DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Just reading this with interest. The Alfa has recently been painted and the process which is new to me was super etch then first coat of primer then blocked back before second coat, etc. The acid etch I have been told is desired on the bare metal to make sure than any surface rust that has developed over days or weeks of the car sitting in bare metal is wiped out.

I will have my E going into paint very soon so it will be interesting to follow what P Bodyshop recommend (the alfa is in a different bodyshop to the 911). In any event both results will be good just curious why the change to what I assumed was the std method.

Cheers

Tom

Hi Tom,

for years and years acid etch was the only viable option. It does latch onto the substrate, but the disadvantage is that it's porous. As far as I know it doesn't eat, cure or stop rusting. In fact, blasted shells that have been 'preserved' with etch, often show rust under that etch quite soon afterwards.

It simply looks as though the blasters have missed great big areas, and then hidden this with etch.

I now recommend to my customers that we leave the shell completely bare, we work briskly through the metalwork, and get it off to the painters asap. In the meantime, I monitor the humidity and turn on the dehumidifiers if humidity starts climbing. The bottom line is that it's quite easy for the painters to zip off the bare matal ready for priming, whereas zipping off a couple of layers of etch AND what's underneath involves a lot more work. This was evident on both Richard Murphy's and Keiron's projects. Both looked fine on top of the etch, but had lightly rusted underneath. Once cleaned up again though, they were absolutely fine.

To return to the epoxy, this latches onto the freshly cleaned metal at least as well as etch, but is waterproof, and therefore stops any corrosion during the filling / painting process, but also once the car is in service.

A traditional paint scheme would have only had one truly waterproof layer, and that was the shiny bit on the outside. The etch, fillers, spray polly's and high build primers are all porous. This means that should you get a stonechip or scratch through the topcoat, the underlying coats don't prevent moisture from finding it's way down to the metal. Epoxy does. It's worth noting that to be a Porsche appoved bodyshop, you must use epoxy and not etch.

A final word to keep this in context, millions of cars have been refinishd using etch primers with no issues, just as the same number might have had their high build primers flatted 'wet'. Another method seen as out of date and yet still used to good affect by many. Therefore, none of the above means you need to fret unduly if a car has been etched, just that if a paintshop offers to epoxy as their preference, this might not be a bad thing.

Personally, I'll have my car epoxied please .

Adam, great working with you . It's been a real pleasure and I look forward to seeing you driving the car very soon.

Barry wrote:....The etch, fillers, spray polly's and high build primers are all porous.....

....this is one of the reasons we like to epoxy, followed by filler work, followed by a second coat of epoxy....traditionally all filler work would be straight onto bare metal, by applying epoxy first, much of which gets rubbed away during the filling process, then epoxy again truly means that the entire shell gets the best initial protection you could hope for. I believe this process is also Porsche approved standard......

....particularly beneficial when minimising on top coat in certain areas!

Barry , Darren,

Thanks for the explanation. Good to learn and understand the process. I will discuss my E with the bodyshop and go for the epoxy straight on if they don't already recommend this.

Cheers

Tom

Doors looking good, was a little worried as believed to be original....

If you like the doors, you'll love the bonnet!

I saw it in bare metal yesterday, and it's absolutely lovely. A real result.

It's getting exciting now

Can anyone help as some of the engine lid Porsche letters are corroded on the back. It there a tip to 're-welding' the threads on the back or is it suggested a specialist job ?

Just thought I would post a few pictures of my painter down south which comes highly recommended by Barry and have just completed a nice Dalmatian blue 73 RS

Darren was initially my first choice but has currently stopped painting the 911's as you may know and this is how I came along DC Coachworks just down the road from Barry. They have painted many high profile classic cars along with day to day bumps and dents

I've been asked by a few as to who I was using so here goes....

250SWB Is my big lottery win car - simply beautiful

Looks like a good place for paint

sladey wrote:
Looks like a good place for paint

It does. And expensive, just how you like it

...and the black 911 is mine.......still looking lovely after 10 years....Steve who runs the place is a decent sort for sure...Adam.....you are in good hands

What are the odds, me sending / recommending two Dalmatian blue cars to Steve one after another, I'm pretty sure before that, I'd not done one at all.

I believe Nick (Green) might be doing a mini-thread on his one at some point.

Steve at DC used to be the painter for Lynx Jaguar (remember them?), and as DC Coachworks have been doing a lot of cars for D.K. Engineering, hence the Ferrari's above.

For himself, he's currently detailing his own fabulous GT40 replica in Gulf colours.

I keep finding excuses to go and see their work, including, of course, Adam's .

Going to be a very special car and reading this thread it's easy to forget how relatively new you are to classic Porsches Adam - hats off to you.

Just read the thread and know exactly what you're going through, my 911 SC is about to be painted. It's at the spray filler part of the process after a lot of hard work by my body man.