Complete respray

[stuart]

I have spent the last 12 monthes preparing the tub and panels to a pristen condition !! and it is all now ready for to have all the old paint and any surface rust removed, hence why INVIRO-STRIP are carrying this out ( I have removed all the old under seal and sound deadening ).

 

INVIRO-STRIP are also going to 2pk etch prime.

 

I will seam seal and afix the new sound deadening and a local paint shop will carry out any contour fettling that need doing (probably only on the rear scuttle to match the boot lid).

 

So what are you on about Tom !!!!!!

 

Nigel is my name not PO

You have sort of done this a bit the wrong way round as the normal procedure is to send the shell and outer panels to Envirostrip exactly as it came off the road and their process removes all the sealer/underseal/filler etc and then the rust and you then repair and gap the panels and then send it off for painting. Unless you have had the car from new and can guarantee that its never been dinged then you will have work to do on most of the panels in the way of repairs. If you are good at the repairs then yes your re-paint will be cheaper but a lot cant (No dis-respect meant there) do the repairs well enough hence the extra time unless you instruct the bodyshop to just paint what you give them. (Again a lot of bodyshops arent keen on painting customer prepared cars )

Stuart.

[Guest ntc]

Try building the shell up at least 3 times before you even think about paint, both in and out.

[Tom Boyd]

Neil, your spot on with that statement!!!

[mustangchris]

I read this with interest.

 

It seems to me that sometimes the price you get quoted for paint can be dependant upon how busy the shop is.

 

I get quite frustrated with professional paint shops saying we won't touch a self prep car- why not, it is at sellers risk, is it not?

It seems to me that quite a few shops treat you like you know nothing, My dad owned his own body shop for 15+yrs and I go prepared for the conversation and thankfully because I have worked under my dads "supervision", I can talk the shop language but even then I get the "won't touch your self-prepped" project, save for some local shops which I have gotten to know.

 

With my latest mustang, I got a little tired of talking to shops about self prep, so In the end I thought what the hell, painted my mustang fastback myself in 2K under my dad's supervision in the garage - yes I used full face mask, polythene and water etc to prevent dust. I genuinely believe that there is no mystery to it, just loads of prep time and take your time and oh and get a decent tutor or mate who can help you work through the basics (I lost count of the number of etch, prime, block, prime, block etc.....)

 

The only think I would add is that modern paint and techniques have moved on significantly, which is something I was not aware of, my dad gave up circa 15yrs ago and a lot has happened since then. Find a decent paint supplier and talk to them a lot.

 

Finally in terms of cost, one of my former rarer 65 mustangs was professionally restored in the US about 2yrs ago, with new panels and bodywork, but no welding needed, was circa £12,000 just for paint and labour. The job was first class and no doubt if the car justifies it, a proper professional paint job will be worth it in terms of looks/finish but I guess for most cars, the outlay may not be justified in terms of the value of the car (I later sold the mustang as it was just to good to use and no doubt I did not get my full resto costs back in the sale price).

 

Chris

[stuart]

The usual reason that most bodyshops wont take on a home prepped repaint is that even if you are prepared to accept that it may not look so good they arent prepared to take on the extra work that may ensue when the first coat they put on reacts with whatever you or previous owners have put on Also they arent very keen on their name being mentioned when some clever wag further down the line asks who painted that.So no matter whether you are prepared to accept the end product then they wont be.

Stuart.

[foster461]

We are in the process of painting my TR3 now and I have been surprised at how long it takes to do the panel prep (days for each panel) and how many issues there are with the paint even when done by a pro in a proper booth with proper equipment. The issues may be dust nibs, runs or fish eyes but the pro painter knows how to mitigate them on the fly in many cases or do some remediation afterwards. I can see why a paint shop would be paranoid about panels of unknown origin even entering the shop for fear of contaminating the shop. I'm told if it is in the shop it is in the paint.

 

I did all the structural repairs to the panels a couple of years ago and they have been sitting in rattle can primer since that time. All of that primer has to come off and then straight into the booth to start the long process of prime, guide coat, block sand, fill, prime etc until we have a straight panel that we consider good enough to put the color on. Some of the problems with the panels that we are correcting were probably done at the factory due to the way they were pressed or assembled.

 

With the cost of the materials in the $2000 range I can see why a decent paint job costs $10,000 and up and some colors like black need to be more perfect than others.

 

Stan

[stuart]

Its often not only whats in the paint shop Stan, years ago in my previous workshop I always used to get a problem with silicone contamination every time the secretary in the offices next door used to polish her desk as my extractor fan drew them in through the communal roof space. At my present workshop I also suffered them when the stable tack room across the yard was having a new PVC sheeted roof fitted as the fitters used a silicon sealer all round it and the silicones would blow across the yard and into my workshop!

Stuart.