To Paint or Not to Paint? | FerrariChat
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To Paint or Not to Paint?

Discussion in '308/328' started by jfrazar, Feb 5, 2005.

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  1. jfrazar

    jfrazar Karting
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    Jun 26, 2004
    223
    Savannah, GA
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    Joe Frazar
    #1 jfrazar, Feb 5, 2005
    My 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS, after many months of sorting, is finally the car that I thought it could be. After 15 years of very light use(Prior Owner), the car is running and driving perfect. I spent a lot more on this car than I thought I would. Which brings me to this - I clearly like the car(Carb 308's are the only way to go). I have heard many "Ferrari Guys" say that original paint is what you want no matter what. The car looks great, but it is a 10 foot car. Up close you can see the old paint is just tired. It has real minor cracking upon very close inspection. All the buffing and polishing in the world would not fix this. The car has few minor chips that have been touched up and one rust bubble at the base of the left front fender. What do you guys think? Would this add or subtract from the value of the car? OR Should I just have the problem areas spot painted and be done?
     
  2. Bullfighter

    Bullfighter Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Jan 26, 2005
    22,600
    Gates Mills, Ohio
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    Jon
    #2 Bullfighter, Feb 6, 2005
    Automotive paint doesn't last forever, unless you keep the car in a climate-controlled garage and don't take it out in the sun or run.

    A proper, professional respray after stripping to bare metal is NOT going to detract from the value of your car. However, this will be expensive, if it's done the right way. If you have already invested a lot and plan to keep your 308 "forever", I might go that route. That one rust bubble may be the tip of the iceberg, and I'd want the peace of mind of knowing that there's nothing else going on under the paint. That's just how I am about my cars.

    The main reason I'd suggest this is that once you respray the panel where that bubble was, it's going to have a gloss that makes the rest of the car look bad in comparison. You might not be happy with this uneven look.

    I had the same situation on a blue 328 I'm considering. It had the usual stone chips in the front bumper and louvers. The dealer has had a paint shop respray the bumper, but they also had to do the louvers, light covers and leading part of the hood or the remaining original panels adjacent to the bumper would have stood out. Cost for this was $2500, with proper disassembly prior to painting.

    Jon
     
  3. Artvonne

    Artvonne F1 Veteran

    Oct 29, 2004
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    Paul
    #3 Artvonne, Feb 6, 2005
    Well, I guess I'll ask a few peoples opinions on this as well, because I'm heading in the same direction, but with a different problem.

    I am in the process of sorting out a 77 GTB, including a engine rebuild and freshening the gearbox. The rest of the car is in good condition, although I need to do all new hoses, and suspension bushings. The paint would be nice if it was wet sanded, all thats wrong with it is some swirls, and.....its been keyed. And it was keyed really good. But the good part of it is that none of it went through the primer except one spot right at the end of the scrape. only one small bubble down low on the front fender.

    I hate the thought of stripping the car to get a full bare metal repaint, not to mention the expense. And then there is that fear that some ******* will key it again. I would melt. Do I really have to take all the paint off to fix this, or could it be repaired? If it was repaired, what would be the cost difference? And to keep it apples to apples, we will assume that if I repaint the car, I will strip out the car to reduce the labor

    I hope Im not highjacking the thread, but adding to it.
     
  4. jfrazar

    jfrazar Karting
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    Jun 26, 2004
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    Joe Frazar
    #4 jfrazar, Feb 6, 2005
    I have restored a number of Porsches over the years. Your statement that you would do the stip out is without a doubt a must do. You save thousands on a repaint and the results are always better than having a shop do it. The thought of tearing the car down to me is really kind of a turn off but I would never trust a body shop to do it.
     

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