Cost of a full repaint?

[geo59]

Has anyone had a full repaint done, looking for a guide on the cost to do a Chimaera after some front end damage (repaired).

I appreciate it'll vary depending on which part of the country you're in, I'm SW Scotland.

[so called]

I paid £7950,- in 2015 at Surface & Design, Blackpool.
That was for my Tuscan in Ferrari Perl Alloy with Specraflair.

I understand that they have shut down but planning to re-open.

[geo59]

This is Nightfire Red so the paints going to be less expensive however that does seem like an eye watering amount of money!

[N7GTX]

A half respray on my DB7 in a straight paint was £3,800. It is vitally important you use a paint shop that KNOWS how to paint fibreglass. There are too many stories of problems later with paint blistering, lifting, separating etc as the car has not been properly prepared. A cheap job will come back and bite you.

[Rako]

Have a wander over to sportmotive and central TVRs websites, prices are on there.......

I have no connection to either company, I've been looking at headlamp upgrades.

E

[geo59]

After posting the question I found links to Central’s pricing which was a useful guide if a bit out of the area for me.
Whilst it was a very long time ago I worked in a Coachworks for five years when I left school so I appreciate the comment re painting fibreglass.
I’ve had a recommendation from a colleague in the trade who does commercial vehicles but still keen to hear from owners

[Pursyluv]

Had my Tam done in Spectraflair blue at Concept Performance in Sheffield and I would say so called is about spot on with his number.

I think quite a few jobs the fibreglass guys do are “corrections” to cars painted by non-fibreglass specialists plus a few home bodge jobs too.

[Speed 3]

I had my Tuscan done by a long time TVR specialist inside the M25 in 2017 for £3,400 all-in (Grigio Titanio metallic). Cracking job and knew his stuff around fibreglass (price included several gel coat repairs). 3 years on I haven't seen any deterioration (other than my ham-fistedness with the targa panel). It also happens to live most of the year under a top quality cover (an absolute no-no in some PHer's eyes....). It can be done for much less than S&D prices but make sure you find someone who's very experienced with TVR or Lotus. Also make sure you get the original solvent paint used rather than water based.

[MikeE]

Speed 3 said:

I had my Tuscan done by a long time TVR specialist inside the M25 in 2017 for £3,400 all-in (Grigio Titanio metallic). Cracking job and knew his stuff around fibreglass (price included several gel coat repairs). 3 years on I haven't seen any deterioration (other than my ham-fistedness with the targa panel). It also happens to live most of the year under a top quality cover (an absolute no-no in some PHer's eyes....). It can be done for much less than S&D prices but make sure you find someone who's very experienced with TVR or Lotus. Also make sure you get the original solvent paint used rather than water based.

Was that for a respray in the same colour or a recolour?

Can you name the outfit as I'm Surrey based and would like to get my Griffith returned to it's original colour of Highland Pearl (dark grey)

[RAS]

You could try Chris Gregory, in Knaresborough. https://www.autorefinishing.co.uk/

He did a full colour change on my Sag for the previous owner, they did a superb job and after 7 years in my ownership it still looks as good as when I bought it

[HiAsAKite]

Useful to know.

I will need my front end doing (if not the lot). Any recommendations for fibreglass specialists in the Hampshire/Surrey/Berkshire region?

I have been recommended Andy House based in Liphook - anyone here used them or have experience?

[Speed 3]

MikeE said:

Speed 3 said:

I had my Tuscan done by a long time TVR specialist inside the M25 in 2017 for £3,400 all-in (Grigio Titanio metallic). Cracking job and knew his stuff around fibreglass (price included several gel coat repairs). 3 years on I haven't seen any deterioration (other than my ham-fistedness with the targa panel). It also happens to live most of the year under a top quality cover (an absolute no-no in some PHer's eyes....). It can be done for much less than S&D prices but make sure you find someone who's very experienced with TVR or Lotus. Also make sure you get the original solvent paint used rather than water based.

Was that for a respray in the same colour or a recolour?

Can you name the outfit as I'm Surrey based and would like to get my Griffith returned to it's original colour of Highland Pearl (dark grey)

I decided to retain the original colour in the end so you'd need the interior of the engine bay doing too, think mine had everywhere else done. This is the place:

www.beegeecoachcraft.co.uk

The website hasn't been updated for donkeys years and they have no google profile - they were pretty much trading on recommendation, but I have a phone number on the invoice if the email doesn't work (PM me). Don't know if they're still trading but worth a try. They're between Kingston & New Malden. Gary is the guy you need if he hasn't retired by now. Feel free to view my car if you need to.

[HiAsAKite]

Ok- thanks Speed3 - not too far from me either...

I notice the website explicitly calls out fibreglass work..

[N7GTX]

RAS said:

You could try Chris Gregory, in Knaresborough. https://www.autorefinishing.co.uk/

He did a full colour change on my Sag for the previous owner, they did a superb job and after 7 years in my ownership it still looks as good as when I bought it

^^^^^ seconded. Was TVR Harrogate Horseless Carriages. Has 3 TVRs of his own which he shows.

[swisstoni]

Some people seem to think that repainting fibreglass cars is any different from normal cars.
It isn’t.

If the bodywork is ok, it’s a normal job for any body shop.

In fact TVRs aren’t as tricky as some as the designs are quite one-piece with little dismantling to be done.

[tejr]

Whats the difference? I've always heard people say you should seek out a specialist because painting a fibreglass car isn't the same, but noone has ever gone into detail?

From what I gathered after a bit of googling, its mainly just the prep thats different in that they are more labour intensive as you can't just go nuts with a rotary sander as it'll sand into the gel coat/FG and leave you with dips and high spots? So many sand them down by hand?

[N7GTX]

This is a very recent post.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[tofts]

swisstoni said:

Some people seem to think that repainting fibreglass cars is any different from normal cars.
It isn’t.

If the bodywork is ok, it’s a normal job for any body shop.

In fact TVRs aren’t as tricky as some as the designs are quite one-piece with little dismantling to be done.

This is quite true. If the body is straight its a straightforward job. HOWEVER if repairs are required, this is a totallly different game and does need some very careful prep to work properly. Whilst the dismantling is easy, the putting back together really isn't I speak from a lot of experience. The average tuscan I will spend most of a week making sure everything goes back correctly.

As for actual cost, its circa 5k plus vat for most resprays, any less than that and I feel adequate time has not been spent on it. If people want old fred in the shed to do it for 2k then let em get on with it and the poor investment will speak volumes in around 18 months when you see all the evidence of where everything has been masked round!

Edited by tofts on Wednesday 9th September 15:00

Edited by tofts on Wednesday 9th September 15:02

[Speed 3]

Mine took the best part of 4 weeks, every door/roof/screen seal and detachable panel off including doors. Agree its pretty labour intensive to get right. I probably had half a dozen areas of gel coat repair required plus stuff like scuttle panel cracks, threaded bobbin re-sets, new pepperpot as well as boot lid strut and washer jet modifications. Quite a bargain for the price, they can't have been making much profit. I must have contacted half a dozen places over Southern England and all the good rep places had very, very long waiting lists back then.

[Pursyluv]

The difference is in the prep and that’s why you should seek out a fibreglass specialist!