Bare Metal Respray required

[biffa]

Hello

I am in the UK S/East of London.

Can anyone recommend anyone good to do a bare metal respray on my 1970 280SL.

I know the worlds best restorer, but sadly he has retired.  So I am stuck for suggestions.

Thank You all.

Biiffa

[Naj ✝︎]

Are you a member of the UK MB Club?

The chairman had his 6.3 done at Hightone, Oxon.

They may still have some left over DB904 

http://www.hightone.co.uk/

naj

[Drewtee]

Are there any photo's on the web?

[biffa]

Are you a member of the UK MB Club?

The chairman had his 6.3 done at Hightone, Oxon.

They may still have some left over DB904 

http://www.hightone.co.uk/

naj

Thanks Naj

I went to Hightone.  They were completely unintersted.  The manager kep moaning about being short staffed etc etc.  The quality of the work in their workshop was very good though.

After the visit, I had to chase him for about six weeks just to get a price.  His email price for a bare metal respray was £5k.  After visiting then the quote came back in a one line email, saying that to bare metal respray would be a minimum of £20k.  And my car is pretty straight.

It seems that he was just short staffed and not at all keen on doing the job.  This is an expensive quote isn't it, or I being naive? I am going to try http://www.bodycraft.uk.com/ which you previously recomended to me.  I just have to find the time to get to Wimbledon.

I would have preferred to have found a specialist.

In the Mercedes magazine there is a firm in Norther Ireland always advertising.  Has anyone and feedback on them.  PS Naj, would you mind sharing the cost of the works you had done at bodycraft.

Thanks ~All

[Naj ✝︎]

Email sent

naj

[twistedtree]

For me, it would be really helpful if we could openly share more cost info.  I think it helps everyone get a sense of the market, including ranges which can often be vary wide (like the two respray numbers you got form the same shop).  It makes us all better consumers and ensures good competition among suppliers.  Parts prices we share freely, but not labor/service prices.  I don't see why there should be any difference.

Just my two cents, which is the actual market value of my opinion.

[Ulf]

GBP 20.000 for a bare metal respray seems like a rather friendly price to me - is removal and refitting of all trim included in that?

[Naj ✝︎]

For me, it would be really helpful if we could openly share more cost info.  I think it helps everyone get a sense of the market, including ranges which can often be vary wide (like the two respray numbers you got form the same shop).  It makes us all better consumers and ensures good competition among suppliers.  Parts prices we share freely, but not labor/service prices.  I don't see why there should be any difference.

Just my two cents, which is the actual market value of my opinion.

Point taken.
However, in my case only remedial work was done as required, not a bare metal or full respray.
So how long is a piece of string.

naj

[JamesL]

So how long is a piece of string.

Longer than you can possibly imagine when the bill arrives?

[Naj ✝︎]

To give an idea, the body shop labor rate is £41.12/hr (£35.00 + 17.5% VAT).

Anything you touch on a 40 year old car takes hours and hours to clean & repair to an acceptable standard + as you disassemble anything, you find more and more rust etc.

Very long piece of string!

naj

[tel76]

I have attended to all the rust issues(4 new wings/fenders,new rear and front panels) stripped all the old paint off and have filled any small dings in the remaining panels.
I have been quoted approx: £4000 if carried out on an hourly basis, but if i want a firm quote it will be £5000 for the respray.
Decisions, Decisions.
I am also of the opinion that people should discuss openly what they are paying, how many times do you read of someone saying ! I got this done at a reasonable price ! why can they not share the cost with everyone,when i read that statement i always think rightly or wrongly that the person has paid over the top.
With regard to a £20000 respray that Ulf thinks is reasonable i can only think he is taking the p**s.

[twistedtree]

It's certainly true that you need to be clear on WHAT was/is done at the same time you talk about HOW MUCH it cost, as the two go hand in hand.

I could see 20,000 if you drive the car into the shop, and they disassemble it, do all the metal work, prep, undercoat, filler, primer, spray, and reassemble.  But that's a very different job from a respray of a car that already has the metal work done, is disassembled, and will be reassembled by the owner (which is what I think you are looking to do).  For that 5000 doesn't seem out  of line, assuming they do an excellent job.

[stickandrudderman]

It's never easy quoting for a bare metal respray.
What do you mean exactly by "bare metal" and what sort of quality are you looking for?
Do you want the whole car stripped back to a bare shell, dipped, repaired as necessary, prepped, primed, painted, polished to better than factory finish and re-assembled or do you just want the visible paint removed and a half decent job done?
What about the hard top? I would quote minimum £4000 just for a hard top resto.
The former will easily cost you £20,000 plus (or it would with me) but there a many different options, and most will give a reasonable result for a nice car.
If you want to call me and discuss them you are welcome.

[Ulf]

Unfortunately I am not taking the p*** - if you're looking at a complete disassembly of interior and exterior trim, removal of all paint to bare metal, fix of rust, dings and surprises, layers of primer, sanding, paints and clear coat it can actually run up to a figure near the 20k quoted. Naturally, labour rates differ from country to country and the really important aspect is whether the car is worth 20k more (both to the owner and others) afterwards or not. Maybe it would be an idea to ship/drive the car to Poland for the respray - they are excellent craftsmen, but it's not completely without risk...

[tel76]

Hello ULF,
The original request from Biffa was info: on a respray not a complete renovation.
If it is the full 10 yards then we are back to ! How long is a piece of string !

[Ulf]

A bare metal respray - how do you strip a car to bare metal without removing the trim, engine etc??? If that's possible, I would sure like to know