Paint repair question

[trout_hound]

My car expertise is more mechanical than body/paint, so I have a question for you paint experts. I have a 240z with low miles and it still has the original paint, the lovely lime-green color, shiny and sweet. The paint is perfect except for a spot on the fender and hood about the size of a football, and which also includes the flip up tray, where the paint has wrinkled and blistered due to a previous owner's carb fire. I haven't taken it in to a body shop yet (the car is in storage for the winter) to talk to them, but I'm wondering if its even worth it to try to match and patch, or if I need to save up for a total fresh paint job? I have horrible memories of my first 240, which had an amazing orange paint job with like 10 coats of clearcoat, and the terrible orange peel that a painter left me with after repainting the hood after a chunk of ice fell on the fender from the neighbor's roof.. I was so bummed I just sold the car... Thanks.

Dave

[DatsunDarko]

Well If you can find a reputable paint shop in your area then you should be fine. Make sure you give them the proper paint code and they should be able to get it right if they know what they are doing.

P.S. Pictures of said 240z?

[MikeW]

The answer here will depend on your plans for the car. If it's otherwise perfect and you're planning on winning trophies at car shows then you probably want to keep the original paint and try to repaint the minimum amount needed to restore it. You'd probably want to match not only the color but the type of paint which is not anything close to modern base coat/clear coat paints. Normally when paint is applied an entire panel is painted such that the edge of the new paint falls on an existing seam. If the hood is not also affected this would likely mean painting the whole left fender as well as the inspection panel. I don't know if it would be possible to just redo the missing paint leaving the rest of the fender original. I'd also be afraid of using just the original paint code as the original paint has likely faded. You'd be better off getting the shop to match the existing paint.

On the other hand you might not even like the original color, plan on using the car as a daily driver, and aren't at all concerned about originality. In that case I'd have the whole car painted at some time in the future. How long you wait will depend on how much danger there is from rust forming.

Chances are you're likely somewhere in between these two extremes which just makes the decision harder. Go ahead and post some pictures if you can which will help the real experts here provide proper advice.

[Travel'n Man]

Dave-

I have to agree with Mike W. It really depends on your budget. Find a great body shop and take the car there and let the techs tell you what they can or can not do. I don't think any of us can judge paint from a picture (yea, we all like to look at pictures, but I don't think a qualified answer can come from a picture when you are dealing with paint and surfaces).

I'm sure somebody can recommend a shop in your state that is qualified to do your body work, the price on the other hand is bound to crazy. Oh, by the way, don't be in a hurry, 99.9% of all body shops make their money with insurance jobs and turning a production quota for their owner.

You may be able to find friend of a friend that can do the work for you. You can call your local PPG paint store and see if there is anybody that does minor paint and body work on the side in your community. The PPG paint stores knows who does good work and who doesn't.

My body shop had my car for two years.............all it takes is time and money. Be sure to get a couple different quotes........spring is almost here!!

[beandip]

Find a shop that does Hot Rods and Customs if you can, other wise plan on the car to sit and be used as a fill in, when collision jobs are done. That is if you are having the complete job done. So much depends on your intentions and or expectations for the Z. My Z was orange and I did a complete paint and change of color. If this is your intent and you want the car done right . The engine needs to be pulled and the Glass also. All the rubber gaskets on glass and doors must be replaced. My Z ended up a rolling shell.

Then dent removal and prepping for paint. This whole job is a lot of work and it just takes time. 3 years in my case. If this is the job you want for your Z. At least pull your own engine, interior and glass. Take the car to your Shop and push the go button. If you do all that , you should be able to have a great paint job done for about 5K+ depending on what body work is needed. then you will need to reassemble everything.

Figure a complete job I outlined here done in a quality shop will run in the neighborhood of $15,000 to $18,000. Most shops wont take on a complete redo. It just takes to long to be paid at the end. They need steady income like we all do. Starting with a deposit then having to wait months for the rest of the money . While having to pay there employees weekly for there time on the car puts a burden financially on the Company. One reason it cost so much to have this kind a job done. I was able to do it all my self , otherwise I would never have afforded the job done.

Gary

[biddljj]

Beware of low bids for body work. Any low bid has too much lacquer thinner huffing involved. Body work / preparation is time intensive to do right.

Jay

Not just a Z - zdisease

[trout_hound]

Thanks for the tips. I'll check with some body shops. I don't really have a desire or the cash to do a ground up restoration at this point. The original paint is in good shape, but not absolutely perfect - there are a couple of rock chips here and there. My last two 240's were orange, and I love that color, but the lime green is growing on me so there is no point in changing it, especially with the hassle of repainting the car's engine bay and interior. My preference would be to try to keep as much of the original paint as I can. I'll post some more pictures of it this week, although there is already one of the car where you can slightly see the damage under this thread: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32755

Dave

[Travel'n Man]

Great looking car....keep the color, very 70's!! Looks great. A good body shop should be able to use the camera gizmo and shoot the color and make a close to perfect match (age, fading, and all). Those camera's gizmo's are the cats meow for matching old colors with new paint. Once it is completed I'm sure it will look great. Ask around and get the best body / paint guy you can.

It's worth a little more money and time to have a great job.

If they are just painting the hood and an inspection lid that should not be too big of a deal. Keep the pictures coming with the updates.