Hi guys, I did a search for an hour for my question below, but couldn't find anything, so sorry if this has been answered. I'm looking at purchasing a low mileage 89 Testarossa and upon paint metering the car, the readings are anywhere from 4.5-6.5 on most all of the panels with the exception of the driver side door, which is at 8.0-8.5. The passenger side door is at 6.0-6.5 for reference. I'm fine with the 4.5-6.5, but it seems like 8.5 is excessive and it may have therefore have been resprayed? Or, as this was before QC got implemented at Ferrari, maybe this is "normal"? Again, I'm a newbie so sorry if this is a dumb question but could use your help.
Seems like it is interesting reading. Could be a respray or touch up. Here is my personal opinion: I bought mine in june 17 serviced etc. The most important to me was: mechanics: engine out done, all the history with it and max 20k miles. The paint on mine looked perfect to me but u know what, everytime i walk around it i would be nuts seeing the smallest little thing on it and now i dont care. My point is enjoy it the best u can and based on the reading looks if it had some touch up and respray. A 30 year old car has some imperfections but im sure this is a great one! Good luck!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don't even have a paint meter to be able to tell your what is normal is - or if they were consistent all around the car. Good luck with the search.
If its a quality paint job from a reputable shop......meh. Focus on the mechanics and overall condition of the car.
kfitzpat9, you are a member here since more than 1,5 years and until now not even filled out your profile and not introduced your self a little. you think then that it is good to ask here for help?
Turbo Joe u make me smile every time. My dad is german, from baden baden, and i love how just like him u are proper and strict with forum etiquette) Got love the germans Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Baden Baden? Thats my soul city. I did a three week trip to Germany for work....had the entire time to explore. We landed in Calsrue(sp) I rented a car and just wandered for about 40 minutes until I saw a sign for Baden Baden. It called to me. Returned the car as i was now 'home'. Stayed there the entire time. End of side track. I would also try to get as many of the records as possible as it tells a story of the car.
Paint metering a Testarossa will not give much of a tell tale here's why: 1. back in the 80's specially coming out of Modena Italy, there was no real automated paint technique. I've heard a story of two original paint TRs compared side by side showing individually unique paint finish lines when looking at the inside panels. IMHO the original paint fit and finish on these 1980's cars in general is worst than a 1999 Kia, so let's move on. 2. These cars have likely been buffed/color corrected/patched multiple times over their 30 year lifetime producing various paint thicknesses throughout the body. Just by leaning heavily around a bend or corner you're likely going to remove more paint. 3. The body is made of aluminum in some areas and galvanized steel in other areas which can give inaccurate readings depending on the type of paint meter. Personally I couldn't care less if my TR has been repainted in the past as long as its been done correctly. Buyers are sometimes far too stuck on the originality of the paint when they should really focus on the real ouch factors like the condition of the mechanics and current service.
+1 Plenty of well sorted, driven TRs that are much better than very low mileage originals stored away.
My TR was originally red then got repainted yellow before being resprayed red again. I didn't know until I bought the car. That's what I call a colourful history. It was the best one I could buy at the time on my budget and that's what really matters. If the car is so perfect that you are measuring paint thickness then I suspect that this vehicle is the creme de la creme of TRs. Is that the case?
We've seen Testarossa paint, even on a single car, range from 3.5 - 8.5 mils (1/1000 of an inch) on panels that were definitely original paint. When we came across some panels that were resprayed, it was 13 - 14.5 mils (although you could not tell just by looking at the paint that it was resprayed). I would agree with many of the above comments. A mechanically well sorted car is the most important. It is quite common for parts of the car to be resprayed, especially the front end. In this case, if it does seem like the door was repainted, I would take a good look for any rust near the bottom/edges - since, unlike most of the body panels, the doors are not aluminum. Good luck with the purchase!
After owning several TR's....I feel if the paint looks good visually....I wouldn't worry too much. As others have said, these are old cars now, and many have been subjected to paint corrections, buffing, etc. I had a red 89 TR that had the passenger's door resprayed, but I could not visually tell. The only way I found out was that when I polished the car, there was red residue on the pads and towels, until I got to the passenger's door - there was no residue at all. It was actually painted and clear-coated (original paint is single-stage). I was shocked and very upset at this discovery. But....whoever did the respray was an absolute master because visually the color match was perfect, in shade or direct sunlight - doesn't seem possible...but it was. After a while I just accepted it, as it did not detract from the car in any way.
