Tim Hancock

I just picked up a Ming Blue 2000 A6 2.7T that has had a previous hood repaint at some time. The paint does not match perfectly and has multiple stone chips down to the aluminum. I want to sand it down and repaint it. Does anyone on this forum know of a good brand and type of paint to go with? I have painted my Porsches using various PPG and Dupont single stage paints over the years and I am experienced in prepping aluminum for paint (aircraft restoration), but I do not have much experience with base clear systems. I am hoping for a decent color match and a durable finish. I may go the audi dealer to see what they say.

Asicks2.7T

Your only bet is OEM paint if you want it to match.

Ritz

Have a pro do it.

Asicks2.7T

True.

Tim Hancock

Do Audi dealership body depts sell paint? I really want to do the job myself, as I have a paint booth, spray equipment etc etc, but I was hoping someone on this board by chance may have been down this road and could advise on a brand/type paint in Ming Blue that has proven to be a decent match. On the last car I painted (Alpine white 924S) for my daughter, I had to go back to the Dupont dealer a couple times to get the color tinted just right even though they carefully mixed it per the color code. I guess I am just trying to avoid that this time. I searched this forum for quite awhile looking for answers and it looks like alot of the guys posting here just take their cars in for this type of work? I am a newbie here although I have over a 1000 posts on the Pelican Porsche forums. I hopefully will ramp up to speed quickly here on the Audiworld forum.

im_cecil

So, unlikely one that does not would work to source it for you. It's not really an over the counter part.

The OEM paint has been rumoured to be Spies-Hecker (I don't have 100% confirmation), but it's now a DuPont company anyway.

Paint shade matching is as much an art as working the gun and blending.

April

allow for fading and potentially some yellowing over time. How much depends on where the car has lived and type of paint. In additon, depending on where you live, you may encounter various paint type limitations due to air quality regulations. I know of a body shop in SoCal that has to adjust the base colour because the clear coat they are allowed to use, tends to yellow more than most factory paints. Even then it varies by the type of paint and where it was originally painted.

You're also dealing with an aluminum part, so depending on whether you strip it (be careful, as aluminum both pits easier than steel, and stretches out of shape much easier if you manually manipulate it) or not, you will have to do special prep. Sometimes the chemical formulas available over the counter are not exactly the same as the factory paint, and you may end up with paint that will eventually develop large fish eyes if you apply one over the other.

As Cecil says, it's as much an art as science.