I'm thinking about treating my 1996 XJR6 to a respray and wanted to ask members of the forum about their experiences.

1. Any recommended body shops?
2. Typical costs for a full respray?
3. Any particular issues worth bearing in mind?

Looking forward to some thoroughly helpful advice!

 

You'll get a better job if your car is prepped well. Start by removing any exterior trim pieces that are not to be painted. The less masking means the less chance for the paint to start to lift or peel. It all depends on how thorough you want to go. The more work you do yourself,the better the paint job will be and the savings. It may seem tedious but you'll be impressed by the end results.

 

I agree with the above from 95leaper. Almost two years ago, I had my '64 Daimler repainted to its original colour. I removed all chrome, most glass, lights and had it taken back to near bare metal. The result is superb! It did cost!

 

It depends on your budget. My XJR was getting tatty and a few different shades where I had patched it up over the years. My Dad has a cheap high volume low pressure spray gun which had worked well on the replacement front wing so we did the whole car - see other post which I need to update.
It turned into a long job due to paint reaction issues despite applying a barrier coat followed by a lot of primer / filler to get it all really smooth. We think this was caused by film thickness and solvent levels compared to a normal spray gun. A solid colour would have been easy as can just sand it back to blend in, not so with a metallic basecoat!
We removed door handles trim and badges lights ect and replaced a rear wheelarch.
Coincidently I met a body shop guy at a friends wedding and he reckoned around £3K for a professional job, which is about what I had in mind. Doing it ourselves cost about £450 in the end but a lot of time.
The car looks good now though, so started working through the interior.

 

Another thing you may want to consider: Ask the shop that you plan on using what brand of paint they are using to spray your car. Some countries have restrictions on the types of paint that can be used too. Most of the major paint manufacturers have their main brand of paint with a high end version and an economy version of their brand. Some are good even in the economy level and some are not. It also depends if the person who will be spraying it is experienced with spraying that brand of paint because not all paints spray the same and require different techniques. It would be wise to ask the shop to see a few cars that have already been painted by them. Inspect them carefully and look for straightness down the side of the body and for any runs,discoloration or blemishes in the paint. That will give you an idea of what to expect on your car.