To respray or not...
Discussion
Over several years of ownership my S2 135R has become very battle-scarred. There's hardly a square foot of bodywork without some issue or other. I've hit a deer, reversed into things as well as shot-blasted the sills/wheelarches through spending a lot of time on singletrack roads. Last winter it finally succumbed to the bubbling and blistering which Elises of this age are prone to - both door tops, all four wheelarches and boot top. Basically it's the scabbiest Elise I have ever seen.
I've had a couple of quotes around the £5k mark for what amounts to a complete respray including wheel refurb. Expensive, but I like the car and the later S2s I've driven didn't impress me enough to want to change. I'm happy to get it done if the finish will last.
Both bodyshops are confident that they can banish the blistering for good but a niggling doubt remains. Has anyone got any experience of blister repairs on their car? Do you know what technique was used? I've learned that Lotus recommend painting the inside of the panel with bitumastic paint to prevent water penetration.
I'd be interested to hear your views.
Cheers.
I've had a couple of quotes around the £5k mark for what amounts to a complete respray including wheel refurb. Expensive, but I like the car and the later S2s I've driven didn't impress me enough to want to change. I'm happy to get it done if the finish will last.
Both bodyshops are confident that they can banish the blistering for good but a niggling doubt remains. Has anyone got any experience of blister repairs on their car? Do you know what technique was used? I've learned that Lotus recommend painting the inside of the panel with bitumastic paint to prevent water penetration.
I'd be interested to hear your views.
Cheers.
Forbes82 said:
Have you considered a complete body wrap?
This: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...Well a wrap wont stop the rust, remove the scratches, bumps and scuffs, but it will make them more obvious.
If it is a car you like and want to keep that is all the justification you need for a respray I think. My car is in a similar state to yours and it is costing 2k less to get sorted, including a new rear bumper, cutting out 2 old wings and fitting 2 new ones and spraying the whole car including the shuts, on top of this it is a much bigger car. Perhaps you could get some more quotes?
If it is a car you like and want to keep that is all the justification you need for a respray I think. My car is in a similar state to yours and it is costing 2k less to get sorted, including a new rear bumper, cutting out 2 old wings and fitting 2 new ones and spraying the whole car including the shuts, on top of this it is a much bigger car. Perhaps you could get some more quotes?
Thanks for the replies. I'm not going to get it wrapped - I've seen a couple and wasn't really impressed. I'd rather spend the money on getting the real problems fixed. My sole concern with the respray (will probably try to get a couple more quotes) is how effective the blister repair is. Fixing the cracks/holes/tears is bread and butter work but the water penetration is harder to deal with. Spending all that money and then watching the bubbling/cracking come back would be galling which is why I was hoping someone on here had already had similar work done.
I had exactly the same problem with the doors on my S1. Luckily my brother is a painter so I managed to get this done at a discounted rate. Sadly though the blistering did come back through 12-18 months later. When I first discovered the problem I rang around a few places and was told that it is casued by the car being stored in a damp place when it was produced, and water got in to the body work at that stage. Having said that my brother now has a 17 year old TVR and that has no signs of this problem starting and they stored their shells outside. 5K does seem very expensive though for a re spray
Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff