I have searchd the forum of course, some of the answers here are now quite old.
I would really like my Plus 2 resprayed. It has microblisters on the back end, only visible when its damp.
The roof and boot lid are dull, the paint has died. No matter how much polishing I do.
Has anyone had their car done recently?
how much was it? Where was it done? Are you pleased with the result?
Kind regards
Jeff 72+2
Jeff,
Its only a small car, so you wouldnât have thought it could cost too much, but labour costs are astronomical these days and glassfibre is very labour intensive to prep.
Two well known names are Spyder and Option 1. Spyderâs web page:
https://www.spydercars.co.uk/spydercars-full-in-house-painting-facility/
ÂŁ6K to strip the car, ÂŁ6.5K to respray, so ÂŁ12.5K (presumably +VAT) for the whole job.
Option 1 are widely regarded as being one of the best for glassfibre, but they have a long waiting list, and I recall prices were ÂŁ20K+ when I last checked - which is a few years ago.
Perhaps you could report back with what you find.
Andy.
1 Like
There is also Paul Mason who was based at Spyder but has now moved location.
His work also comes highly recommended by members of this forum.
Clive
Jeff
I realise you are a little distance away, but there is a firm just outside Plymouth that I have had work done by. One of their guys was a chief troubleshooter for Princess Yachts (they build very expensive boats for clients worldwide) and is very experienced with fibreglass. They have always been very reasonable on price too.
If you want more information PM me and I will explain more
Tony
Imho,
There is a lot of intox about painting grp.
Just as i see it after i admit making mistakes on the Lotus learning curve.
Always rubdown dry.
Repairs to cracks as St Miles Wilkins that is only Resin and Tissue.
Spraying Polyester then primer.
Donât rush and let Solvents evapourate.
Never put a Cover on your Lotus.
If you repair the cracks yourself as above you can then buy the Spraying Polyester yourself.
Tell paint shop to start with this then normal paint process but NO COOKING IN PAINT BOOTH. 25 °C maxi.
Much cheaper unless youâre looking for a âTrailer Queenâ.
Personal choice
Alan
1 Like
Paul Mason did an excellent job on my S4 a few years back. He was due to do my S3 but has unfortunately had to cancel. Last time I spoke to him he is turning away new work as he intends to retire in the New Year,
One of the main problems is dealing with cracks, I learned a lot about this from the Princess Yachts trobleshooter I mentioned previously. It seems essential that the crack is ground out on both sides before applying a bridging fibreglass material. Once that has hardened you can set about a finishing repair to the surfaces.
He explained that you need to give the area around the crack some sort of bridge, otherwise the constant twisting and vibration through the panel will attack the crack repair and eventually start the cracking process again. Often in his experience people also do not take the mat material far enough away from the crack itself, so the repair does not spread the load far enough and hence allows the crack to move.
1 Like
Iâve found that the âIso resinâ is soo much better than the "Ortho resin ".
Here in Brittany lots of grp used on boats easy to get good products
Alan
Interesting that you mention the products used on boats, as that and some of the techniques used to repair boat hulls was what my contact was talking about. Given that he travelled the world on behalf of his company, he came across all sorts of damage that needed repairing. So I listened very carefully at what he was telling me about crack repairs, the key being to ensure that every crack is given adequate support over a larger area to account for future flexing that could affect any repairs.
Tony
Most âcracksâ on an Elan will only be to the Gel coat layer and it is only necessary to tissue an area extending 75mm around the crack line. If the fibreglass is cracked - accident damage it will be necessary to grind out both sides and do a full fibreglass repair. I understood that spray polyester was liable to absorb moisture and needed to be over-coated quickly. Do people use sprayable epoxy instead?
I have just had a full body repair and respray on my +2 done by Paul Mason it looks fantastic will post pictures when I can work out how windows 11 works
George
Itâs not the painting that costs the money, itâs all in the prep. I am restoring an S4, I took all the paint off and thatâs where the work begins. On my particular there were the known issues of accident damage to do but also lots of unexpected items to attend to, a lot from when it was originally laid up by Lotus! and most just from use, wear and tear after 50 years or so. If you donât want cracks, damage and repairs to come back you must be quite ruthless, gouge out the material close to the damage so that there is a good key for the new f/glass to stick to, layer up the glass and finish with a very fine tissue to the top surface, the slightest hint of filler applied to sand back. Sometimes you will need to apply repairs to both sides to give it strength. The Lotus guru Miles Wilkins wrote an excellent book on fibreglass and well worth reading and using his techniques.
Itâs not too difficult and after a bit of practice you can get really good at it and when done properly there will be no sinkage, bubbles or anything that comes back to haunt you. But, and this is the problem, it can be a dirty, dusty and laying fiberglass upside down with resin running down your arm us not for everyone. But the worst of all is the time it takes, there is no quick fix, I would also say concentrate on one repair area at a time rather than trying to do to much at once. If like me you decide to tackle badly fitting doors and poor shut-lines it takes even longer, but thatâs what I wanted to do. As a non professional it took me over 9 months, but I didnât work on it every day and on the days when I worked on it, probably only for 6 hours at a time. But having done it I can well understand why itâs so costly to get a car prepped and painted, your paying for the man hours. The materials, paint and consumables make up a very small proportion of the cost! When the repairs are done, and its ready for paint, itâs quick, Elans being small donât take that much paint and take no time to do. I had my car painted by a normal body shop. I have not gone down the clear lacquer route so I also paid for it to be fine mopped to get a really great finish.
It was painted by a friend in the trade, he doesnât do prep and honestly does not want to paint fiberglass cars in case they developed problems later on from poor prep he didnât do but would be expected to rectify! So unfortunately I canât give you his details but thought anyone considering a full re spay might want to consider doing the prep themselves and my experience might serve as some encouragement.
1 Like