Okay. I just bought a 2004 xkr coupe in midnight/cashmere. It is the car of my dreams, except for the ext color. I want primrose yellow. I fell in lust with an xke a long time ago in that color and have never satisfied the urge. Am I insane? No, I am 63 and don't want to take 1 penny to the grave, so,lol, I bought a jag. Is there a best way to go about this?

 

Research body shops and custom shops in your area. Try to get references and see examples of their work.

A quality full color change will be an expensive paint job costing thousands of dollars. To a large extent with paint work you get what you pay for.

 

Agreed. When you change the color, there is so much more surface area that must be repainted compared to repainting the vehicle the original color. Be prepared to shell out tons of cash to get what you want....

 

why am i now getting adverts in the replys,i hope it is nothing to do with my pc being invaded

 

A good respray here costs between $6K and $10K depending on how hungry the shop it. A good color change should cost you somewhere between $12K and $20K depending on the same thing. You might consider a wrap which typically costs around $3,500, they can be nearly as spectacular, much more resistant to scratching and nicks and if you don't like it, you can just peal it off. I looked at all three and just decided to get different car with a color I liked more. If you like flat black you can also do a plastidip treatment which is about $1,000 and also peels off. Don't think it really works on a Jag, though I just saw a Corvette with it and it definitely turned heads.

 

LightStrum,
If you are going to do it right, you might as well pull the engine and gearbox, and front and rear sub frames, clean everything replace all the bushes and rubber, and have the car painted with all the big bits removed.
Your comment about not taking the money with you says it all.
And when it's done you know all the mechanicals have been done and can drive with confidence.

 

Have to agree with the above, the "proper way" to do a color change is basically the same as a frame off restoration where you will have literally EVERYTHING off the car. Engine, transmission, exterior trim bits, lights, and the whole interior too.

Start looking and you will see all those hundreds of little places where the body color shows around door panels, jams, inside the boot and other hard to reach areas.

Just imagine the outside in that beautiful yellow and when you open the door there is a splotch of black showing on the door hinges because you can't paint over the moving parts without dismantling them.

If you have a good car and just want a different color, a wrap might be a reasonable option and they are removable if you should get tired of it or when it comes time to sell the car and the buyer doesn't care for it.

 

I would certainly consider a wrap vs. a repaint. Dallas is the home of one of the top
wrap companies in the world. I believe they have a location in New York.
Check out their site: skinz.com.

They have done thousands of vehicles, and hundreds of high end cars that cost a
hundred times more than our xk's. Be sure to explore their site, including their
galleries and their videos link at the bottom of the page.

Apparently they will soon be introducing a Kandy color line.

They use Emerson printers which have extremely high dpi's and reliability. (see video).

The cool thing about a wrap is its durability to the elements and small rocks.

Lastly, you can leave a wrap on for years and when you pull it off, your paint will
look brand new. I saw them do this on a car that had been wrapped for three years.
Amazing protection for the paint underneath.

There is a quick shot of a Chrysler Prowler that was wrapped with some extreme graphic designs in the video about their company. It belonged to the owner and was
one of his first attempts. It won first place for paint at two major car shows.

He finally felt guilty at his third car show, and informed the judges that it wasn't paint.
They gave him first place, anyway.

Here in Dallas, a lot of guys with very expensive cars wrap their cars in flat black with
these guys. They have over sixty examples in their gallery.

Good luck.

 

Make that skinzwraps.com

 

That skinz.com website was more fun. =)