Howdy,

I have had my Red 20VT LE for just over a year now and am loving it, however, the paint is looking tired. It had some work done in the past on left front bonnet side upto the lights (about 45 cm by 20cm and they did not match the colour very well. In fact what they did was paint the bumber this "new" red colour too.

So I was thinking what can I do to improve it?

A respray? Would cost loads - can't really shell out £1K plus....

What about getting whole bonnett painted and bumper....could someone else match the colour to the original so it's spot on? I mean the bonnet has loadsa stone chips anyways.

Then, could the rest of the car's paint be treated with that clay to improve the look?

Also there is some slight bubbling on the black window surround just above the 20VT logo (only 2cm x 1cm)....what to do here?

Also the LE titanium colour rear light surround has peeled very badly to the metal beneath (over half...is it aluminum or zinc?) - this needs sorting but how?

Any help would be great. I'm located in Ashford, Kent if anyone knows any good paint guys?

Cheers.

If you do find somewhere good I'd be keen to learn. I'm down in Folkestone and looking for a bodyshop to tidy the rear end up on mine.

paint will be expensive, especially for a front end, trying to match red which has faded in the sun for a few years can be difficult, or so im told

but good news for the pillar, as this can be swapped for any model one in good condition, (just keep hold of your LE 20vt badge) a good SH one wouldnt cost too much

as for the light surrounds, these need to be refurbed in situ, its not worth trying to take them out. Petep did a guide in the how to section, just take out the lights (easy 10 min job) rub them down, and primer . paint. if your not confident doing that bit yourself i doubt it'd be that expensive for the 'cups' to be done by a pro.