I am tired of my black exterior. Currently have a white 3M wrap and really love the car being white. Am considering having it painted white at some point.

For anyone who has has their entire exterior painted a new color - any insight on cost and any pitfalls to look out for?

 

cost probably depends on what shop you take it too, but the only pitfall I can see in the future is maybe the price of the car goes down since its not factory original color?

 

I don't really care about resell, I plan on keeping the car for a long time.

 

I'm more asking about things like, what's the proper process like, do all panels need to come off, I'm sure there are best practices what are they, are there better paints than others and what are they - anything I need to know to make a proper choice of who I pay to do this and what it should cost.

 

I would really like to paint mine also. Black 2008 tt. You see all this done on the Velocity and use to be Speed channels and you see it on the Mecum and Barrett Jackson auction shows.
Would really like to know what a body off paint job would cost as done by a first class shop.

 

Here here.

 

Well obviously a car of this caliber needs to be done right, Probably 8 grand minimum.

 

8 at the bare minimum, 10 plus for a good shop to do it. IMO rap it, as you will prolly get bored of whatever color you change it to.

 

LOL - A blast from the past

 

As much of the car needs to be disassembled as possible.

Wheels come off. Running gear. Bumper covers. Headlights. Front fenders. Trunk lid, engine compartment lid. Spoiler. Interior trim. Doors. Door panels. Glass. The engine can have come out and the engine compartment stripped unless you won't mind whenever you open the engine compartment you see the black paint. Anyhow the list is long.

Weather stripping/body panel seals need to be tied back.

Then comes prep. Lots and lots of prep. From my experience with helping someone else paint cars prep, prep, and prep are the 3 most important steps of getting a good paint job.

There will be lots of prep. Going from a black color to a white color means the color coat has to come off.

Then comes proper selection of paint (Porsche uses Spies-Hecker, Standox, and Glasurit), its application (temp/humidity controlled paint room), drying/curing, and then finishing.

Then comes careful reassembly.

I can't help you on the cost. Try to learn which body/paint shops the hot rodders/custom car owners in your area use. Attend a car show in your area or a large metro area nearest you and ask around who does the best paint. Go with the shop that gets the most mentions. At least visit the shop and get an estimate. Be sitting down. Way down. With pillows on the floor.

 

The last post summed it up well. Even if, and this is a big if, you found a shop that could pull the paint off to your standard - you run the risk of the parts assembly not meeting your expectations, e.g. noises/rattles.

I vote to leave the wrap or sell and simply purchase the color you prefer.

 

The thing I would think about, even if you are not concerned about resell etc. is whether the paint shop can do the same level paint job as Porsche in Germany...
I would assume no, and well, I would never do it.

 

Looking at 10,000$ for a proper job anything less you'll have issues. The paint will chip easier, scratch easier, it won't have as much depth.
When I was younger I had a vehicle I painted. I spent $4000. The paint lasted a year! I went to a car wash and they paint started flaking off. I actually sued the shop and got half my money back. Go to someone very reputable and pay the cost. It'll be worth it.

 

People install aftermarket aero kits (vorsteiner techart) and different OEM bumpers, deck kids, wings etc. all the time. These need painting and assembly and it can be done right by a good shop. I don't share your same fear of reassembly.

 

Agreed. This is a large project. Everyone's advice on proper artist is one of the more important items.