Respraying part or all of a Classic

[Laughingman21]

I'm about to start my first ever restoration on a Triumph Spitfire. It shouldn't take much to get the mechanicals sorted and through an MOT, but one area that could do with tidying up is some of the bodywork.

There are a few panels that could definitely do with tidying up. I was thinking of giving this a go myself, but wanted some feed back from those that have done it on how easy/hard it is as a beginner?

One thought that had crossed my mind is to go for a full body respray, but I have no idea on time/costs involved. I’m willing to do as much of the prep work as is possible.

Have any of the experienced hands of PH got any advice?

[benjj]

My advice would be to get quotes for:

1) full glass out respray
2) full glass in respray
3) blow over and blend of nasty panels

Once you have that you can decide what you can either afford or justify. Then gave a crack yourself. If you fark it up you know what it will take to put it right.

[Classic Grad 98]

Full body respray probably £2k+ to do it 'right'. You absolutely have to do it 'right' if you are changing the colour.

[Laughingman21]

benjj said:

My advice would be to get quotes for:

1) full glass out respray
2) full glass in respray
3) blow over and blend of nasty panels

Once you have that you can decide what you can either afford or justify. Then gave a crack yourself. If you fark it up you know what it will take to put it right.

Any idea how many hours it would take to:
a) prep the car
b) paint the car

for the above situations?

[v8250]

OP, prep'ing the car will determine how much prep' work is needed. It's often the case that you won't know what's hiding under existing paintwork until you get to, hopefully, clean metal. Then, what remedial work needs doing, then light primer, then paintwork + blending in + finishing.

If it helps, I'm just about to strip back to bare metal the front & rear wings + doors + sills on the MGB. I will carefully Nitromors off the paint, wipe down, then drive to local bodyshop who have quoted £1200 + VAT for body prep' + paintwork + detailing. Not sure where you're based but these guys have a very good reputation http://www.vanshack.com/index.html [near Oxford].

I'll also be getting them to complete some metal remedial work on the front left wing using zinc flame spraying http://www.vanshack.com/pages/flame-spray.html as I want as little amount of body primer as possible.

[Andy 308GTB]

The bodyshop that I have used over the years has a first class reputation.
I enquired about how much would be saved if I prep'd the car and delivered it to them for final prep and painting...

His advice was 'you stick to your job - and I'll stick to mine'.
He also said (jokingly) that he would rather do the prep for free than paint a customer prep'd car.
He had done this for a customer many years ago and such was the poor finish (by his standards) that he ended up stripping it back and starting again.

Obviously it depends on the finish that you want and the guy I refer to is top end.
I reduce my bills by doing the dis-assembly/re-assembly myself - which works well for all concerned because they would rather be painting than fumbling about with bodywork.

[52classic]

My experience is that there's no problem supplying a prepped car to a bodyshop. If someone tells you otherwise they're just being precious about it.

Last time was about 5 years ago and even then I got a perfectly acceptable job for about 400 quid AIRC. Prep cost me about £150 in materials and took ages but I just took each panel up to primer stage as I did the work on it. Whether it is cost effective may be doubtful but to me it is an essential part of a restoration being DIY.

[spoodler]

If the budget for even a "cheap" blowover turns out far more than expected you could always brush paint it - it will be much, much cheaper and can be done without specialist kit. I wouldn't recommend it if you are planning on selling as you may find a lot of folk biased against it, having said that done well it is practically indistinguishable from a spray job and covers infinitely better than a thin blowover. You will need coach paint and top quality brushes or you are wasting your time. This can work out particularly well on a rolling rebuild on something like a Spitty as you have well defined panels and can paint them one at a time.
If you are interested look on the 'net for more info', especially on vintage forums as most very old cars were originally brush painted.
Don't be put off by the naysayers, with a bit of research, patience and a bit of practice the results can be stunning (the paint is generally much thicker and can be cut back like glass). I've done a Bond Equipe, a Spitfire, a Herald and several motorcycles using this method and a mate of mine restores stagecoaches to museum quality.
As for the "How much ...?" - that is the proverbial piece of string and it would be unfair to say without knowledge of the car.
Best of luck...

[niagra]

http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk/index.htm...

I'm brush painting a motorcycle I'm restoring, if you do go down this route you have to have a very dust free environment as the paint takes a lot longer to dry than blown paint. The website in the link above is great and I am using Tractol primer and Tekaloid gloss - great stuff.

[Yertis]

Andy 308GTB said:

The bodyshop that I have used over the years has a first class reputation.
I enquired about how much would be saved if I prep'd the car and delivered it to them for final prep and painting...

His advice was 'you stick to your job - and I'll stick to mine'.
He also said (jokingly) that he would rather do the prep for free than paint a customer prep'd car.
He had done this for a customer many years ago and such was the poor finish (by his standards) that he ended up stripping it back and starting again.

Obviously it depends on the finish that you want and the guy I refer to is top end.
I reduce my bills by doing the dis-assembly/re-assembly myself - which works well for all concerned because they would rather be painting than fumbling about with bodywork.

I'm planning to use a place in Wales that many people on here speak highly of, but I too would quite like to do the dis-assembly / re-assembly myself. Not particularly to save money (although that always helps) but just because I enjoy it. But then I'd have the problem/cost of transporting the car. Wouldn't dream of prepping myself though - can completely see where your man was coming from there.

[Andy 308GTB]

Yertis said:

I'm planning to use a place in Wales that many people on here speak highly of, but I too would quite like to do the dis-assembly / re-assembly myself. Not particularly to save money (although that always helps) but just because I enjoy it. But then I'd have the problem/cost of transporting the car. Wouldn't dream of prepping myself though - can completely see where your man was coming from there.

If you are going for a bare metal respray I think you would save well into 4 figures disassembling & re-assembling the car etc - certainly enough to cover a truck to transport the car.
Also you will put it back to your standards - a bodyshop will not be experts on every car that comes through their doors. You will also gain a lot of knowledge of the car, which can be handy.

The Welsh bodyshop that I guess that you are referring to, appears to be faultless - he's a true enthusiast/craftsman. But you will need to book a slot - he's got work lined up for a good while according to a friend.

spoodler said:

...If you are interested look on the 'net for more info', especially on vintage forums as most very old cars were originally brush painted.

My father brush painted one of his cars (Sunbeam Twin Cam) many years ago. It still looks good today and as you say is 100% authentic. I originally assumed it was done to save money but it was done to be as close to original as possible.

Edited by Andy 308GTB on Thursday 12th January 20:05

Edited by Andy 308GTB on Thursday 12th January 20:06

[LordBretSinclair]

Before this thread goes much further can I ask the OP exactly what finish he is going for?

Restoration i.e. as original (or better) or "panels that could definitely do with tidying up".

If its the former then definitely go the professional route. If the latter then there's no reason why you shouldn't have a go yourself

[52classic]

Wise words from LBS! Here we are getting carried away with bare metal when OP may be better off with a couple of aerosols.

To my eyes a rolling resto is charming to drive and show. Just what the hobby is about.

[CDP]

52classic said:

Wise words from LBS! Here we are getting carried away with bare metal when OP may be better off with a couple of aerosols.

A decent paint factor will make up aerosols. For small repairs can be surprisingly cost effective as you don't need to buy all the extra thinners etc. They're also easier to use for a beginner. I bought a mixed to order can from Halfords for about £8 and it was a perfect match.

I can't imagine a paint specialist being worried about you dismantling the car but preparation is probably 90% of the work and I've met several who wouldn't touch a car they've not prepared themselves. Who can blame them when a poor paint job reflects so badly?

[neutral 3]

A good first resto car , but the sills , rear arches etc are Very time consuming and fiddly to weld if needed .

In one of the Monthly Comics , some time in the Early 80s a home rebuilt Spitfire MK3 was featured . It was almost Concours and its Owner had resprayed it with Airasols in his Spare room !! The finish that he achieved was incredible . Would be worth getting a copy of this Mag .

If it's a MK4 Spit , Java Green, Mimosa Yellow or Carmine Red All look lovely on the Spitfire . I restored a W plate one I'n 95 , it was a nice Orangy Red which I just cannot remember the name of , but a popular BL colour of the time .

[v46m4n]

.

If it's a MK4 Spit , Java Green, Mimosa Yellow or Carmine Red All look lovely on the Spitfire . I restored a W plate one I'n 95 , it was a nice Orangy Red which I just cannot remember the name of , but a popular BL colour of the time .
[/quote]
' vermillion'. that wsa a bright orangey red fron the early 80's

[Laughingman21]

LordBretSinclair said:

Before this thread goes much further can I ask the OP exactly what finish he is going for?

Restoration i.e. as original (or better) or "panels that could definitely do with tidying up".

If its the former then definitely go the professional route. If the latter then there's no reason why you shouldn't have a go yourself

As it stands, the car has some rust bubbles coming through and a couple of patches where the paint is coming away. These definitely need tidying up, but if I could improve the appearance of the car, I'm definitely interested in doing that too (at a sensible cost)