[Mk2] [Generic] DIY re-spray!

[Evo-Mr2]

I know there have been a couple of posts recently about re-sprays, well, I was thinking of doing my own

When you think about it most of the cost of a re-spray is the labour in getting the parts prepped. I was looking at my MR2 the other day and was thinking that most of the bodywork can be easily removed, such as bumpers, side vents, bonnet, engine cover, boot etc.

I was thinking that I could remove these all and spray them my self and then take the shell to a 'proper' body shop to have that painted on its own.

I haven't got any of the spray equipment however I thought that even if a spray gun and air compressor cost me up to £500 then it still a hell of a lot cheaper than a full re-spray?

Has anyone else thought about doing this or am I being crazy for even considering this?

I have sprayed a few panels etc in the past so do have a very slight idea about how to spray properly.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Graham

[dawolf]

Spraying is a very difficult thing to get right. It's always adviseable to get it done professionally even though it's costly. They can always get the best flattest finish due to their spraying experience and specially heated bodyshop which helps the paint to dry properly. I've seen a lot of poor DIY attempts which end up with lots of defects or a dull finish.

[MrJay]

If you want to save yourself some money strip the car yourself, mask up windows and such and get the car taken to the bodyshop on a trailer and if you really want a nice job strip the whole thing down to just the chassis then you won't end up with things like my engine bay being a different red to the rest of the car lol

[Martin F]

you could try polishing it first....wet and dry the whole car and use g3 compound and polish it, you may be surprised with the end result...you will need a couple off spare days though if your wanting a good end result

[copie]

umm seems a lot of trouble to save a couple of hundred quid. Im in kent and use a bodyshop called kode performance, www.kodeperformance.co.uk not the biggest and well known place going but does a alwsome job and spends all there time doing one car at a time. rather than having loads of jobs on the go at once. They did my 200sx for £950 and included some repair work.

they have just done falcon sercuity's evo 5 in house of kolor blue which looks the nuts. I know this is going to be all over the place this year at the shows.

So if you say spend up to £500 on equipment, by the time you have taken the car apart and rubbed it down, its got to be easyer and simpler to take it to a body shop. To do all the work. Plus if you spray some parts and the body shop sprays the rest of the car you might get two different finishes.

[coolhands]

If you do the panels separately from the shell, I'm pretty sure you would end up with different colour (shades).

Plus, it is a lot of work - I'd pay someone!!

[Evo-Mr2]

Hmm, perhaps not a good idea then

I still cant see how you can get a 'decent' respray for less than £3k though.

My dads just had his RX7 resprayed in Audi A4 red by Bibby body styling over Essex way. I have to admit they done a fantastic job on it, I won't say how much the final bill was but it was way over £3k. And the car was already red as well!!

Don't take this the wrong way but I would be very interested in seeing what a £1k respray looks like and seeing how the two compare.

I fancied a change of colour but the old cash flow is a bit tight so I guess I will have to wait sometime before the respray. May just see about giving it a good polish instead for now!

Graham

[robbie_742003]

Don't take this the wrong way but I would be very interested in seeing what a £1k respray looks like and seeing how the two compare.


Graham

Perhaps for the first 6 months it might be fine, but the old saying is that what you normally pay for is what you get. I would deffo recommend you dont do the panels then get the shell done elsewhere, there will be a noticable difference.
You may get lucky and get a top job.