Paint Job from Hell - What are my options?
Discussion
I have a car with truly appalling paintwork, in a colour I don't even like; actually it's two colours Rosso Pearl over-sprayed with something pink at the front. I can't afford a colour change, which is probably the only proper solution. So a friend has suggested that a matt black wrap might be the most cost effective option, and the Mad Max look might work.
Any recommendations bearing in mind a limited budget would be much appreciated. Although I am willing to tackle any mechanical work myself, I just want to hand the car over to someone else for this job (not least because I don't have anywhere I can sand or paint).
Any recommendations bearing in mind a limited budget would be much appreciated. Although I am willing to tackle any mechanical work myself, I just want to hand the car over to someone else for this job (not least because I don't have anywhere I can sand or paint).
ShaunTheSheep said:
What about that plastidip stuff?
I have seen great results on pieces of trim, but didn't realize you could dip a whole car - how does that work? Anyway there would be considerable prep work needed to deal with the current surface first, I guess that's true whatever route I go down.ukkid35 said:
there would be considerable prep work needed to deal with the current surface first, I guess that's true whatever route I go down.
Indeed. There's no shortcut, the quality of the finish will be proportional to the amount of time and therefore money spent.I'd suggest the cheapest way to get it re-finished in a different colour would be to wrap it, but even so you'd still want to do something about the larger chips and the orange peel first.
I'm probably going to be asked to hand in my membership card on the way out for not knowing for certain that it was a TVR from the pictures 
If fibreglass, forget any aspirations of acheiving a good and durable finish with paint without significant money being spent. I am not a paint expert but my approach would probably be to sand the rough patches, use high build primer on the smaller blemishes/pinholes and fill the bigger chips, before wrapping. This would be the minimum in terms of hours I expect, and therefore the cheapest way unless you're able to DIY. The finish would probably be pretty good.
In my opinion, don't go matt- the gloss wraps are perfectly good and will still conceal any blemishes pretty well.
If fibreglass, forget any aspirations of acheiving a good and durable finish with paint without significant money being spent. I am not a paint expert but my approach would probably be to sand the rough patches, use high build primer on the smaller blemishes/pinholes and fill the bigger chips, before wrapping. This would be the minimum in terms of hours I expect, and therefore the cheapest way unless you're able to DIY. The finish would probably be pretty good.
In my opinion, don't go matt- the gloss wraps are perfectly good and will still conceal any blemishes pretty well.
Edited by BritishRacinGrin on Friday 1st August 11:09
ukkid35 said:
there would be considerable prep work needed to deal with the current surface first, I guess that's true whatever route I go down.
BritishRacinGrin said:
Indeed. There's no shortcut
Not strictly true guys: With plastidip, there's none of the prep you'd associate with paint. I've done several cars and it's a one day job start to finish with one person. You dont prep the surface at all, you just give it a good wash.Paint on the other hand..... well, I've just spent 3 solid weeks getting my mustang into primer ready for the gloss topcoat.
if you want a quick, cheap (c£250) solution and don't mind a matt finish, plastidip is a great option
I'm no expert on GRP ....
.... but (some of) your problems seem to stem from issues of damp/moisture inside the car (or more correctly in the panels themselves) that is trying to escape out through the panels and causing issues with the paint.
If what I'm suggesting is correct then by wrapping, coating in plasidip or whatever you would be trapping the moisture in further and I would think that in itself could cause even more/bigger problems within a relatively short period.
The damp/moisture problem has got to be sorted out first - the whole car needs to be thoroughly dried out (oven baked) before any other work is undertaken - but as I said I'm no GRP expert.
.... but (some of) your problems seem to stem from issues of damp/moisture inside the car (or more correctly in the panels themselves) that is trying to escape out through the panels and causing issues with the paint.
If what I'm suggesting is correct then by wrapping, coating in plasidip or whatever you would be trapping the moisture in further and I would think that in itself could cause even more/bigger problems within a relatively short period.
The damp/moisture problem has got to be sorted out first - the whole car needs to be thoroughly dried out (oven baked) before any other work is undertaken - but as I said I'm no GRP expert.
Picture three is micro blistering, primer has not flashed correctly and the moisture content is coming through or was painted in a high moisture environment or just poor materials etc. If it has it one place will appear elsewhere.
Whole car needs stripping back because of this and because its grp. If you just da over the micro blistering prime and paint it will come back in days. It needs stripping back or bar coating.
Only get it painted by a grp experienced bodyshop, glass fibre is funny stuff and the paint can just peel away!
Whole car needs stripping back because of this and because its grp. If you just da over the micro blistering prime and paint it will come back in days. It needs stripping back or bar coating.
Only get it painted by a grp experienced bodyshop, glass fibre is funny stuff and the paint can just peel away!
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