Any recommendations for top fibreglass repairers

[rob07]

Can anyone recommend a top quality fibreglass repairer, that iis experienced with crash damage,patching in or panel replacement. Not just someone who can give a shinny paint job.first hand experience prefered.

[Tyre Smoke]

Where would help.

As in, no point in recommendations in Scotland if you're in Kent.

[Lotobear]

This is the answer (not cheap but excellent):

https://www.option1sportscars.co.uk/

[rob07]

Sorry, I should have mentioned Im in london, but I understand that the insurers will deliver the car to a repairer of my choice so it can be further afield.
The car is a lotus europa if that makes a difference. I already know about Richard banks.

[Lotobear]

https://www.option1sportscars.co.uk/accident-repai...

[healeyfan]

Option 1. Taken over the mantle from Miles Wilkins.

[aeropilot]

There's also SMS Autospray which is a Lotus repair/restoration specialist. They were recently featured on the Cowland/Pritchard restoration show where they fitted a new roof panel to that early production S1 Esprit and repainted it, and I know of a chap that had his Elan done by them.

[4321go]

Specialised Paintwork in Reading do work for both Porsche Reading (who are their nextdoor neighbours) and Lamborghini Pangbourne.

But of more interest to you, for very many years they had very close ties to SGT (Station Garage Taplow) when they were a prolific Lotus main dealer. They still regularly work on badly damaged Lotuses and have done all of my paintwork for years. And back in the day (turn of the Millennium!) they flawlessly rebuilt both of my heavily crashed Esprits (the very last GT3 built, followed by a V8GT).

I’d happily recommend them.

http://www.specialisedpaintwork.com/aboutus/

[b2hbm]

Another call for Option One, they've been around for years and consistently high standard. From the cars I've seen they can certainly do concours winning stuff.

[ds666]

Option 1 wouldn’t do the sunroof delete on my s2 JPS Esprit as part of a full body restoration .
I wasn’t that impressed with the painted cars they showed me either .

[996Type]

I can recommend Chris at Boss motors for fibreglass work, especially Lotus. Just by Snetterton circuit.

[evojam]

ds666 said:

Option 1 wouldn’t do the sunroof delete on my s2 JPS Esprit as part of a full body restoration .
I wasn’t that impressed with the painted cars they showed me either .

Interested into the reasons they gave as to why they would'nt do it?

I did watch that episode with the orange S1 and did wonder/balked at the possible loss of structural strength in the fibreglass shell cutting the roof off like that!

[ds666]

evojam said:

ds666 said:

Option 1 wouldn’t do the sunroof delete on my s2 JPS Esprit as part of a full body restoration .
I wasn’t that impressed with the painted cars they showed me either .

Interested into the reasons they gave as to why they would'nt do it?

I did watch that episode with the orange S1 and did wonder/balked at the possible loss of structural strength in the fibreglass shell cutting the roof off like that!

The issue with filling the sunroof is that if it isn’t done properly then over time it sinks and you can see where the hole used to be …
Don’t think there are structural issues .

[aeropilot]

ds666 said:

evojam said:

ds666 said:

Option 1 wouldn’t do the sunroof delete on my s2 JPS Esprit as part of a full body restoration .
I wasn’t that impressed with the painted cars they showed me either .

Interested into the reasons they gave as to why they would'nt do it?

I did watch that episode with the orange S1 and did wonder/balked at the possible loss of structural strength in the fibreglass shell cutting the roof off like that!

The issue with filling the sunroof is that if it isn’t done properly then over time it sinks and you can see where the hole used to be …
Don’t think there are structural issues .

Which is what you could see had clearly had happened to the early S1 on the Pritchard/Cowland TV program, and why they took it to SMS to be done again.

[Lotobear]

It suprises me that Option 1 refused to do a fairly routine panel replacement, it should be meat and drink to them.

I've done a fair bit of fibreglass work and replaced, as an amateur, a complete roof panel on an Elan without any such issues. Fibreglass repairs will not sink but filler can if laid too thick - the idea is to bond in the repair with resin and glass matting, finishing with a layer of tissue, so that only a minimal skim of filler is required thus eliminating the risk of future sinkage.

Edited by Lotobear on Monday 18th July 13:42