Silver or Gold Paint 1970 -1973

[aporsche48]

Does anyone have an original paint Silver or Gold 911 years 1970 -1973 that the two stage paint has not broken down from age etc.? It seems the paint and specificaly the clear coat used in those years where not very well perfected.The paint on my original Silver car suffers from the clear coat disintegrating. In thinking back I can't remember seeing a Porsche in one of these colors that this has not happened to. All the paint in the jambs,compartments, even under the rear license plate is mint and in great condition. Comment's please chime in.

[tfiv]

I've owned one, and seen two or three early cars with original silver paint over the years and they all suffered from "crazing. The 800 mile garage car down at German Autofest however, had held up pretty well, with the exception of some discoloration. It looks to me like it's UV that does in the old syle paint.

[GreenT]

The factory finishes for metallic colors (and metallics only) were in fact a base/clear finish in those days. See the note from the 1970 manual, bottom of page B104 in this thread -

http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...ead.php?t=5020

The silvers were the worst for these kinds of problems, as they have the highest metallic content, with gold close behind.

[teescott]

In those days the two part paint process would likely have been a metallic base coat of acrylic lacquer with a clear acrylic lacquer applied on top. I don't believe any catalyst was used to harden these paints. That would account for the lack of durability over time. The clear coat was probably applied wet on wet to help the layers adhere better, although clear acrylic lacquers never adhered well to base coats, and thus the peeling and cracking over time. I think this was because the clear acrylic lacked pigment which may have helped the paint "bind" to whatever it was applied over. The clear acrylic became brittle and over the long haul probably dried at a different rate than the pigmented coat. Incidentally, the way you make a crazed or crackle paint finish is to layer a paint over another which dries at a much different rate than the coat below. The top finish will drie with a crackle or crazed surface just like you see on some of these old paint jobs.

The solid colors I understand were enamels that were factory baked. That made a very durable finish. In many areas of the original paint on my burgundy E the finish looks like it is only a few years old, and this car spent most of it's life in the Arizona sun.

Scott

[Eade Hopkinson]

Does anyone have an original paint Silver or Gold 911 years 1970 -1973 that the two stage paint has not broken down from age etc.? It seems the paint and specificaly the clear coat used in those years where not very well perfected.The paint on my original Silver car suffers from the clear coat disintegrating. In thinking back I can't remember seeing a Porsche in one of these colors that this has not happened to. All the paint in the jambs,compartments, even under the rear license plate is mint and in great condition. Comment's please chime in.

This is a 1973T with 3,900 miles on it, all original silver paint. Car was put inside in 1974, and not brought out until 2004.

[aporsche48]

Eade
Keep it inside before the UV rays get it!

Dennis Molnar