Seeking urgent advice on a 356 PPI report on paint quality

[Clayton Tychkowsky]

Hi;

I’m new to the registry and hopefully closing in on the purchase of a 356C. I had my PPI done today by an independent professional and would like advice on a matter that is concerning me. The car has been repainted at some point, the selling dealer does not know when, they sold the car 18 years prior to the current owner. The paint shows beautiful and the dealer is known to be reputable, there are a few tiny touch ups due to road use on the front but you have to look real close. The luster is high and it looks very good with very straight body lines and excellent gaps. My concern is with paint readings, the person who performed the PPI used both an Elcometer on the entire car and then low powered magnets. The lower frunk, fenders, cowl, door all read consistent in the range of 14 to 20 indicating filler is present (the roof is in the 6 to 8 range). Although the readings are high on the lower body parts the low powered magnets stick with force and don’t fall off. I’m concerned the beautiful finish and straightness were achieved with a lot of filler, but I have no experience on what to expect on a 356 following a re-paint and I couldn’t find anything on the old inter-web to help me.

I’m looking for advice or opinion from anyone who has repainted their 356C and their experience with paint readings post body work and paint. The paint on this car is smooth and shows no distortion, the inspector said it was beautiful. He did of course note the presence of filler from the readings, but indicated he wasn’t overly concerned because the low power magnets were still holding without difficulty to the car. I’m not sure if I’m being overly nervous or if I should run from this opportunity.

Any insight that the forum can offer would be highly appreciated. $100k+ is lot to pay only to find out you bought a rough car covered by beautiful paint.

[Martin Benade]

If it has stood the test of some years without cracking I’d be comfortable with it. Most restorations on a 356 have a skim coat of filler or a lot of catalyzed primer, mine certainly does.

[Doug McDonnell]

Clayton In an old thread I asked specifically about paint readings on cars done by well known and high end (expensive) restorations. Happily John Willhoit responded. You can read his response here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=42934&p=279020&hil ... ss#p279020 I hope that your "Independent Specialist" is very well versed on 356s. If the car is in SoCal I would recommend Pete McNulty who does PPIs with Jack Staggs. Oh and I forgot Welcome to The 356 Registry.

[Clayton Tychkowsky]

Thanks for the response Doug and Martin, very helpful!

Clayton