re-spray

[persimmon]

Hi , I`m considering buying a car but it is a colour I don`t like . If the body is in good nick and the paintwork free from blemishes / blistering / cracks , would it be possible to just lightly sand it down and re-spray it without completely stripping off all the old paint ?

Thanks .

[SimonH]

Of course it is possible, its just a GRP shell at the end of the day. If you get someone who knows about painting GRP it'll most likely be ok. There's always the risk that something below the surface will appear or a reaction but it doesn't have to be taken back to bare surface to do a colour change.

[Andy8421]

If the body is in good nick and the paintwork free from blemishes / blistering / cracks

That's a big 'if'.

You will be very lucky to find an Elan in that condition. While Simon is correct, the solvents used in spray painting seem to accentuate even the smallest blemish and also react with repairs buried under the existing paintwork. This can take time to develop, so you can have a good finish 'out of the gun', but 6 months later wonder where all the sunken repairs that are showing through the paint have come from.

You can always give it a go, but with the risk that you will have to strip the car if the finish isn't what you want.

[persimmon]

One of the best known Lotus specialists quoted me a price of £ 10 k for a paint job , is that fair ? Seems expensive to me , and more than I would be willing to pay - cheaper just to wait till a better car came along . Maybe I could do all the prep work myself , masking things etc and just get someone to come in and spray it . I can`t do the whole job because a ) no experience and b) no compressor .

[Andy8421]

One of the best known Lotus specialists quoted me a price of £ 10 k for a paint job , is that fair ? Seems expensive to me , and more than I would be willing to pay - cheaper just to wait till a better car came along . Maybe I could do all the prep work myself , masking things etc and just get someone to come in and spray it . I can`t do the whole job because a ) no experience and b) no compressor .

It all depends on the job you want, a quick blow-over, or a full strip, rectify and re spray.

Its only a small car, but stripping and prepping an Elan is highly labour intensive. Search this forum, there are many threads about the work involved. Estimates of time taken range from 100 to 300 hours.

[UAB807F]

£10k for a top quality re-spray which involves a colour change isn't unreasonable to my mind, I can remember folks paying £8k years ago..

They will be allowing for stripping the old paint and a contingency for any repairs which come to light. Before Elans became desirable classics it was common to find bodged repairs with lots of filler and they'll want to redo any such areas.

And to do the job properly you need to remove glass, doors, boot lid, etc, a lot of dismantling and rebuilding time. To put into perspective, think how long it would take you to remove something simple like a headlamp pod, prep for paint, paint & then re-fit to the car. Then think about two doors with trim, electrics, door locks, etc.

I've repainted my Elan several times over the years and it generally takes me two solid weeks of preparation and probably a month from start to finish. If there's any repair work needed I'll start that well in advance of the main prep. to allow the resin to settle down before the first coats go on, otherwise it will bleed through 12 months later.

Actually spraying the car isn't the problem or the time consuming step, the paint goes on very quickly and you spend more time waiting around before applying subsequent coats than anything else.

[berni29]

Hi , I`m considering buying a car but it is a colour I don`t like . If the body is in good nick and the paintwork free from blemishes / blistering / cracks , would it be possible to just lightly sand it down and re-spray it without completely stripping off all the old paint ?

Thanks .

Hi

What colour is the car? I bought a red one, red being my least favourite colour and now I love it. It slowly grew on me.

Having said that I always wanted a white one, so I resprayed a bare shell in cream (RAL 9001) about 6 months ago. Do not underestimate the amount of rubbing down required. IRO your car, some of these cars have a LOT of paint on them from people doing just what you propose, but at some point it all gets a bit thick and the car starts to loose some of its lines.

Yours may be fine though! What is your preferred colour?

All the best

Berni

[persimmon]

Hi , I`m considering buying a car but it is a colour I don`t like . If the body is in good nick and the paintwork free from blemishes / blistering / cracks , would it be possible to just lightly sand it down and re-spray it without completely stripping off all the old paint ?

Thanks .

Hi

What colour is the car? I bought a red one, red being my least favourite colour and now I love it. It slowly grew on me.

Having said that I always wanted a white one, so I resprayed a bare shell in cream (RAL 9001) about 6 months ago. Do not underestimate the amount of rubbing down required. IRO your car, some of these cars have a LOT of paint on them from people doing just what you propose, but at some point it all gets a bit thick and the car starts to loose some of its lines.

Yours may be fine though! What is your preferred colour?

All the best

Berni

My ideal colour would be Sage green ( Jag colour from the mid `70 s ) , with a silver roof . I was looking at a yellow one ( there seem to be a lot of these about ) , but I don`t think I could live with that , it`s just too bright for me .
I might have to do the whole job myself if I can find garage space . I need to do a lot more research on how to use spraying equipment , maybe buy myself a cheap compressor . The actual spray gun shouldn`t be too expensive . Or , if I can get it all prepped , find someone with the equipment who can just spray it in situ .

[berni29]

Hi

Sage green. Yes that would look very special indeed. My last Plus 2 before my current re-entry into building some cars up was a BRG one. I did very much like the colour, esp with that he green tinted glass and black interior it had, but I always felt it was a little dark.

if you paint it yourself then the challenges will be mainly dust control temperature control, and having enough space to get around the car comfortably. Get a big enough compressor as you will be needing an air fed face mask (in my opinion) as well as enough air to do the job without the compressor running all the time.

I borrowed a spray booth when I did my cream one, but I will do it at home next time. I have another very tatty body and have started to feel the call of Sage green!

Best of luck

Berni

[Sadbrewer]

My ideal colour would be Sage green ( Jag colour from the mid `70 s ) , with a silver roof . I was looking at a yellow one ( there seem to be a lot of these about ) , but I don`t think I could live with that , it`s just too bright for me .
I might have to do the whole job myself if I can find garage space . I need to do a lot more research on how to use spraying equipment , maybe buy myself a cheap compressor . The actual spray gun shouldn`t be too expensive . Or , if I can get it all prepped , find someone with the equipment who can just spray it in situ .[/quote]

I'm not saying don't have a go, but if you want what looks like a professional job, don't underestimate how difficult it is to achieve. The preparation work is both tedious and highly skilful. Cheap compressors and spray guns are cheap for a reason...you need the highest quality of masking tapes (if you have to mask) and as has been said above you need the right protective equipment, breathing this stuff in is not a great choice.

[persimmon]

Thanks for all the replies . The bit about breathing in solvent vapour is another reason I need to be careful . A few years ago I took a car in to be sprayed and the guy there had to retire from his job with a main dealer due to health issues related to breathing in vapour .

[Andy8421]

Thanks for all the replies . The bit about breathing in solvent vapour is another reason I need to be careful . A few years ago I took a car in to be sprayed and the guy there had to retire from his job with a main dealer due to health issues related to breathing in vapour .

Take the health risks seriously. The severity of the risk depends on the paint system you choose, but 2 pack (2K) paints that are based on isocyanates can create ongoing breathing problems with a single large exposure.

There is a lot online about this.