3000M painting system

[plasticpig72]

What would be the best way to paint a 3000M with PIMPLES EVERYWHERE .
Am i correct in saying 2 PAC or Polyuréthane. Of course rub down dry and no water used untill a sealer coat has been applied. Surely it's not necessary to go to the extreme of Tissuing allover the body.
I'm all ears for your replies boys
Alan

[Astacus]

If the pimples are in the paint, then I imagine you will have to rub down the paint until they are all gone and then repaint. Sometimes pimples are caused by moisture in the glassfibre, sometimes by solvents from the resin, so you may need to take it back to the gel coat and keep it somewhere warm and very dry for a few weeks to help drive out the moisture.

2 Pack is very nasty stuff, so its really best to get that done professionally, I think.

There is no need to tissue. That's just for badly damaged fibreglass

Edited by Astacus on Monday 6th June 13:13

[plasticpig72]

thanks that's what i thought.
I imagine if the car is prepared, that's to say rubbed down and all fittings removed + back and front screens.
The price for 2 Pac spray could be what £2000, would that be a good estimate.
Alan

[Astacus]

I don't know what the going rate for a good spay job on a Vixen/3000M maybe someone who has had it done recently could comment?

[Andrew Gray]

Astacus said:

I don't know what the going rate for a good spay job on a Vixen/3000M maybe someone who has had it done recently could comment?

About 6k sometimes more sometimes less depending on the preparation required and the Quality wanted
Andrew

[Astacus]

Thanks Andrew

[plasticpig72]

maybe if you did all the dismantling, Badges, Handles, Windscreen, Backscreen, Bonnet, Doors + repairs to the Grp + rubbing down.
I think i would be looking at £3000. I can laminate Grp with a good result.
The thing i can't do is spray and 2 Pac or Polyuréthane needs breathing gear/ Spray Booth.
Alan

[Astacus]

That sounds reasonable to me. You should be able to get a good quality job for £3000 if you do most of the prep work yourself.

[Andrew Gray]

plasticpig72 said:

maybe if you did all the dismantling, Badges, Handles, Windscreen, Backscreen, Bonnet, Doors + repairs to the Grp + rubbing down.
I think i would be looking at £3000. I can laminate Grp with a good result.
The thing i can't do is spray and 2 Pac or Polyuréthane needs breathing gear/ Spray Booth.
Alan

Yes your probably right Alan there is so much time in sorting stress cracks etc and getting her ready for painting.
The best paint jobs on a fiberglass car are where they take as long as possible between each stage that's why accident repairs often are successful straight away but repair starts to show after a few months as things settle and dry out Quality Paint is not cheap however I have seen cars that have been painted in someone's back garden in a tent or a home garage and although not show quality reasonable driver quality jobs.
Andrew

[anonymous-user]

If you strip and are happy to rebuild, bumpers lights glass etc, and there is no previous accident damage to repair, 4K as long as not silly paint. That would be with S&D.

[Dollyman1850]

It is possible to get a good paint job without paying a fortune. It is also possible to get a very good finish in a damp garage in a back garden..Some would even say a show finish..

This car was painted by me in a damp back garden garage and won many prizes…It took a month of work to paint!!
£700 worth of paint went on the car..So consider material costs separately to your labour and you can see that getting a good paint job isn't cheap..regardless of which way you tackle it. If you are patient though it can be done without the labour costs which is where the real money is!





A pro however gets a very good finish in a comparably short time.. and this is where the fundamental difference lies..
You can save a certain amount by stripping trim and repairing bodywork but in my opinion don't fall into the trap of trying to contour fill and block the body ready for paint because regardless of how good you think you are.. it won't be good enough for your painter.

This car was done at a very good local body shop and cost £2500. It is probably as good as you will see anywhere..Prior to that the car had £2500 worth of proper bodywork done and proper block sanding by someone who knows what they are doing…



My advice..Do the ruff stuff and hand the car to a pro….Its still going to cost you 4-5k though…

it can be done cheaper but bank on it taking you months to do it..To any sort of standard.

Some don't realise that the very very best car paint finishes are done with oil based enamels and a brush!!!

Edited by Dollyman1850 on Wednesday 8th June 21:57

[Moto]

Obvious I know but the risk of one party prep'ing and another spraying is that poor finish or blemishes may never be sorted out as fingers can easily be pointed at the other party.

Moto

[plasticpig72]

imho when doing repairs i only use Chopped Strain Matt, finish with Tissue and Resin.
I don't use P38 or P40 because there is always shrinkage. Nothing is worse than several months later shrinkage and seeing where the repair was done. After 40 years of Lotus i have learned the hard way
Alan

[harry henderson]

My Cerbera is Being resprayed at the moment and I was quite shocked at just how much prep work has to be done before paint. The painter tells me painting the car is the easy bit, getting it perfect ready for paint is where the time adds up.

[Astacus]

plasticpig72 said:

imho when doing repairs i only use Chopped Strain Matt, finish with Tissue and Resin.
I don't use P38 or P40 because there is always shrinkage. Nothing is worse than several months later shrinkage and seeing where the repair was done. After 40 years of Lotus i have learned the hard way
Alan

Agreed, good advice