Years of mistreatment - time to paint it

[DaveInChile]

Hi

I have a 91 Red NSX that over the years has had little use (62,000 no track time) & little maintance but after 17 years it has lots of little scraps, a few dents and colour fading between the body work and plastic.
I want to respray it red and black, as orignal but need some advice. I live in south america and have found a painter that I can trust and he does good work but has never painted an NSX. Can anyone point me int he right direction or give me a list of steps that I need to watch out for. I have been searching here and people mention not to use bondo/filler etc... but I have not found a summary of the steps involved in repainting !

I am about to start on a whole refresh of the car and then a few mods but I want to get it back to perfect.

Any help great.

Thanks
dave

 

[Jetpilot3]

Dave,

I'd recommend sending a PM to cmc140 here on NSX Prime.

He recently repainted his NSX and I believe stripped the car completely and might have some pointers for the project. Perhaps take a look in the DIY area of prime as well as there may be a post for what you're looking for.

Tell cmc140 Jetpilot3 told you to contact him and he's a really nice guy.

Post pictures when you are done!

Cheers,
Jetpilot

 

[GreyHoundSteve]

I have recently had my 91 repainted and the painter i chose was based on his knowledge and workmanship. He had never painted an entire NSX before but he knew the steps to take when doing so. I would be concerned if your painter doesnt already know the steps needed to paint your car properly.

Also, be advised that if your like me and telling the painter that you want to replace any damaged hardware with new then expect another $500 - $2,000 in little things. I had to order a ton of clips, screws and plastic items that were either damaged or missing. It ended up adding up to allot more than i expected but i wanted everything back to perfect and didnt want them using any old screw or clips that would fit the hole.

 

[xory72]

Download or buy the NSX body repair manual. This explains all steps that need to be taken in order to repair, repaint, replace, or strip the metal and prep it. It will actually also tell what peices are to be trim color and body color etc as well.

I got this manual when I bought my Repair manual on CD ROM.

My car is going in for paint next week. The entire car is being repainted like yours. They will most likely have the car for 3-4 weeks and we discussed the process. Of course the body repair manual helped. I am looking forward to the outcome.

Good luck!

 

[GreyHoundSteve]

Download or buy the NSX body repair manual. This explains all steps that need to be taken in order to repair, repaint, replace, or strip the metal and prep it. It will actually also tell what peices are to be trim color and body color etc as well.

I got this manual when I bought my Repair manual on CD ROM.

My car is going in for paint next week. The entire car is being repainted like yours. They will most likely have the car for 3-4 weeks and we discussed the process. Of course the body repair manual helped. I am looking forward to the outcome.

Good luck!

I also left my manual with the painter and the 3-4 week estimate actually took about 2 1/2 months but the weather wasnt right for painting i guess so it took longer to get it done right.

 

[latzke]

Do a search for posts by the user "pbassjo" and you'll be able to compile nearly all the info your painter will need to know (I think the only thing missing would be info from pbassjo on his recipe for mixing base/mid/clear to replicate the OEM color, which he might be willing to chat with your painter about to help him get it right).

 

[enkrypt3d]

I'm also interested in doing this but I want to repaint when I get around to the 2002 conversion... And I don't want the new paint to show with the old paint... my paint is pretty faded when you see it in direct sunight

What kind of cost am I looking at to repaint? No color change just a good strip and repaint? Thanks guys...

 

[NSXFRIEND]

Take it to a detail shop let them wetsand it and buff it to a shine and try carnuba wax chances are you will like the results. Dents as long as they are not big can be fixed without major reconditioning. There is also the option of 3m overlay that comes in all colors for the whole car.

 

[enkrypt3d]

Take it to a detail shop let them wetsand it and buff it to a shine and try carnuba wax chances are you will like the results. Dents as long as they are not big can be fixed without major reconditioning. There is also the option of 3m overlay that comes in all colors for the whole car.

Will wetsanding it take off the clear coat? I want to restore it to the original shine!

This is what I'm going for! Without those rims and a OEM bumper!

You can kind of tell that he only painted the front clip and not the doors back... I LOVE the original fresh Midnight Pearl.... omg

So this is the look I'm going for... will wetsanding make it look like this?

 

[xory72]

What kind of cost am I looking at to repaint? No color change just a good strip and repaint? Thanks guys...

At first to I got a few quotes just to see what various shops was pricing it at and to see if they all said the same things. Most did! What I really wanted to make sure of was that they took all the extras off (weather strip, key locks, side lights, etc. and not "tape" it. I was getting most quotes between $7000 - 10,000 but I was asking alot and also a minor color change. Black Candy Apple Pearl

What am I actually paying ... well a close friends father is a head of the Autobody Depatment at a local Community College. He has won several awards for paint in shows etc. over the years and I have seen his work. They have "Special Finishes" course this summer. He asked if I wanted to have my car done by him and his students and he told me to the "T" the proper way of painting this car and I did not even give him the manual. (Example ... need to chemical strip and not sand due to heat warping the aluminum)

In the end ... I am paying for all the materials and giving his student and great experience to work with and exotic. Final paint will be 1 black epoxy seal, 2 black primer, 4 coats of Black Pearl base 4 coats of Candy Apple Pearl and 4 coats of clear. The color will be black at night and cloudy days, but hints of candy apple in the sun. It will be a very deep paint.

I feel really lucky to have this oppertunity. My best advice is do your homwork on the proper way of painting an NSX through the Body Manual then go to various shops and get pricing, but be very specific of what you want done.

Good luck!