Watch a vintage Porsche take a bath
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The biggest issue facing older cars? Rust, obviously. Call it the tin worm or the devil that eats our pride and joys, most of us either battle the terror of oxidation or live in perpetual fear of it darkening our doorsills. Most cars built before 1980 didn’t benefit from the coatings that help today’s cars fend off what happens when iron-based material comes in contact with oxygen and water.
There are tools to help. Numerous companies produce products that coat old metal with varying degrees of success. But we’re not here to argue the merits of POR-15, we’re here to watch what Porsche does with one of their own.
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Porsche, like Mercedes, Ferrari, and an increasing number of high-end car makers, now offers restoration services. Send your old 356 to one of the Porsche Experience Centers—there’s one in Atlanta and another in Los Angeles—and they’ll do anything from a simple tune-up to rebuilding your car better than new.
If you pick the latter option, the local crew will strip your car to a bare shell and ship it to Germany. There, after all the metalwork and repair is completed, Porsche will insert your vintage car into the new-car paint line. This means that the car is dunked in the electrically charged primer bath, ensuring that every nook and cranny gets a thorough anti-corrosion coating. It’s then baked at 350 degrees. As for the price, well, you wouldn’t ask what it costs to get your kid’s broken leg fixed, would you?
In any case, the process is mesmerizing to watch. Enjoy.
