Respray

[barker_001]

I'm finally in a position to do something about the one thing that lets my car down - the faded red paintwork. Today I had a quote of £2200 from a recommended local bodyshop in Cardiff, who has done work on many Lotuses and other prestige cars. I have to admit, the quote was a little higher than I hoped; however the proprietor said that for that price he would remove the doors, light pods, and waist trim to do a proper respray. I hadn't really considered removing the doors as necessary before, since the door frame / surround is not really faded. The same is true of the light pods. So I have a couple of questions:

1. £2200. A fair price?
2. What are the pros / cons of removing the doors and light pods? Although it would allow a more complete respray, I'm conscious that disturbing them could cause a lot of niggles - at the moment the car is waterproof, all the door electrics and central locking work perfectly. What are the chances of getting it back together as it was before?
3. How difficult actually is it to remove the doors?

Thanks for your thoughts / opinions...

[Mr E]

The advantage of removing the doors and pods would be that if you open the doors or put on the light all visible paint will have the same appearance.
Not being faded is not the point, if not removed they will get overspray.
For them door removal is very easy probably do it all the time.
Fair price? I thinks so. you could go cheaper but probably without warranty and possible small imperfections.
Ask them what warranty you get, 5, 10 years or even longer.
What brand are they using?

In doing a respray remember that preparation is the most time consuming part but also the most important and underestimated part.
Its not the paint they are selling, its the hours in preparation, applying and in the UK buffing.

More questions, please ask. I work in this business (developing paint to repair cars) for 24 years.

[AndyC]

If you are experienced, or prepared to learn you could reduce the cost by doing a lot of the prep work yourself but if whilst doing that you cause damage, it may negate some of the saving.

When mine was resprayed (5 -7 years ago) I did all the prep and finish work, it was £400 incl materials. the car arrived at the workshop on a trailer, doors boot lid and bonnet in place (so I had paint lines where the engine was masked and over-spray on the inner edges of boot etc) but lights etc removed.
He painted it (2 pack so no lacquer)
I colour sanded and polished to finish the reassembled and fitted new waist trim.

For the whole job, it seems a decent price.

[Big Jim]

I had 2 ball park phone quotes last year 2000 and 4000 , so yous seems the right end . Your man seems thorough .

[Lotus-e-Clan]

Yes, for the whole job it seems justifiable in the current market.

But you should ask yourself is it worth it? Is it really THAT pink?

If I look at mine against the Clan then it looks a bit pink because the Clan is a more orange-acid-tomato red. If I look at the Excel in isolation it looks ...err RED.

The Clan has all sorts of chips and stuff but a respray is the last thing on my mind - it's value is more intrinsic. The Excel has some nose stone chips etc but otherwise it's very good and moreover - it's on it's original paint and again. its value is more intrinsic.

Once your £2.2k paint job is done you will be cacking yourself about stone chips and parking scuffs. It will no longer be on it's original paint (a negative in my mind) and within 2 years you will have picked up a little damage -enough to make your heart sink and annoy you about the paint condition. You will now be £2.2 k poorer, a shade redder (if you have chosen paint shade and type wisely), but the paint job will no longer be perfect!

Fade and Patina is entirely justifiable for a 25 year old car on it's original paint ..and even if they could have /should have chosen better - that's the Red paint that Lotus chose - it's meant to be - it's its genuine history - so why worry?

It's like you are setting yourself-up against some other standard other than Lotus standards - why?

...just playing devils advocate Brian

[Big Jim]

I can understand that argument Peter .
This is my gear knob .A few years ago this would be one off the first jobs on the list to strip it and re varnish .A job that would cost nothing . Now I like the feeling that that it shows the years of use , once refurbed it is lost . I still haven't decide what to do .



Jim

[MalcolmH]

Part of me agrees with Peter. However the paint on my last Excel was fairly pink, and although it always came back to decent red with a T-Cut, it never lasted that long and I did get fed-up of having to do it!

So if money had been no object to me, I'd have invested in a decent respray. And what Bryan has been quoted for sounds exactly that.

It was actually academic on that car, as so many other jobs needed doing that a repaint - even if I could have afforded it - would have been way down the list.

The originality argument is a valid one. But the reality is that at time of resale there'll be as many takers for well done original-colour resprays and reconnollised leather as for original paint and patina. And there are limits - a badly-sagging headlining may be 'original', but most of us would choose to replace it!

So Bryan, if you can afford it and would like to rest your T-cutting arm... go for it!!!

By the way, Jim, your knob (as it were)... to me that looks like an aftermarket replacement. I may be wrong, but I thought all the original Excel gearknobs were round. One of the things I did do with the last car was rub down and revarnish the gearknob and seat knobs. But although I only used some leftover household varnish that was in the shed, they looked fantastic!!!

[Lotus-e-Clan]

Hopefully Brian isn't thinking of resale. But at the end of the day it's what you feel about your car that's most important. And if you feel ashamed of sightly pink paint with a few chips then maybe it's only right you tend to you feminine side, bite the bullet, and get a makeover...

[MalcolmH]

Feminine side... what are you suggesting, Peter? Though you also cheekily mention 'a few chips' - have you seen what they do to my hips???!!!

Must admit, the Calypso on my current car is in much better order, though the front bonnet section is liberally plastered with stone chips. Way too many (and mostly too small) to touch-in without making it look worse. And the back end is a little faded, but not so much that most people would notice. Or that I'm moved to do anything about it.

Which may be the point. With many classics (and Excels) I've owned, my overriding 'mission' has been to gradually take the look back to that of the car when it was new. Or as close as I'm able to manage anyway! But with this current one the level of wear and patina, whilst definitely present, is such that I'm quite happy to leave it. Even the stone chips being some sort of etched testament to the enthusiasm with which the car has been driven during its life.

But if the paint was as pink as Bryan's sounds like (to him, anyway), I'd definitely be in the respray camp.

Oooh, camp... there I go again!

[Lotus-e-Clan]

I wonder what it would look like wrapped? Clarkson et al did a good job of their hot hatches on Sunday and it's far less expensive ...apparently ...and a bit more chip resistant!

That said, was I the only one that didn't enjoy Top Gear last Sunday? It was dire ..same old same old.

[Hawaiis0]

Here is a curve ball regarding faded pink red paint. I had a "pink" red polo many years back and idiotically T-cut a small area back to pristine Red. That area stood out like a beacon so I had to match the rest of car to the new paint and polish on polish off started. In the end I had the Red car back.

Does yours just need a polish?

[Lotus-e-Clan]

Not that I've tried, but I'm pretty sure mine has a clear top coat ...so can't cut back to red.

I thought they were all clear-coated?

[barker_001]

Wow - that certainly sparked a debate! Thanks to everyone for your input!

It sounds as if £2200 is a fair price for the amount of work involved - and resale is not on the agenda, so it would be an investment in my enjoyment of the car.

Peter - concerning the originality / patina argument - normally I would take the same view as you. Two of my other prized posessions are an 1865 classical guitar and a 1920s Riley Billiard dining table. Both show substantial amounts of "patina", and any attempt to over-restore them would be a crime, IMHO.

However, the paint on my car is not all original. In particular, the rear quarters above the waist line and across under the boot lid have been sprayed more recently, and stands out like a sore thumb, especially if its a while since its been polished. It looks as if the reason for this repaint was that the lip of the boot was caught with something heavy (spare wheel?) and the fibreglass was cracked, then repaired and repainted. So I don't feel like I would be destroying any originality, and my interior certainly has plenty of patina...

[RRHANS]

I had it resprayed last year and replaced the bumper and bonnet with a facelift version.
The bumper came from lotusbits and needed a lot of work in preparation.
There was actualy a hole in the lower part that needed some fibreglassing.
It all costed me 3500€.

The car looks as new now.

Will they remove the front screen, is there some form of delamination?

[MalcolmH]

My previous one had already been resprayed by a past owner, Peter. It always took the T-Cut very well, so presumably hadn't been clear-coated. That said, it did have a colossal number of micro-blisters, so the quality of the respray can't have been that great.

Actually, Bryan, the place that's quoted you - you might just want to check how much experience they have with fibreglass cars. From what I understand (though I'm open to being corrected) painting fibreglass is more complex than metal due to the various reactions than can occur.