Hardtop

Hello, I recently purchased a Lapis Blue hardtop for my Seal Gray 996 under the impression by the seller that I would be able to have it painted for around $250-350. Have any of you had your hardtops painted? How much did you pay? Thanks a bunch! Alex

I bought mine from my local dealer and they had it painted included in the price so I couldn't comment on the exact price to paint but it can be easily done. Mine was done in a day. If you email me I can send you a pdf of the hardtop assembly tsb so that you can give that to the body shop to make sure it is done properly and not just masked.

Does the lining of the hardtop match your car's interior? My hardtop's lining is graphite gray which matches the interior. Do they all come in graphite gray?

Mine does. When I bought mine from the dealer all I had to make sure was that they had a top in stock that was the same interior since we were going to paint if needed.

They are not all gray, I looked at a couple with tan and black interiors also.

Cool. That's what I thought -- I just haven't seen one that isn't graphite gray. Like Dell said, I don't think painting the hardtop is a big deal just make sure you get one with a lining that matches your car's interior. One last thing...I heard that some of the later cars that were ordered with the "hardtop delete" option do not have the mounting hardware on the car so just double check that. Cheers.

Yep, already made sure we had the hardware. Also, you could always dye the leather. After all, cows only come in one color!

programmatore - Is Ocean Blue lighter than Lapis Blue? Your car is the first i've herd of ocean blue other than the Porsche web site.

Ocean Blue is more "blue" than Lapis Blue. Lapis Blue has a bit of a violet tint to it. I think they switched from Ocean Blue to Lapis Blue in 2001 or 2002. Here's a better picture:

THAT is a phenomenal color! Ocean blue is awesome looking. Enjoy it.

Ocean Blue has green in it, which Lapis does not.

wow! oceans blue is a very nice color.

Hey Kevin, you're right. It does pick up a bit of a green color with the Savannah Beige interior. I never noticed the green before since I have Graphite Gray. What's really interesting is that according to my dealer for 1999 to 2001, Ocean Blue was the most popular color for 996s in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area. In fact, my neighbor has an Ocean Blue 996 coupe and 2 other cars (a 996 C4 coupe and a Boxster S) at work are Ocean Blue! In 2001 the most popular color switched to Arctic Silver.

Hi Dell, Could you also email me the PDF? I have a midnight blue hard top on my lapis blue cab. I didn't have time to have it painted before winter but it deffinately needs to get done this summer. Cheers, Stan I'll pm you my email address.

On it's way!

My C4 is Ocean Blue as well...

Here is a Lapis providing I actually attached it correctly:

Anyone get a price on the new mounting hardware that just came out?

Dell, You da man! Thanks again, Stan

Do any of you have pictures with the hardtop in place that you could post?

Here you go.....

nice pix, dell

So no one has actually had theirs painted except dell? A body shop out of town quoted me 1100 today... outrageous in my opinion. They say it would take 4 hours to take apart and they would have to call in a window specialist to remove the window. I hope I wont have to resell this top.

Couple other options. They can remove the seals, mask, paint, replace seals.....good as new. -OR- you can disassemble take them the shell, they paint, and then you reassemble. There really is NO need to totally take it apart nor the glass, etc. Remember, this is a part that is on your car for minimal time each year. It does NOT have to be perfect.

Yep, I agree that there is no need for it to be perfect. I do however want the colors to match, paint not to chip, etc. So for now I am driving around a two tone 996 in search for the best body shop... I'll take a picture when I have the chance.

Dell - I think he was interested in a pic of the hardtop on the car, not on the driver! Good pic, BTW!

Thanks Tim......just showing off a few track day pics

Well, just got my second quote... $750. I guess its time to find a cheaper body shop. The big problem according to both shops is the 2 strips on the top. They say they cannot mask them because it is too small of a gap. On the estimates they claim it would take 2 hours to remove and install them? My biggest problem with this is that the person I bought it from said that this body shop quoted him $300, but when I asked, they say that they quoted him $300-$900. Guess I'll double-check before buying something next time ... Edit: Here is a pic of the car now....

What color do you think this top is? It looks as if I may try and sell it again, because I found a seal gray top about 4 hours away. A few words of advice to the next person that trys to do this... Do your homework first. Make sure you find a shop with a firm quote that you are happy with. Give it a few days/weeks to see if you can find another in your color also! I wish I had....

Maybe just sell the top to somone who has the same color? Then buy a hard top with matching paint. It is not worth the I hope it works out for you so you can get back to..

It looks like it might be Zenith Blue, but lighting conditions affect pics of metallic colors significantly. Do you have any other pics? Also, what color is the interior? Black liner? What color leather? How much would you sell this top for? I may someone who might be interested.