Recommendation and Costs for Full Respray
Discussion
I'm in the process of having mine re-sprayed. Not in the normal sense as I have had different people do different elements, Plasticman for the glass work (not as Chris Browns can't do it, I had it already arranged) myself for the complete strip of all fittings etc. . .
I am terribly fussy about who does any work on my car and do not hand it over lightly to anyone. I do all my own servicing for example. Handing it over for a major project as finishing the bodywork after raw glass work, sorting all shut lines and other issues I could do not do myself meant researching somewhere suitable..
Cheers to Thainy77 for posting what a fantastic job Chris had done on re-spraying his T350.
I'm Suffolk based and wanted a body shop that was reasonably local to me, didn't mind me popping in, doing some of the work when needed. Was prepared to work with me on solving particular requirements and at the end of it would produce a great result - historically all of my bodywork went to a family friend who has since passed on.
In the end my car is with Chris Brown's Bodyshop at Downham Market and what a refreshing guy Chris himself is to deal with, a small independent with a nice bunch of guys working there who don't mind when you show up to poke about your car and check where they are. Are happy to go through my list of different things I wanted sorted and the real refreshing piece was when I went to do some bits on the car on Friday, my list had been completed. Mine is now being masked up for the first primer coat before flatting, but the attention to detail and adherence to my requests has been first class. I simply can not wait to get the car back now as I just know how good it will look.
Chris is a PH member, put Kevin Gore's race Tuscan back together after his Oulton shunt and is first stop for Sebring cars and well known amongst the East Anglia forum.
Chris Browns Bodyshop
Chris's profile
I am terribly fussy about who does any work on my car and do not hand it over lightly to anyone. I do all my own servicing for example. Handing it over for a major project as finishing the bodywork after raw glass work, sorting all shut lines and other issues I could do not do myself meant researching somewhere suitable..
Cheers to Thainy77 for posting what a fantastic job Chris had done on re-spraying his T350.
I'm Suffolk based and wanted a body shop that was reasonably local to me, didn't mind me popping in, doing some of the work when needed. Was prepared to work with me on solving particular requirements and at the end of it would produce a great result - historically all of my bodywork went to a family friend who has since passed on.
In the end my car is with Chris Brown's Bodyshop at Downham Market and what a refreshing guy Chris himself is to deal with, a small independent with a nice bunch of guys working there who don't mind when you show up to poke about your car and check where they are. Are happy to go through my list of different things I wanted sorted and the real refreshing piece was when I went to do some bits on the car on Friday, my list had been completed. Mine is now being masked up for the first primer coat before flatting, but the attention to detail and adherence to my requests has been first class. I simply can not wait to get the car back now as I just know how good it will look.
Chris is a PH member, put Kevin Gore's race Tuscan back together after his Oulton shunt and is first stop for Sebring cars and well known amongst the East Anglia forum.
Chris Browns Bodyshop
Chris's profile
It may be that they can correct the paint, a detail as such. One of the issues of living in the area we do is the damned hard water we have. If left on the car it will form water marks that can then affect the clear coat, it may have been covered in bird pooh historically or all sorts of contaminants can do it to paint, tree sap is another b
d to deal with. Never park under trees in the summer if you value your paint.
Have you tried clay barring the surface. It does sound like a scary prospect, rubbing clay over your beloved paintwork, but follow the instructions and use plenty of lube and it's an essential part of getting a top quality finish on paint. I always clay mine before polishing or waxing.
I had white over spray on my black Golf from a long time ago and finally decided to shift it the other evening. I've used clay on the Griffith for the last 3yrs or so, but had been told how good it was on over spray I had a go. Awesome . .. all gone and now need to resort to harsher treatments. I use Mothers clay, but Meg's, Dodo and all sorts do really good quality clay. Make sure you buy it as a clay kit so you get the lube as part of it, usually it is a quick detailer.
If I were you I would consider a thorough clean, ideally with snow foam to start. Then a two bucket wash to make sure all the loose stuff is off the car with a lambswool wash mit and then potentially I'd clay the paintwork paying attention to the marked areas. Then if that didn't shift it I would use something like R222 Total Auto Wash to see whether it removed the marks. Be aware though that a cleaner like TAW will remove waxes etc that have been laid down historically and will therefore need replacing. TAW is awesome stuff though, especially for de-greasing an engine bay . . .
If that doesn't shift the marks then you're into polishing (as distinct from waxing) and paint correction is best done with dual action or rotary polisher and someone who knows what they're doing. I don't, but I do get good results on my car, but I rarely have significant enough issues to deal with and when I do I turn to people like Chris. I get acceptable results for me and most people, a real pro makes the paint finish like a mirror. You do need to be a bit brave and very patient. For example I machine polished the plastic rear screen last week as part of the overall spruce up and got really good results getting rid of fine scratches and swirls that hand polishing simply wouldn't achieve.
The detailing forum on here is very good and a really good source of knowledge, worth asking the question in there as there are plenty of people far more knowledgeable than I. Chris is a top fella though from my experience to date and I am sure he'll let you know what's best. Hopefully you could get away with a correction rather than a respray.
With mine I have chosen to strip the car myself so that I can re-make the boot hinges in ally, polish all ally parts, replace all fixings with SS or anodised and the menu of mods and improvements goes on and on from there. Bless her, she's got nearly 80k hard mile son her, she's been driven into by 4x4's and buses, idiots in Citroen's and whacked into the M4 central reservation in the last 8yrs and now was as good a time as any to get her back to factory condition aesthetically - or at least a bit better. One of the things Chris understood is that I wanted to re-spray the car with out it ever looking like it had been resprayed. In talking to him he understands TVR paint, the issues of having too much on the car from historical resprays and the need to strip it right back, seals, silicone, badges, stickers the lot so there aren't the masking lines hidden behind edges etc . . . It one of the reasons I chose him to do the work.
Here's a couple of mine from Friday, being masked up . ..
This is what he had to work with . . . In fairness I have to say all the work from Plasticman (as his portfolio and reputation supports) was absolutely excellent. He goes just that little bit further to make sure the job is done properly. So the new rear quarter you see below was grafter along all the shut lines and the join placed down below the centre line rather than from the rear wheel arch to the boot corner as they're often done. It's a lot more work, it's much harder to do but it means you won't see the shut line later on like a previous repair I could see. (it's a popular side of the car for others to drive into !!!)
d to deal with. Never park under trees in the summer if you value your paint.Have you tried clay barring the surface. It does sound like a scary prospect, rubbing clay over your beloved paintwork, but follow the instructions and use plenty of lube and it's an essential part of getting a top quality finish on paint. I always clay mine before polishing or waxing.
I had white over spray on my black Golf from a long time ago and finally decided to shift it the other evening. I've used clay on the Griffith for the last 3yrs or so, but had been told how good it was on over spray I had a go. Awesome . .. all gone and now need to resort to harsher treatments. I use Mothers clay, but Meg's, Dodo and all sorts do really good quality clay. Make sure you buy it as a clay kit so you get the lube as part of it, usually it is a quick detailer.
If I were you I would consider a thorough clean, ideally with snow foam to start. Then a two bucket wash to make sure all the loose stuff is off the car with a lambswool wash mit and then potentially I'd clay the paintwork paying attention to the marked areas. Then if that didn't shift it I would use something like R222 Total Auto Wash to see whether it removed the marks. Be aware though that a cleaner like TAW will remove waxes etc that have been laid down historically and will therefore need replacing. TAW is awesome stuff though, especially for de-greasing an engine bay . . .
If that doesn't shift the marks then you're into polishing (as distinct from waxing) and paint correction is best done with dual action or rotary polisher and someone who knows what they're doing. I don't, but I do get good results on my car, but I rarely have significant enough issues to deal with and when I do I turn to people like Chris. I get acceptable results for me and most people, a real pro makes the paint finish like a mirror. You do need to be a bit brave and very patient. For example I machine polished the plastic rear screen last week as part of the overall spruce up and got really good results getting rid of fine scratches and swirls that hand polishing simply wouldn't achieve.
The detailing forum on here is very good and a really good source of knowledge, worth asking the question in there as there are plenty of people far more knowledgeable than I. Chris is a top fella though from my experience to date and I am sure he'll let you know what's best. Hopefully you could get away with a correction rather than a respray.
With mine I have chosen to strip the car myself so that I can re-make the boot hinges in ally, polish all ally parts, replace all fixings with SS or anodised and the menu of mods and improvements goes on and on from there. Bless her, she's got nearly 80k hard mile son her, she's been driven into by 4x4's and buses, idiots in Citroen's and whacked into the M4 central reservation in the last 8yrs and now was as good a time as any to get her back to factory condition aesthetically - or at least a bit better. One of the things Chris understood is that I wanted to re-spray the car with out it ever looking like it had been resprayed. In talking to him he understands TVR paint, the issues of having too much on the car from historical resprays and the need to strip it right back, seals, silicone, badges, stickers the lot so there aren't the masking lines hidden behind edges etc . . . It one of the reasons I chose him to do the work.
Here's a couple of mine from Friday, being masked up . ..
This is what he had to work with . . . In fairness I have to say all the work from Plasticman (as his portfolio and reputation supports) was absolutely excellent. He goes just that little bit further to make sure the job is done properly. So the new rear quarter you see below was grafter along all the shut lines and the join placed down below the centre line rather than from the rear wheel arch to the boot corner as they're often done. It's a lot more work, it's much harder to do but it means you won't see the shut line later on like a previous repair I could see. (it's a popular side of the car for others to drive into !!!)
Edited by Johno on Tuesday 27th April 21:27
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