I'm stuck on the fence. I've only gotten one bid but have been to a few local body shops over the years and frankly, the bid is from the one I had zero issues with. The quote was for a partial respray (front bumper cover, hood, roof, tail gate, rocker panels with some blending. I also had the full respray estimate @ $7k. Not happening @ that price.

The front bumper cover looks like it sat in a sand storm. Black wax covers it fine. The hood has some deep scratches (two, each about an inch and a half) on it, as does the roof, (another couple about an inch or so long up at the front. Also the usual spider webbing which I could buff out a 3rd time I guess. There are a couple of rock chips on the rear hatch and the rocker panels are like you would expect.

The estimate is close to 25% of the cars value. It will bump the value, but I won't see the return I know. @ $4k, I can't decide.
Car has 70k miles or so on it. I have no plans to buy another car and no plans to get rid of this one. I will own it until I can no longer drive, it gets totaled, death do us part, or another fool aside from me gives me a ridiculous offer.

So help me with some input please. Am I a fool and his money soon to be parted? If you owned the car, would you and why or would you not and why please?

FYI, body guys can spot the flaws from 5 feet. Regular folks can't believe the car is 13 years old. It bugs me when I wash it, otherwise I'm almost OK with it.

 

I don't think it is any different than spending $4K on wheels or some other upgrade. If it is going to help you enjoy your car and your life more, and you don't need the money for something critical, and it won't cause domestic strife, go for it and enjoy. Newly well painted cars look grrrrrreat.

Chris

 

A dilemma for sure.

I saw a post somewhere on here where the OP did all the prep work on the car himself and then took it to one of those discount shops that advertise
specials every once in a while.

He claimed the results were very good. He took off handles etc as well as sanding down prep.

I did respray the hood of my XJR myself just recently with a Urethane two stage job.

Problem was that I used a low pressure system because I thought wrongly that a high pressure compressor pump required special wiring etc. and was way expensive.

The compressor I used started to give up the ghost 2/3rds of the way thru the job! Finished anyway.

I found and bought a high pressure pump for way less than expected that runs off any normal socket.

So I resprayed two rear quarter panels on my truck. The job I did on the truck was way better than the XJR. Same paint color.

So I will redo the XJR some time and with a better high pressure gun than I used on the truck. I learned a heck of a lot.

 

Others may disagree and call it foolish but if were me I'd go for it! If the car is destined to be with you from here on out why let it sit in a condition that you're not satisfied with? Why not look at it like doing a 'mod' and knowing you'll love the results when it is done?

 

I got front nose cone re done early this year had to many road rash chips etc on it . a local place £375 $400 looks much better like new now

 

+1

 

Course, how much does a WRAP cost? Sure, they ain't the shiniest things out there, but you can change to any color(s) you want, repeatedly. Black Chrome! Anime character! A lot of BM(w) logos!

 

Obviously, the only thought you should have on "return" is how you feel while you own it. The Spray itself will not help resale worth a darn.

My '07 XK got a complete Jag approved repaint in 2013 thanks to heavy sand blasting, and yet its value today is no more than any other well maintained XK. (In fact some here have even commented that they would not touch my car because it has an "accident record", which was the repaint! Jag snobs are funny that way, to not look beyond a single line in a carfax!)
Anyhow, 6 years later, and my paint is still chip free thanks to the additional $1500 for clear bra after the paint was done.
She is still a pleasure to wash, wax, caress, fondle, lick, and .............. well............. obsess over!

Wish my XKR looked as nice!


For under $3K you could get a sweet wrap!

 

FWIW, I'd get the respray. If you intend, like me, to keep your car for literally ever, then look at it as an investment not a cost. The return on your investment will be hugely increased pride of and satisfaction of ownership. Also, if you decided to swap the car after all, you'd pay way more than (an extra) 4 grand to acquire another car I bet. And you'd be taking another step into the unknown with a car that could have many faults about to show up, all of which would cost you yet more money. You know your car inside out and that gives peace of mind. Every time you look at your beautiful new bodywork you will get a surge of pleasure that will last long after the expenditure has been forgotten. So my $0.2 is - go for it and enjoy!




(Disclaimer: I am assuming that the 4 grand isn't needed for something a lot more urgent and that it doesn't represent your entire life savings ).

 

I'd go for a warp and choose a color you couldn't get or a color not available in an XK. Riddick's blue looks really good.

 

Wait till you find someone that will paint the whole thing for $5k. You may have to drive to a smaller town. Look around, go on youtube many of these artisans put videos of their work there.
Hang around the paint supply shops. What you have going for you is that its a exotic car they can brag about and enjoy painting. Most of these guys dont have a store front and not on a main road.
Befriend one and gently get on their waiting list, they are always backlogged and will give you a go-away price if pushed, they will get hungry sooner or later. You are commissioning an artist not looking for a paint shop that does collision repair.
Avoid the wrap crap, its the most expensive option as you will redo it in 5 years and it looks cheap, like vinyl. Take care of the new paint and it will last 20 years, so you are only paying $250 a year.
Plus you will be getting a new car. So that's your question, is it worth making a gorgeous $70k car look brand new for $5k or do you turn it into a beater.

 

I can think of a couple Murcielago, Aventador, McClaren, and Ferrari owners here that would clearly dispute that comment.

 

Just do it

You are going to keep the car of years. Find the best place you can to hopefully get the nearest to perfect a job and enjoy it.

We have a 1997 FIAT Coupe from new and it needs quite some work for it to last another 20 years. It will cost us way more than the car will ever be worth but we want to keep it so it is being restored. Your XK is probably already in way better condition so to make it look like new for $7k is perfectly acceptable. Invest that money in a newer car and it will also disappear fairly fast.

 

A huge +1 to that!

 

Pfft. If you're going to go anime, Angel Beats is a great show but lacking enough fan service for this, go with someone like Rias from High School DxD. Go like the Kawaii GT.

 

Yea, there's a lot of supercar events around here and you see lots of wraps on them. It's mostly for effect though as they change often.

 

I often wonder about re-spraying clear coat only... I had a minor ding repaired on my XK last year and of course they had to re-clear the whole damn quarter panel and the C-Pillar......
Since the clear is so thin and usually takes the brunt of the damage, I wonder if a wet-sand and clear coat only on the whole car would be doable. It would boost the thickness of the clear, allowing more correction cycles in the future and most of the gloss comes from the clear anyways. Of course, any marring that reached the base coat would show thru if not re-painted.

Probably not an option for Sean (or anyone if I'm missing something!!!) but it's food for thought.

 

Thanks all. Very much appreciate your input and it got me off the fence.

I went back to the body shop this morning and haggled a bit. They gave me a labor rate between retail and insurance, so good for me. I'm going to do the partial respray. Taking it in November 6th. Just hoping to get it back before any snow flies (summer tires). Then will put her to bed for winter unless it warms up. 22 degrees when I woke this morning.

Everyone's input made sense to me, except the wrap. It's just not my schtick. I think the X150 body is timeless and am happy with OEM look.
Q&C, I also gave some thought to your recommendation and know enough about myself to recognize that I have no patience for that type of endeavor. It's a great idea, just not for me.

Shemp, you're correct that wouldn't work for me but it got me curious so I did a quick google search and saw this in popular mechanics.
"In theory, you could then respray just the clear coat. In reality, the pigment layer will be sanded through to the primer in a lot of places. So, the color coat will have to be resprayed as well."

Thanks again gentlemen.

 

Is this for the XK or Chev?
The thing is that its really not much more effort or cost to spray the color coat. You are 90% there.
But look at it from adhesion perspective would you want old failing paint underneath good paint. Or take 100% risk for sake of 10%.
It does not pay not to go to the primer.

 

Either... On the XK, I had a ding (chipped to the primer) repaired behind the driver's door. The service managed explained the process of repairing the ding and color matching/painting the repair and and then clearing the entire section. I asked why and he said they only paint the repair spot but needed to clear to each seam (or to an inconspicuous point like the ridge in our roof over the door) or the repair will be noticeable. I was surprised they did not paint color on the entire section because I assumed a spot paint repair would be more noticeable. Maybe he was wrong or I misunderstood him. Either way, the repair is invisible so however they did it, it's good.