Spray paint Help!!!!

HATE HATE HATE NC parking lots!!!!!! So Saturday I had just finished shopping when I came out of the parking lot there was a dip, I didnt see it and WHAM!!!!! I cracked the (*&^%) out my front spoiler lip. I managed to get Gorrila Glue and get it back to normal but the paint is all jacked up. I had to do some sanding and now is ready for paint. Here is my Question..... is there a spray can out there that is extremely close in color or similar to the 40th AE GT Silver? Besides the Porsche dealer touch up paint ( not spray ) Any ideas will Help!!!!!!

I have a 03 with 51k miles. I have the x73 suspension and the car has developed a mean creaking noise from the front end. My indie replaced the top shock mounts and after he lubricated everything the noise stopped for a week. I can be driving down the road at low speeds and hear the creak. I can turn the wheel when stopped and hear it. I can also hear it if I back off the gas. I can spray the entire shock assy with wd40 and it will temporarily be silent. I tried to isolate the noise by spraying the lower suspension bits and the noise was still there. I'm thinking it's an upper suspension issue Any ideas????? My indie thinks it's the shocks themselves but I don't agree.

I have their touchup paint and it matches arctic silver perfect, its not the spray but they offer it that way automotivetouchup.com

the top mounts need to have the bearing backing plates replaced at the same time. they wear out usually at the same time and are part of the top mount assembly component parts. ask to ensure he changed them as well. if not, that'll be your cause.

+1 on automotivetouchup.com

Sorry to rant but most indy shops don't know **** about these cars. For these cars, this is by far the most knowledgable group of guys I've ever been a part of. Listen to the advice you're given here and ditch the indy. I did months ago and learned so much about my car, and saved a ton of money. Just a quick search here will likely get you any info you need.

There is a paint supply shop near me that will mix any color you want and put it in a spray can. They can use the paint code too. Surely there must me something like that near you as well.

My indie says mounts and bearings replaced

I will call the local shops and see thank you!!!!!!

if they replaced upper mounts and bearings, you should jack the vehicle up and wiggle the wheel, passenger side and drivers side, while off the ground. If you feel deflection or movement. check all the bolt joints. ripped rubber or maybe lower bolt joint is rusted, needs to be replaced, how much they charge you for upper mounts and bearings?

see how much a local paint shop will charge you to match the paint and shoot it for you. I had a garage roller drop on mine and put a dent in it size of a quarter and scratch. Cost me $300 to fix. Can't tell at all where it hit

Quotes source post: 4396084

Quote: So, this might be the worst information I have ever read. A Indy shop can be excellent or it can be bad just like everything else in life it depends on the individual. However, a car forum is no replacement for having trained eyes physically look at the problem. That being said like all good internet gurus, with absolutely no way of diagnosing your car over the internet except the information your providing. I mean, like absolutely no way to put your car in-front of me on a rack and turn it loaded on slip plates to track the noise and stethoscope the location to pin-point the cause. I am going to throw out an accurate diagnosis! So, with the powers invested in me as an Internet Guru... You need to replace your Swaybar Endlinks. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/por...11-37643017381 Your Pal -Fishey

Call a custom high end auto body shop. By high end I mean one that works on cars like Porsche or does total restoration of antique cars. You could also call your local Porsche dealer and find out who they recommend.

I know I will be hated for this comment but most problems I see here and on the other forum are easy 101 things you run into the first few years of doing your own repairs. It is nice to get ideas/help from members and we all need it from time to time but fishey is correct that you cannot tell much from behind a screen.

I used paintscratch.com and got a perfect match to my Artic Silver bumper. You do have to clear over it. I sanded it smooth, sprayed a few light layers of color, block sanded again to knock out any texture. I then sprayed a few layers of clear and wet sanded the entire thing. Once the wet sanding is done, I hit it with a polisher. Blended perfect.

thats bulls*it. too. some issues and problems are so common to these cars that some of "us"/"them" have had "them" many times! the fix is usually always the same! so,..why not share from ones experience?! all one needs to hear are the symptoms and a bit of background to properly make an internet diagnosis and though not always right ( duh ) they are ( mostly ) educated "guesses" based upon others previous real world experiences with similar issues and their "solutions" so. no, it's not web md! and sure, they too will warn you against taking what you read vis a vis "advice" with a grain of salt and not treat it as "gospel" for legal reasons. but these aint MEDICAL diagnosis! none of anything said does ANYTHING to diminish the FACT the counless guys here get correct advice daily regarding issues with their cars, or what parts go best together etc etc. there is no one definitive "answer". there are merely EDUCATED guesses. some better than others, and should be treated as such, and sure, maybe little more than that even if they DO tend to be correct MORE often than not. sheesh. so what ELSE is the joint for, beyond whose wing is baddest?! or "gee, what tires should i get?!" unfrickincredible

Quotes source post: 4331403

Wow..I'm impressed! Glad it worked out. Quote:

Sway bar bushings have been known to be one of the major creakers on all 996 models.

Quotes source post: 4331403

Quote: I have foud that automotivetouchup.com generally has better color matching than paintscratch.com, fwiw

Quotes source post: 4396485

Quote: control arm bushings fail, made outa rubber and creak like any worn rubber bit's are prone to do! thats why vertex ( crap? made the bushings outa poly ) control arm links, sway bar drop link, inner & outer tie-rods, and yes... sway bar bushings. check every one of those parts. "some"where in all that there hopefully you''ll find your creak(s), and hopefully someone here has given you a paddle.

Quotes source post: 4332983

Quote: Same here, especially on metallics. Just make sure you shake the can real good to get even metallic dispersion, all the time.

I'm having the exact same issue on my 01' 996 TT. I took the car to an indie shop and replaced both of the top mounts. I even looked at the lower control arms which were still fine. I ended up replacing the front shocks with HR coil overs and mounts. I'm still hearing the same creaking noise.

^ your shop ( and perhaps more importantly ) the OP's shop has to check EVERY connected bit. my shop ( when my tech doesn't do house calls ) has NEVER given me my car back after performing something or other and not have the issue at least pinpointed! and then advising on a course of remedy or repair..if not in fact have it already sorted. if that's the kind of shop you are forced to endure, i pity the fool. one other thing, if EVERY time you don't leave that shop KNOWING more about your car, than you did prior to bringing it in to sort whatever issue brought you back in? you should find another shop. geography permitting. my 02.

Quotes source post: 4396482

Quote: Sure, the internet is helpful and even as a professional technician I often browse the forums for helpful information. However, the internet is no replacement for a professional especially when most owners are not what I would call mechanically inclined. As I mentioned earlier I still suspect the swaybar endlinks. This is very easy to test as you can remove the swaybar endlinks and feel if they are sticky. It is very common that they will start to make noise but if your not convinced you can drive the car with them disconnected. If you want you can just remove the entire swaybar assembly but in the end you will know for sure if something in that system is the source of the noise. At the very least you will be able to eliminate it as a cause and its only an hour or so of labor.

Quotes source post: 4396640

Quote: i agree fully. it just helps many of us who are novitiates to learn as much as one possibly can as i have found over my MANY years of living, the more you "know" when you do consult with an expert, the less painfully you theoretically get bent over. my first 100k porsche they tried to claim I made 2nd gear pop out and having had FIRSThand prior dealing with PCNA"s obfuscation and lies and generally evasive behaviors that concur usually about the time a major claim against them for damages or repairs is sought, that ANY info you bring levels the playing field. i got much of that info right here. now ( idiot that i am ) i share what i can and am hopefully right more often than a clock. but i still agree with your clarification, and recognize you have more "firsthand" experience in repairing sh*t. but i've gained enough valuable info over the years to fool many a pro and save many ducats in the process! carry on, and cheers.

Quote: I guess my rant was about my specific "Indy" shop who had a giant Porsche sign out front of their shop but totally messed up my car and the terrific people on this forum helped me fix every issue I had. Sorry to thread jack but I'm having the same creaking issue and I'm sure the average shop would come up with some bull**** diagnosis when all I need is the oem plate. Which, I learned about right here on this forum.

That's good to know that your problem was resolved. There's a lot of great people on here!

Quote: Worst information you've ever read but you're a technician and you come here for information. Obviously you can't diagnosis a problem over the Internet but when most people explain their symptoms here, they are usually responded with spot on advice. Or else this forum would cease to exist if it was filled with the worst information ever. These guys gave me the most valuable information just from chatting a bit. You're probably a good tech if you are on here but most techs who advertise themselves as Porsche "specialist" aren't.

[QUOTE=Jeanmarcboilard;4396748]Worst information you've ever read but you're a technician and you come here for information. Obviously you can't diagnosis a problem over the Internet but when most people explain their symptoms here, they are usually responded with spot on advice. Or else this forum would cease to exist if it was filled with the worst information ever. These guys gave me the most valuable information just from chatting a bit. You're probably a good tech if you are on here but most techs who advertise themselves as Porsche "specialist" aren't.[/QUOTE/] All true, and the lack of pretense that exists here with help from the Tims/sambos/todd's/SRM/markski/kevin-umw guy who give of their time and expertise daily way above and beyond what ordinary "shop" guys will regularly do since in many ways the more a mechanic can keep you in the dark with the illusions of "mystery", that surrounds the car as promulgated by a PORSCHE dealer that magically disappear once the door panels come off the more they stand to make via smoke and mirrors. that doesn't happen here. Add to that the regular drivers like some of us! that don't know sh*t but learn once something happens, we remember symptomatically and how to fix it and share anecdotally our frustrations and eventual successes. That's whats so cool about this place. You're right!

Just reviving the thread problem not solved yet. I've had a top technician put the car in the air and cannot find anything creaking while in the air problem is now the temperature is gone cold the car is not creaking as often. That makes me think it could be something made out of rubber causing the problem. I did see there were a couple of other people that and said their cars made some more noises and it's embarrassing to have a car sound like a cheap hotel bed while you're going up and down the road.

Are you sure they put your top mounts back together correctly? My car creaked when I installed my coilovers and found that it I was missing a piece of the mount. See the 2nd post for the link to that thread in the suspension link in my sig.

I know this was mentioned previously but Have you tried disconnecting the sway bar links and/or at least making sure they are totally tight?

I'll check out the top mount and sway bar links and see what happens

Not the links or top mount either. My tech ruled out the shock itself which was his initial thought.

hey, if it makes ya feel ANY better? about 4/5 months ago i put in brand new oem bearing backing plates top mounts and here it is months later and i STILL i'm getting a crunching sound that was the same BEFORE i replaced them..and it AIN'T NORMAL! ( pissedd!! ) argh. sp.. what's next?! i live with it. fkn tarret, they shoulda sent me camber plates that FIT! the 1st/2nd.. or THIRD TIME! grrrrrr! )..lol.. sorta ?!

I have the same problem. My mechanic has just replaced my dead PSS9's with new PSS 10 front struts, installed new strut bearings, and new camber plates. The car is still creaking. This is very frustrating.

"frustrating" is THE word. something just ain't right. how difficult is it to re-install top mounts! sheesh.

It would not be difficult to reinstall them but the car made the noise before the top mounts were installed even though they were cracked.

confused?.. are thinking you have defective/old parts..do you mean you put IN a "cracked" parts!? it can't ( or should't be!! ? ) ( esp the rubber top mounts! ) or... ls it that you believe that maybe parts that are assembled/installed incorrectly? the strut mounts as you know have a fair number of parts that have to be assembled in the right sequence, of course you know this, but it it would be easy to put in a part in the wrong "sequence" of order was all i meant!! esp if one were "new" to the refreshing of the shock mounts etc.!

to clarify the car had been creaking and the car had cracked upper shock mounts. The pair was replaced with a new pair and the car with silent for about a week after the replacement. This was most likely due to the suspension being lubricated. I can spray down the entire suspension with WD-40 and get the car to temporarily quiet down as well.

Have you considered maybe spraying down a section at a time, starting from the bottom to try and isolate to at least an area? Maybe worth a shot?? BTW, is it coming from one side or is it too hard to tell? If you do it in sections you might just find it