So,
Up until about 18 months ago my paintwork was lovely. Then my drivers door was damaged in a Tesco carpark. Then the bonnet went dull. Then my engine expired. Then the low-loader broke a chunk off the front drivers LE lip. Then my mother reversed into the back of the car. Then my sister reversed into the rear corner of the car. Then I grazed a tree. Then one week later I grazed a gatepost trying to avoid the same tree. Then I grazed a wall. Then I rolled the car off a garage ramp into a pillar damaging the bumper and denting the bonnet corner. Then the tyre shop scuffed the two front alloys putting on my new Toyo’s. Then I watched a stone fly off the back of a lorry on the M1 at 70mph and plant a nice divet in my bonnet. Then my rear wheelarches went a bit scabby. Then my rear spoiler began to flake a bit more. Then the ends of my LE skirts began to flake too. Then I was really depressed.
So after much deliberation, much counting and then recounting of the coppers in the piggybank and the jeans pockets I decided to take the day off on Monday and go and check out some auto paintshops in the area. Low and behold what started out as a front end respray and a number of touch-ups morphed itself into a full body respray. I washed the car before going to the 1st paintshop and it looked well, but even in the shade of the yard the owner was able to run me around the various areas that had been the subject of previous (not so great) paintwork corrections. At least he didn’t spot my DIY rear wheelarch resprays from last year!!
So as of next week my Coupé will be retiring for 2 weeks to be dismantled, sanded, primed and repainted in shiny spanking Nero 601 and titanium and then baked in an oven. The old bootlid with the original Zender spoiler drilled through it will be retired to a dusty shelf in the garage and a new standard bootlid will be put in its place. The alloys are getting a refurb too.
I have to say I’m looking forward to it. I’m not particularly looking forward to spending the money, but hey, what can I say, I’m tight! For those of you wondering if it’ll be a pucker job, the paintshop is taking off the bumpers, doors, bonnet & boot, all windows & rubbers, the side skirts and lights etc. The bonnet is being sanded back to bare metal too as there is something from a previous paintjob causing the top layer to react.
I’ll post some pics up this weekend of the current paintwork and then I’ll compare it to the finished product in a few weeks!
Wish me luck
