Anyone had their car piccled?

[Turbo-Brown]

At some point between now and the middle of next year, I'm planning to have my Pink shell resprayed black.

Having read numerous threads on the subject here, it seems that a lot of the cost of a respray is absorbed in the preperation of the shell. It also seems that there are no guarantees that rust won't be rearing it's ugly head at some point in the future too.

What occurs to me is that, for about £1750, you can have ALL the paint, underseal, rust and so forth and so on stripped from a shell and have the shell electro-plated with zinc ready for re-spraying.

That would remove any worries about rust until the end of time(ish) and also mean the the person doing the paint literally just needs to prime, flat back and then top coat the shell which I'm hoping would significantly reduce the cost of the paint job.

Can anyone see any flaws in my plan, and indeed am I being too optimistic that I could have a well rust-proofed car with nice paint job for around £2500?

Comments welcome as always

[bazza93]

£2500 for a repaint have you more money than sense ???
ok it would be rust proof, but id the car worth that much ? will you ever get your money back on it ?

[d6dph]

It's not about getting your money back Chris, I'm sure Alex isn't thinking like that with the twin turbo conversion so will want to put it in the best shell he can.

[jacko]

When you consider what some people have paid in the past to make their pride and joy look stunning then 2500 is a drop in the ocean if money is not an issue, especially if you plan to keep the car.

[bazza93]

It's not about getting your money back Chris, I'm sure Alex isn't thinking like that with the twin turbo conversion so will want to put it in the best shell he can.

point taken dave
what if you done all the body prep yourself that then would cut the cost and you yourself would know what preparation has been done and their then will be no hidden bodges

[d6dph]

I wouldn't entertain doing the prep myself.

If the paint finish comes out badly, The bodyshop will always blame the prep as they didn't do it. Much safer to get it all done by one place imo. If it goes wrong, Scream!

[bazza93]

I wouldn't entertain doing the prep myself.

If the paint finish comes out badly, The bodyshop will always blame the prep as they didn't do it. Much safer to get it all done by one place imo. If it goes wrong, Scream!

depends on how competent you are

[d6dph]

But it doesn't Chris. It will always be an easy get out for the bodyshop to blame someone elses work, Therefore not having to pay out to correct it.

I have seen it before. Believe me, It happens.

[bazza93]

But it doesn't Chris. It will always be an easy get out for the bodyshop to blame someone elses work, Therefore not having to pay out to correct it.

I have seen it before. Believe me, It happens.

ok fair point
i will shut up now

[daimlerman]

I expect that you have factored in the cost of transporting the shell and the inevitable welding that will be required? Do we need another black zone car? How about a dark blue?....

[miniblob]

Sounds like a good plan man!!!!!! As long as after the £1750 the shell really is mint - does it include perfecting all the panels, dent removal, etc??? Sounds wicked, but i can see hidden costs coming along!!!

Also, would be best to do that, then tell the paintshop to prep the car too their standards afterwards, so they can't blame someone else's work if they mess up!!!

Anyway, wouldn't think £2.5K was that silly a cost for a proper pucker respray!!!

As said, it ain't that much if you're looking to keep the car, etc.
I've spent more on a stereo to go in one before!!

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Sounds reasonable, especially if being plated too. Galvanisation is sadly lacking from e30s.

[oakey]

£2500 is not alot for a good respray, especially if thats including the zinc plating and rust removal etc.

I am expecting to pay that for a respray NOT including any welding.
I do suspect that it will add up to a fair bit more than £2500 all in though Alex

[Loony]

I would agree with dave a bit on the prep work however i use to work in the trade and if it were me i would do some of the prep work myself ie rub it down ready for primer.I would not prime it though then they can not blame you for any paint reactions bad finish etc.If you use a decent d.a and sand the paint down and rub the door shuts etc down that would save a bit.Then you tell them not to prime or paint untill they have quickly gone over it again and are happy with the prep work.You can also save money by stripping the windows,lights bumpers etc from the car.

[ChrisBarns]

When I broke down the other day I bouht a magazine while i waited for the AA. It was one of the Pracitcal Classics type ones where they have articles on rebuilding Austin brake drums...

Anyway it had an article about chemical stripping. I thought It would be nice to know that every scrap of rust, even inside the sills etc would be gone. Needed lots of stipping though - literally down to a bare shell with every gromet or old bit of sound deadening or even adhesive removed manually (the residue would gum up their tank). Very rusty cars may also use their integrity too. It also had a bit where they were rebuilding a Lotus Elan Plus 2 and used a firm that did blasting with soda to remove paint.

Threw my copy away when the battery went flat and the interior light stopped working but I'd guess its still for sale.

[Turbo-Brown]

Crikey, wasn't expecting so many replies

Think to get a really good job done on a respray requires removing pretty much everything (except perhaps wheels) so that the shell can be properly stripped back so that all needs to be done anyway.

The stripping process can remove underseal, sound deadening and so forth so that's not too much of a concern, although they do say it's the customer's responsibility to ensure everything plastic and aluminium's been taken off prior to stripping.

I was planning to do all the welding myself anyway as I can do that, what would be nice is the ability to just zinc prime any repairs, safe in the knowledge that any little bits of rust are going to be taken care of in the tank.

I think the costs associated with re-trimming the car would be the same which ever way I went as clips and things are bound to break / get lost.

I do have an idea in my head that if I've gone to all the trouble of working on this car, I want it to look immaculate so that people aren't taking the piss out of my car as is the case with poor ol' Brown I also have the idea that, if nothing happens to the car by means of a prang etc, I could quite happily keep the thing forever as it's not likely to be worth much to anyone except me.

[bazza93]

i think you have to remove all running gear as what you are thinking of having done requires the shell to be dipped, i. e dropped in a tank

[Turbo-Brown]

Absolutely, it needs to be a completely bare shell.

Can rent a trailer for a few days to take it there (cheers Dad! ) so that's not so bad, means I've got time to fiddle about making a dolly to shift the thing onto the trailer too.

[bazza93]

all i can say is, good luck and hope you are happy with spending many ours stripping the shell

[march109]

yeah not a job for the feint hearted!

[ShakeyC]

I think it bit much to do all that, dipping does not garentee it prevents rust soon as ther is a stone chip water will get in underside of car will eventualy rust. Better off waxoil main bits then spend money on good respray and prep.

[Speedtouch]

When I broke down the other day I bouht a magazine while i waited for the AA. It was one of the Pracitcal Classics...

Threw my copy away when the battery went flat and the interior light stopped working but I'd guess its still for sale.

Gasp! How could you throw away a copy of Practical Classics?!!

[ChrisBarns]

[Gasp! How could you throw away a copy of Practical Classics?!!

Its just too glamorous for me. Sometimes it has Morrises AND Austins! In the same edition! Plus an article on adjusting handbrake cables on a Hilman Hunter.

[Speedtouch]

I must admit, I am a little over-awed at the resplendent glamour of my 1970 Morris Traveller at times...

[georob]

Theres a compnay up here i deal with do this kinda thing but using pressure washers, gets rid of all the paint, underseal and rust and waaaaaaaay cheaper.

You can then send bare shell to paintshop for necessary filling of dents/ dings etc etc etc

[Turbo-Brown]

I think it bit much to do all that, dipping does not garentee it prevents rust soon as ther is a stone chip water will get in underside of car will eventualy rust. Better off waxoil main bits then spend money on good respray and prep.

This is the wonderful thing about zinc treating steel, stone chips don't make a blind bit of difference to the effectiveness of the protection as the protective layer is able to heal itself.

I have a couple of mild steel brackets on the front of the car holding the intercoolers on, the zinc paint I used to protect them is a bit flaky but, both the brackets and also the bodywork they're bolted to are enjoying corrosion protection, even though they're bare in places

[Kos]

dipping the cas is a good idea, but its not that simple.

the car will need a couple of coast fo primer, still need some filler work ( its a near 20 year body with lots of little dents ) and a few coats of paint.

in all honesty i dont think is saves much if anything in the long run. it just guarntees a rot free shell but that can be over come with out dipping the shell.

then theres the cost of seam sealler under seal and more primer and time to do it all etc, it all tots up abd will end up costing you mere by the time you are done.

[milez]

We get are Porsche shells dipped (when full resto or race car) , saves loads of labour removing underseal and glue from interior etc , but when you get the shell back there is still stacks of prep to do it right , can take 2 days to reseal every joint again . Like Kos says, add up cost of spray sealer, primer, labour and repairs to bodywork ,costs will soon add up .