Color Change

[dhopkins]

My 1969 911S was repainted white from its original tangerine two owners ago. The white paint is in very good condition. Would it be worth it for me to have it returned to its original color?

don
______________________
1963 356B Super
1969 911S
1981 911SC

[Tom F.]

I wouldn't say so, unless you can be sure that you won't find any surprises under the paint. Even if there are no surprises, I would guess that you're looking at $8,000 to $10,000 to strip and repaint. How far into the car does the white go? (Door jambs, luggage compartment, engine bay, etc.) If you find surprises (poor rust repair, poor collision repair) then I believe that the price could get into 356 territory.

[kenikh]

Don, I am in the same boat. My car's non-original paint is immaculate but I don't think a respray at the cost of achieving the same results is worth it at this point just to get back to original. If my car ever needs a respray, it will be in the original color though and I'll probably remove the RS flares to boot. White is nice; leave it as is until such time it makes esthetic or economic sense to change it. Even if you are selling it, it makes sense at this point to stand pat.

[72targa]

Other than tangerine is much cooler than white...my dad's '69 E (sold long ago) was tangerine...it's a very intense color.

[SandyI]

I'm completely partial to tangerine over white. If you have the money to spend, and can live with not driving your car for the extended period of time it will take to complete the job, do it.

[kenikh]

Don't get me wrong, tangerine is a top 5 color for me; white is not. From a practicality standpoint, the right decision is keeping good paint.

[72targa]

There's an oxymoron if I ever heard one...a "practical 911"!

From the comments, as you can see, the choice is yours!

[RandyWebb]

??? It's very practical - I often use my front trunk to move bags of fertilizer and lime - the ht. of the trunk is perfect for them.

And the front trunk of the Boxster/996 seems perfectly designed for a keg of beer.

That's why Porsche has always been known for making the practical sports car...

[Sacto S]

Do not repaint unless you MUST. Each time a car is taken apart there are risks. It is not a process to enter into lightly or just for the sake of a color change. Metal fatigue (mental fatigue too), lost parts, damage to hard to find parts, a poor quality paint job, are all downsides to painting a car.

I'm in the middle of my second restoration and it may be the LAST time for me. I can't see why anyone would want to do this just to change the color.

[larry47us]

Don:

If you were asking the question, "I am repainting my car, should I take it back to the original Tangerine, or leave it white?" The answer would be simpler.

There is no economic sense in repainting a car with solid paint. But is there any economic sense in a 911? prolly not!! But, that being said, if you are going to do a repaint, it will HAVE to be a full, bare metal, glass out repaint. And, you will repaint the trunk and engine compartment as well. You will want to eliminate any vestige of the white, so that the car looks like it once did, Tangerine.

Any comments above about a respray are misplaced. But, I think that unless you have 8 - 10 burning a hole in your pocket, you should stand pat.

larry