Re-paint ?...Non Ferrari (Lotus)

have you tried compounding out the exisiting paint? is there a problem with the paint, chips, scratches? if you're just looking for a new shine don't spend a fortune at some high end body shop. take it to a corprate shop, maaco, spray and go, etc. check out their work, many do a good job at a reasonable price. most painters will do their best work on a fancy car.

 

ok, Dont flame me for this. I have had a few porsche's done my Maaco. I went in and explained what I expected. And said if it came out right, I'd tip and extra $500 for good work. The cars came out looking like a champ. Ill see if i can find pics.

Granted, I wasnt expecting a $10k paint job, but they were extra carefull on the prep work. Matter of fact, my mercedes was just done by them and its pretty good.

 

If the car has original paint plus one clear coat, you should be OK prepping that and painting over it. The body shop can check the paint thickness and go by the paint manufacturers recommendation for re-spray. I would definitely NOT go to bare glass and risk damaging the gel coat on undamaged panels. Also ask what paint they use and if it comes with a warranty.

Getting the paint right isn't the troublesome part. Paint prep is the key to a decent paint job that won't fail down the road. Scuffing and cleaning the old paint is critical to adhesion. Remove all moldings, lights, badges, etc. If you just mask them, the paint will fail at the tape line and/or you'll have overspray. Some things you can't take off without great pains and you'll have to mask, but many things you can take off yourself before you bring it in and save some money. Flexible plastic or rubber moldings can be lifted off the paint a little by 'roping' - ask the shop about that.

Hope this helps a little, good luck! -m

 

I am a new member to Ferrari-chat as I have my first Ferrari. For the previous 40 years I was (and I still am) a Lotus fan - although I must point out that my models stopped with the Esprit (I had the Elan, and the Eclat). Today I am left with my Elan (since new) and a French car - an Alpine Berlinetta A110 1600S.
The Lotus and Alpine cars that I have just mentioned are, of course, glass fibre (or fiber!) bodied.
The last post in this thread gave you the most important message. Don't forget that paint preparation and the materials used for covering gel coats are often very different from covering steel. The whole process can be very different - particularly in terms of making sure that there is no residual humidity (resin holds on to water). Of course, there are composite panels on Ferrari's as well!!
Even if the bulk of the respray will be on top of a sealed surface, you have said that there will me minor repair work; this will mean that they will be working with resin or even glass fibre matting. While this is not at all technically difficult, there are some skills required and the processes/materials will be different.
In short, I would advise going to a Company who specialises in working in glass fibre bodied cars. If all this sound bad news, it ain't - cause there will be no rust to worry about and a good man can give a fabulous, easy-to-care for finish. I think that most people agree on one thing when they pay for such work - if the result is very pleasing, one quickly forgets the cost!
Even if you are not looking for a fabulous finish, the above principles apply - otherwise you will have paint lifting off and bubbles popping up......
All the best,
Ron Brown

 

Ron makes a great point - you should find a place that does a lot of composites. Ask the 'vette guys where they go!

 

Scott,

It's clear now that you already know the pit falls and all you really wanted to know (as you wrote in the last line of your first post) is whether it is feasible to respray using the existing clear coat as a base i.e. without cutting down to the gel. You want a good finish without spending a fortune and worrying yourself to death when you leave the car parked in a public place. I think that we are all familiar with this one!
I should have answered with a simple yes - I have done it in partial resprays.
An etching coat is used to ensure adhesion to the clear coat (or the gel coat for that matter). There are dozens of etchants.
So, the bottom line is that it's certainly a go-er. You just have to find the guys that know how to do it properly, using the correct chemicals - and I use the word chemical deliberately. Modern paints are all about chemicals.
Sorry if the the previous reply was a bit "over the top".

Ron

 

My Europa has the thinnest fiberglass of any car. Your Vettes are COMPLETLY different. The qustion is weather your Esprit is more like my Europa or more like your Vettes. On my car, stress cracks are the nemesis. You can't paint over them because they'll come back in short order. They have to be ground out and reglassed. Sanding is the make or break part; duplicating the compound curves is an art unto itself. Your Esprit may be easier as it's not as swoopy.

If your body is in good shape under the paint then the afore mentioned method sounds reasonable. Just don't make the mistake of painting over structual body problems in hope they will be covered up; you'll spend a lot of money and be dissappointed.

Ken

 

FWIW, I have had good results with modern BC/CC paints prepping clear coats by scuffing with 800 grit wet paper. My buddy the painter never mentioned using an etcher on the clear. Knock it down flat, spot seal anywhere you burn through or used filler, and shoot.


We have a local MAACO that I had shoot a pickup once. I didn't expect it to be perfect but I was disappointed that the guy didn't even seem to know how to shoot metallics, leaving "tiger stripes" all over truck. Now I have a friend (see above) with access to a proper down draft booth. I buy the materials & pay him about $50/hr (I didn't say he was a close friend ).