Respray - do it yourself?

[neil.henderson]

Hi,

The paint on my 1976 Stag has crazed especially on the flat areas (bonnet top, bootlid, etc...) where it gets a lot of sun here in Australia.

I have been quoted a starter price of some $8,000 dollars (about 4,000 pounds Sterling) to have the job done professionally, which does seem like rather a lot of money. The car will never be entered in a concourse competition as it has been bought for driving rather than shining.

But I would like it to look nice and not have the crazed paint. So, how many of you have repainted a Stag yourselves & did you find it was the sort of job you could do over a winter, or was it a nightmare that you'd never do again?

I'd be very interested to hear from you - BTW I've never spray painted myself other than odd jobs around the car/house. But then I had never done much mechanical work before I replaced the engine & converted from auto to manual.............so I'm not afraid of a challenge

Thanks Neil Henderson

[Moraystag]

imported post

Neil personally I would shop around and find a guy who has the proper premises ( heated booth etc) and get it done professionally.

I recently got mine totally done and finished it up with a coat of lacquer, it was well worth it mate, and the lacquer finished it off and seals it all up. I took my time until I was directed to a guy who is a perfectionist, and he lived up to his reputation.

Be careful where you put it as some of these auto body repair guys will just fill in any rust holes with filler rather than cut out and weld in fresh steel. I thought mine was pretty rust free just a little bit of bubbling, but once the paint was removed there was some patching required.The older proper time served panel beaters are the guys to look out for.

If you give me your email address I'll send some pics. All in all it cost me £3000, but believe me it is well worth it, and will last for quite a while I hope

Mike Moraystag

[V Mad]

imported post

If you have a lot of patience, and spare time you should think about doing it yourself. First practice on some spare surfaces until you get the hang of it. I did a complete bare metal job on a car and it was almost professional standard, but after a lot of practice.

[Marco Polo]

imported post

Neil,

I'd get some more quotes if I were you.

My car was baremetal resprayed for AUD 10,000, I paid cash and told the guy to "take his time". It took six months!

I would of thought you should get what you need done for less than half that. The guy who did mine said he used around AUD 2,000 of materials to give you an idea of the material costs.

Are you a member of a local car club? Theywould have some good local contacts.

regards,

Raoul

[Rubce]

imported post

Neil

I was asking the same question myself last year:?. Read the attached thread. It might help you make a decision one way or the other. Note the additional thread links in the last posting.

http://stagownersclub.mywowbb.com/vi...a+car+yourself

Hope it of interest.

Cheers

Bruce