the time has come....

[obcuz]

Well the time has nearly come to make this old car splendid again.

At a distance this looks quite OK but after 125k the exterior is showing its age, this car is nearly fifteen years old and now not worth a lot but this one has sentimental value only so not bothered in worth! I want it looking spot-on again.
So I'm looking for a complete re-spray to a very high standard, and some advice from you guys if you have 'been there, had that', I recently had an insurance paint job on our family hack and although the finish was not at fault and was a recommended accident repair specialist, the overall job was poorly executed, and I've lost a bit of confidence in that 'trade'
What type of place should I approach, a small place who 'say' they would go the extra mile or the high end refinishers who may treat it as just another job?
In with the above, I've a couple more questions, I want all the glass out, can the original glass be refitted? I intend to have a new front screen anyway, but not sure if the side or rear glass can be removed and refitted?
I am thinking that it will be best to keep the original colour so as not to have to spray interior and under bonnet/boot etc, but was thinking of something a bit different or special as this is going to be a show only car, and quite frankly a Clio looks a bit 'ordinary', open to (sensible) suggestions on that.
Cheers

 

[Mr R.]

Well all of the glass is bonded in so it will need to be cut out. As far as a body shop goes you want one with a proper spray booth. As far as where do you take it, you should ask a few local to you for a quote and to see some of there previous work.

 

[JB21]

Would you not just have it wrapped, cheaper and loads of great colours to choose from.

 

[JamesBryan]

I'd imagine that'd be at least £2000 to spray that properly :hushed:

 

[imprezaworks]

Be cheaper to get another clio unless you love the car etc

 

[BoatNonce]

Be cheaper to get another clio unless you love the car etc

OP won't be swapping this one out, I'd say.
https://www.cliosport.net/threads/having-a-go-the-consequence.634376/

I'm sure someone more local will know a place to get it done properly.

 

[obcuz]

Thanks for the replies guys, useful input.
I'm not sure what effect wrapping gives, I guess that's some sort of plastic coating? well I'm a bit 'old skool' so would prefer a paint finish, but thanks for the suggestion, was thinking more about graphics, but if so want something tasteful (if that's possible lol).
I've budgeted up to 4K for paint so will want it done properly, if it costs more then hey ho, I've saved for three years and would like it done early next year along with a few other things, the car is in good mechanical condition and still drives superb.
As McGherkin says, it has personal significance for me.
Whereas I know the glass is bonded in, I still need to know if I can re-use the rear and rear quarters?
Should I go for 2K paint, if so is this as bright as original paint (Arctic Blue) ? Should old paint be removed completely?
I need to know as much as possible about the task so I can parry any BS from the painters.
A few friends in the motor trade seem reluctant to recommend anyone, and with the stories I've heard and witnessed, I'm getting a bit paranoid about trusting anyone to get the job done right!

 

[JB21]

Budgeting £4k+ for paint is madness on a £1k car. Sell it and buy an immaculate example with super low miles.

 

[c4pob]

Budgeting £4k+ for paint is madness on a £1k car. Sell it and buy an immaculate example with super low miles.

Read the linked post by McGherkin. This car isn't going anywhere.
To the OP whilst I can't help with recommendations, I do wish you the very best of luck.

 

[obcuz]

Budgeting £4k+ for paint is madness on a £1k car.

Agree with you 100% JB, but some things in life you have to do regardless...

 

[imprezaworks]

OP won't be swapping this one out, I'd say.
https://www.cliosport.net/threads/having-a-go-the-consequence.634376/

I'm sure someone more local will know a place to get it done properly.

Ah, I remember. Yeah get the paint done

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Wonder if @gally could help..

 

[JB21]

Agree with you 100% JB, but some things in life you have to do regardless...

Fair play mate.

 

[brisa4984]

ARL coachworks. A large distance for you but They are really good at what they do.

http://arlcoachworks.co.uk/

 

[Typhoon]

I really do hope, for obvious reasons, that you get this up to the standard you're expecting Colin.
Unfortunately I can't recommend a body work specialist as I've not personally had to use one, touch wood.

 

[Crybert]

@gally

I’ve used the place he works at and the work is top notch. It’s in Scotland though so not ideal.

4K is some dollar to spend on a paint job!

 

[Clio_fool]

I can't help with finding a painter, but maybe stay away from crash repair centres, but if you're considering a fancy colour have a nosey on here: https://www.specialistpaints.com/collections/specialist-paints

If you look on their Facebook page maybe someone could direct you to a good painter?

Sorry for your loss, the car will be an excellent tribute and I hope we will see it at a show next year maybe.

 

[Brendan2234]

Best of luck with the project, I can understand and admire the desire to get such a special car back up to scratch!

Off topic, but is it a cup or trophy spoiler fitted to the car in that picture? It looks really good and I'm considering getting rid of my standard 172 spoiler as it's not big enough to be called a spoiler in my eyes. Just hard to find one in flame red, so might try and find a trophy rep and get it sprayed.

 

[Gally]

Hello guys! Thanks for the recommendation men. Very very kind.

I would budget in the region of 3k for the respray to be carried out properly. Only the quarter glasses should be removed as the rear has massive gaps as does the front when moulding removed.

Good luck with your quest and plan. Hopefully you can find somewhere that won't let you down. Good bodyshops are so so hard to find.

You know a former colleague of mine works with the UK's biggest insurer. Their own bodyshop which had about 2mil spent on it doesn't colour check the cars before painting. They pick the colour based on how many times it has been painted. Madness!

Were talking 200 maybe 250 cars a week leaving the bodyshop and they know that most people don't care or won't notice... Is that really the attitude to take to make money?

My point being even recommendations are difficult because different people have different standards and different eyes for imperfections. That makes it even harder.

Word of mouth is great but delve a bit deeper if you think you've found somewhere.

We are in Scotland (central) so if you had considered going a distance to find the right people I'd be happy to talk further.

Also if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask in here or pm me. Always happy to help where possible.

Our business can be found on Google, Facebook and Instagram under: Protek Bathgate

 

[obcuz]

Thanks for replies, comments and help.

I've looked those links provided and has given me some new ideas or what's out there.

Gally: Why do you have to be up there!! but anyway thanks for your comments about the glass.
>>>>"they know that most people don't care or won't notice", this is exactly the opinion I formed about the company that recently did my wife's car (Aviva & co.), great customer service, but first time it came back, bumper wasn't aligned correctly and another panel also, paint finish was good and matching wasn't too bad, but they painted the bumper whilst on the car when they had to remove it anyway (they said they'd replaced it also but doubtful about that but it did have to be removed to replace the crash bar) there were paint edges due to poor masking, no quibble about taking it back for another go (twice), but in the end I just gave in as needed the car, anyway I'm rambling....

Definitely will be giving a lot of thought to this, as some of you lads point out it's a fair bit of dosh, and don't get the wrong idea, I don't have a lot of that to throw around or waste, (ordinary working guy here until retired)

I'd still like to know the advantages/disadvantages of 2K paints, do they provide a good bright finish like original colour?
I ask this as our RS Escort was done in 2K and great hard gloss finish it is, but perhaps a slightly dull look (met Silver), maybe it's the number of laquer coats though. The only paint knowledge I got is a life or rattle cans

Would stripping existing paint off give a better finish, as layers and layers of paint don't look great.

I would also like to add a thank you all for the encouragement from you guys.

 

[Darren S]

Budgeting £4k+ for paint is madness on a £1k car. Sell it and buy an immaculate example with super low miles.

Yeah, I can see where the OP is coming from with this.

I could spend similar amounts on getting my 182 pristine again. But I wouldn't want to spend £4k+ on a just 'another' 182.

It's been in daily use with me for over a quarter of my life. Logic and reason in spending on it can sometimes go out the window!

 

[obcuz]

Well, one company with good reputation I approached, indicated that they would want 5K plus extra for glass out/in and at least a 5 month wait to get the car in!
I don't think that's a fair price for the work involved, so will have to keep looking.
I get the feeling that most companies don't want these work intensive and slow turnaround jobs, I have some more avenues to go up yet but looks like it's not going to be as easy as I thought....

 

[BoatNonce]

For me, the cost of driving up to Gally and getting him to do it pales into insignificance compared to the value in getting it done properly (and compared to the cost of the work!).

 

[Dom_capper]

As above. I'd travel up to gally. This clearly means a lot to you so I see no issue with traveling the length of our little island to get it done properly with someone you can trust.

 

[Jamess182]

Well, one company with good reputation I approached, indicated that they would want 5K plus extra for glass out/in and at least a 5 month wait to get the car in!
I don't think that's a fair price for the work involved, so will have to keep looking.
I get the feeling that most companies don't want these work intensive and slow turnaround jobs, I have some more avenues to go up yet but looks like it's not going to be as easy as I thought....

£5K :frowning: That's actually daylight robbery.
Get the job done properly chap, I can see the car means a lot to you, but don't let anyone take advantage of you.

 

[Gally]

He'll I could pick it up and deliver it back for a lot less than that! Infact you could transport it yourself for less than that.

 

[Tommo.]

@gally, would you say £3k is a reasonable ball park for a same colour respray then?

 

[Sir_Dave]

Personally, having friends that work in the body repair industry & hearing about some of the work theyve had to fix after other muppets have bodged it, if i was really bothered about having a car done properly, id simply take it to @gally

 

[Gally]

@gally, would you say £3k is a reasonable ball park for a same colour respray then?

I don't think it's too far away. Some will charge a premium because good bodywork is hard to find today.

 

[Gally]

Personally, having friends that work in the body repair industry & hearing about some of the work theyve had to fix after other muppets have bodged it, if i was really bothered about having a car done properly, id simply take it to @gally

It's bad out there. Big shops are by far the worst. Most of Britain's leading insurers have the worst bodyshops and practices around. Their attitude is re- fixing 2 out 10 jobs is acceptable.

 

[obcuz]

Guys, thanks for all your input and points taken.
It certainly appears that 'Gally' has a VERY good reputation on here, so will have to think some more on that if I get no Joy.
However transportation is probably my biggest concern, off road transportation over that distance would probably be £250 one way, could/would you trust a transport company to get the car back without a scratch when you have just spent 4K or whatever on it? I wouldn't even trust myself! not sure how practical it would be driving that distance anyway, although I like driving, take into account I'm 68 yrs old, and a 50 mile trip is about all I'm up for these days, LOL.

What Gally and others have said about accident/repair specialists is spot on from my recent experience, and speaking to others in the trade seems to reinforce that, pity, that attitude is in not restricted to the motor trades either.
Cheers

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Guys, thanks for all your input and points taken.
It certainly appears that 'Gally' has a VERY good reputation on here, so will have to think some more on that if I get no Joy.
However transportation is probably my biggest concern, off road transportation over that distance would probably be £250 one way, could/would you trust a transport company to get the car back without a scratch when you have just spent 4K or whatever on it? I wouldn't even trust myself! not sure how practical it would be driving that distance anyway, although I like driving, take into account I'm 68 yrs old, and a 50 mile trip is about all I'm up for these days, LOL.

What Gally and others have said about accident/repair specialists is spot on from my recent experience, and speaking to others in the trade seems to reinforce that, pity, that attitude is in not restricted to the motor trades either.
Cheers

Someone on here does car transportation .. @LeeP86 IIRC ?

 

[JamesBryan]

I'd try and work it into your budget to get it transported to @gally

Get @LeeP86 to get you a price, he'll look after it.

 

[PP200t]

I can’t offer any advice or comment on painting but I too wish you all the best and admire your dedication to the Clio and your sons memory to get it perfect. @gally does have a good following and a lot of respect on here which is earned so maybe a nice slow trip up there could be a holiday or something as well. (Not sure how long Car’s take to paint or anything though)

 

[Gally]

Appreciate the recommendations men. We try to let our work speak for itself and have a good following, especially people who are very very particular about their cars.

I could recommend a few places down south but they will charge accordingly. You're not getting a respray done at SL Restoration for 5k for eg.

 

[Mr R.]

Appreciate the recommendations men. We try to let our work speak for itself and have a good following, especially people who are very very particular about their cars.

I could recommend a few places down south but they will charge accordingly. You're not getting a respray done at SL Restoration for 5k for eg.

One thing money can't buy is passion, and you have bags and bags of it mate. I'd not have a second thought about sending you my car and im all the way down south.

 

[Gally]

Thanks Scott, means a lot coming from you.

@Daniel used to have a guy?

 

[Daniel]

My painter now works in the bodyshop I work in and unfortunately I can not recommend them. A good honest bodyshop yes, but all the staff are paid poorly and bonuses are heavily based on volume and speed and you want someone that takes care and pride in their work. A smaller outfit for sure!

@LeeP86 owns a trailer and spends his time transporting £100,000+ super cars around the country so if @gally is going to paint it, you will be safe getting it transported with Lee.

 

[Mr R.]

Thanks Scott, means a lot coming from you.

@Daniel used to have a guy?

I had a look at the Protek web site last night mate and added them to my Instagram.

Cracking work mate.

To the OP, if I where you then I'd be in talks with Gally, I'm sure you can sort the transport side of things out. You might not even need the whole car painted, maybe some panels like the roof may just need a good machine polish which should save some of the cost.

Good luck with the car.

 

[Gally]

I just quoted a GTR on that yesterday Scott. Polish 3 high panels and low panel respray. The guy was happy to have it all painted but sometimes there is just no need.

In the OPs case I think he wants it all done and fresh.

To @Daniel we're one of the last shops I Know of that don't run a bonus shop. It's a big selling point but can be harder to bring in quality staff due to the amount they can make doing quick jobs at the average satndard. A painted I know is doing £800-£900 a week.

We're lucky our guys some have been since they were 16. The only way around it is to get good apprentices and hope they stick around. Because once our guys retire I have no idea where that standard and experience is going to come from.

You know I've had 4 guys over the last 10 years come from a Merc/BMW proper £75 an hour bodyshop. None of them lasted. They couldn't understand why we do what we do, I was shocked at what they thought was the right way and the right standard.

Infact the whole industry standard is being affected.