75a76046.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4516_zpsd1f2914a.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4516_zpsd1f2914a.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4520_zps2830c6d4.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4520_zps2830c6d4.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4608_zps097dd950.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4608_zps097dd950.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4626_zps0797f10e.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4626_zps0797f10e.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4628_zps2edfab1d.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4628_zps2edfab1d.jpg.html)


After a wipedown with Eraser, I coated the paint with CQuartz and let it sit in the garage overnight.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4457_zps21000613.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4457_zps21000613.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4472_zps5b1fff13.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4472_zps5b1fff13.jpg.html)

It brought it out the next day to inspect my work in the sunlight. It looked like a completely different car!

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4542_zps29c3ee79.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4542_zps29c3ee79.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/IMG_4543_zps7802ae29.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/IMG_4543_zps7802ae29.jpg.html)

I still have to steam clean the inside, treat the rubber trim, sand + polish the wheels, and clean up the engine compartment a bit. All in all the end results weren't too bad for a couple days of work.

Thanks for looking!

[Charger12]

Very nice work,I love the 944. On my dream list,I pass one everyday just sitting in someone's driveway wasting away,I might just pull a counting cars and just go make them an offer

[sproketser]

Top job ! Night & day difference .

[Setec Astronomy]

Great job! I wanted one of those so bad back then.

Really interesting to see how the CQuartz extends the time-to-oxidation of that red SS.

[BillE]

Verrrry Nice!

Stand tall my friend...

Bill

[HUMP DIESEL]

Nice! I have a friend who has the turbo version in silver. He had his repainted, and we will be working on it soon.

HUMP

[damaged442]

Awesome work! What a difference!

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Beautiful turnaround on that red Porsche! I'm sure he was thrilled!

[Mike Phillips]

Wow what a dramatic improvement! Single stage paint is my favorite type of paint to work on...

I edited your post and put some space between all your pictures as it makes it easier on people's eyes to view. Also some space between text and pictures. The [Enter] key can be your friend when writing on forums.


:dblthumb2:

[HD.Detailing]

Nice work! and Great looking Z too!

[zmcgovern45]

Looks great!!

[Zelfiris]

What an amazing turn around!

Can you please share your technique using the rupes for sanding? (pressure, dial speed, foam backing plate used, etc.)

[Pinpoint_Precision]

Amazing turn around. I completely agree with Mike. Your dad should be proud of you. Great work my friend.

[EWtheDETAILER]

Awesome work and nice write up! Looks like lots of work but a big reward in the end!

[trekkeruss]

Fantastic turnaround.