Respray

[Mr E]

Yes, fibreglass and other composite materials are tricky when repainting.
Looks OK before heating the spraybooth, looking terrible afterwards.

[MalcolmH]

Actually, Bryan - apologies. Looking back at your post, you do say they've done many Lotuses. So they're clearly experienced with fibreglass.

[Gavin Hamson]

Hello Bryan,

Did you go ahead with the respray? The bodyshop I had lined is fully booked for the year and I'm looking for alternatives.

Gavin

[mkelite]

............from my experience of having cars resprayed - having a GFRP car prepped and resprayed to give a quality lasting result is a totally different ball game compared to a quick respray on tin cars.

the guys who do not paint fibre glass a lot shove the cars in ovens at higher temperatures than should be allowed causing micro blisters at a later date. i have always felt nervous about that. I want to get our Elite S2.2 painted later this year and the lowest quote, from a company that has long experience in painting old Lotus cars was at least 3.5k..................expecting doors, light pods and glass to be taken out. so i get confused who to trust and what would be a fair price for a honest paint job.
the Elite was apparently an ICI paint any way...................

unless anyone knows otherwise please ?
regards all.
DC.

[barker_001]

Hello Bryan,

Did you go ahead with the respray? The bodyshop I had lined is fully booked for the year and I'm looking for alternatives.

Gavin

Not yet, Gavin, I am currently working on the valve clearances in conjunction with my local independent Lotus specialist. It was him who recommended the bodyshop I had a quote from, he has had lots of Elise bodywork done there. The place is called NSW Accident Repair in Cardiff, the owner's name is Neil:

http://www.carbodyrepairscardiff.co.uk

Please let me know how you get on...

[alanbell]

this is the second time that I have come across mention of" wrapping" a car, the first was in an add for a lotus in which the car "looked stunning in it vinyl wrap, an expensive process" . does any one know what this process is?.

[Big Jim]

There is plenty on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_65f0i-uMc

[MalcolmH]

Damn, that process looks impressive. Wonder what the cost is?

[mkelite]

sorry to sound so negative - but that process was only really intended as a temporary make over for things like film shoots etc. if you love a superb quality paint finish on a car - paints the only way to go. have you ever looked at the door shuts and body cuts on a 'wrap' car (even by the professionals that have done lots of cars ) - its quite a disappointment. the effect only looks good from a distance really. look at all the cars that have been 'silver wrapped' for films close up and your see what i mean.

regards.

DC.

[Mr E]

Not completely true, a wrap can look reasonable (not as good as paint).
Depending on the area where you live and quality of the vinyl used it can last up to 10 years.
But....there is a big however, every imperfection in your bodywork will show 10 times as bad after the wrap,
And a wrap on a car with many angles instead of curves is very difficult to wrap without cuts in the vinyl.

In the end I think its a no go

[mkelite]

............opinions of course ........and choice .......but if u like opening doors and boots n bonnets etc and seeing original paint colour and wrap edge finish that is up to the owner. not for me.

typical costs 900 quid for a 'mini' type vehicle to around £2k for bigguns.

my choice would be to use the money on paint.............


regards.
DC.

[Lotus-e-Clan]

............opinions of course ........and choice .......but if u like opening doors and boots n bonnets etc and seeing original paint colour and wrap edge finish that is up to the owner. not for me.

typical costs 900 quid for a 'mini' type vehicle to around £2k for bigguns.

my choice would be to use the money on paint.............


regards.
DC.

Well that wraps that one up .

Seems like a waste of a LOT money that adds ZERO value to the car and probably results in loss of value - and would certainly reduce the number of potential buyers if you wanted to sell (unless you de-wrapped it - but then that just confirms you've wasted a LOT of money).

[yroll]

............opinions of course ........and choice .......but if u like opening doors and boots n bonnets etc and seeing original paint colour and wrap edge finish that is up to the owner. not for me.

typical costs 900 quid for a 'mini' type vehicle to around £2k for bigguns.

my choice would be to use the money on paint.............


regards.
DC.

Well that wraps that one up .

Seems like a waste of a LOT money that adds ZERO value to the car and probably results in loss of value - and would certainly reduce the number of potential buyers if you wanted to sell (unless you de-wrapped it - but then that just confirms you've wasted a LOT of money).

Yes if you don't think about the pros of wrapping.
For example you get a lot less tear and wear on the paintwork, wrap a new car and when you remove it 10 years later it looks new again!

[AndyC]

And, you get the ability to perform a temporary(few years) colour change without destroying the originality of the paintwork if it's in good condition. I don't think wrapping is in place of a re-spray where the original paint has failed and you want to retain that original colour, but it has it's place.

[MalcolmH]

It's also probably one of the best ways of achieving (not that I'd personally want one) a contemporary matt black finish.

I saw a matt-black-wrapped Audi TT in the Bluewater car park recently, and it looked stunning. Like The Dark Knight's teenage son had gone out shopping!