Re-painting a fiberglass car (UK)

Please excuse my ignorance on paint.. have never had a car resprayed so I know nothing!

I wish to re-paint my Red GTD in a silver or gun metal. Ideally I'd like to get the work done locally (South West UK).

When asking for quotes I need to know the 'right' questions to ask & some idea of the type of preparation/paint to use. Should the current paint be stripped completely or just flatted? In a few minor areas the paint has bubbled & on further investigation these bubbles contain water?!? obviously I want to avoid this!

Are there any specific techniques or equipment necessary for fiberglass?

I figure the front & rear clams, doors, cills, nostrils etc would be painted off the car, would the centre section be best left in place? & Could I leave the windscreen in place with it?

As it stands the car has good panel fit & gaps.

My final query is cost. I know thi is a very difficult question to answer, but could other owners give me an idea on the cost of their own paintwork?
 

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
Here are a few suggestions:
you don't need to have the previous paint completely stripped unless there is quite a lot of paint on the car, or it has begun to crack and peel. It should be sanded to good substrate, and then reprimed with an epoxy primer-sealer which becomes the surface for the prep for the new finish coat. Prep is EVERYTHING, really- ninety percent of the look of a finished paint job depends on how good the prep for the paint was done. The new finish coat should be a two-pack system (catalyzed system such as Glasurit, Spies-Hecker, Imron, etc) and personally I would probably go with a polyester urethane as opposed to an acrylic urethane. Both can be blended and buffed out in the event of subsequent damage (likely on a low car like a GT40) but it is MUCH harder with a polyester urethane. The upside of polyester paints is that they are extremely durable and fairly flexible and will take enormous abuse. (commercial airliners are finished with PU paints and they get five years and millions of miles out of a paint job even the blue colors) Acrylic urethanes such as Imron are much easier to blend and buff out. Imron also has some of the best gloss retention in the paint industry; I have seen twenty-year-old Imron jobs which were out in the weather the whole time and still polished up beautifully.
Finally, and maybe most important; make sure that your finisher is spraying a product he is familiar with and likes; there's nothing worse than being the learning case for a painter learning how to spray a paint he's not used before. Good luck.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Hi Julian

The former painters for the GTD factory were P & K Panels in Poole. Pete and Kevin run it! They have painted in excess of 40 cars and I got them to do mine and do respray work when needed. They also offer good follow up service if there is a problem. Their telephone number as I last had it is 01202 677772. I think they do a lot of commercial stuff now, but I am sure they would help out if asked. They will not be the cheapest guys about but they do have the knowledge and the right gear.

As to expected cost, it is going to depend on how much prep work is required. If you give someone a car straight from the street it will cost more than if you strip it down yourself.

I would not recommend you remove the centre section or windscreen. And if anyone suggests you use an oven then really be sure they don't over cook the car and warp the fit!

Let me know how you get on as one day my car deserves a respray!

Malcolm
 
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