My Full Respray

[jimbobery]

My black 2001 S3 is in good condition, especially the interior, and the roof has been resprayed under warranty, but there are some exterior defects that bug me after I’ve cleaned it.
- Front bumper has loads of small stone chips and the headlight washers have loads of white bits on them, and there is a big scuff.
- Bonnet has been resprayed at some point but the lacquer is peeling in small areas
- Rear bumper has scratches from a previous owner taking things out of the boot, and there is a very deep scratch
- Front of rear wheel arches have slight bubbling where I’m told pinpoint stone chips have broken the surface of the paint
- The lower rear quarters have been lacquered over a dirty surface and now permanently look like I’ve left dirty water marks after cleaning
- Deep stone chip, down to metal, on passenger door (probably could be touched up well without spraying the whole door).

My friends company does motorsport paintwork so I approached him with the intention of spraying the front bumper, rear bumper and bonnet, but after he explained that for a correct job they would blow over the front panels and rear quarters, the only panels not being sprayed with at least some lacquer are the doors! Therefore, I’m going for a full respray (excluding the roof) and fixing all of the defects above in one go. I’m taking some time off work to do the prep work under the supervision of the professionals, and then one of the spray guys will do all the spray work in the booth for me.

Obviously I’m getting plenty of professional advice from my friend, but there are some questions I thought I’d ask here:

1. If I have time, I’m thinking of getting the grey side trim and front and rear grey inserts sprayed as they are a bit discoloured in places. I’d like to keep them grey, but does anyone know what grey they are, colour name or paint code? If not I guess I’ll just have to pick a solid grey from their paint scheme?
2. After the respray I want to do protect the paint as best I can. Is a sealant the best thing to use? My girlfriends mini has been ‘a-glazed’, but I can’t tell if it makes any difference? Can I apply an a-glaze style product myself?
3. I’ll be having a few bits off the car, bumpers etc, is there anything else I should look at getting done at the same time?
4. Does anyone have any experience of the prep process on an A3/S3 with any specific advice?

I’ll take some pics of the problems I have at the moment and hopefully some nice shiny ones after the work!

 

[A3Tom]

I can only really offer advive on how to keep your paint looking nice.

Avoid those 'diamondbrite' type glazes etc, they're no good. What you need is a decent wax that will offer a nice level of protection and also give your car a nice clean glossy look to it. I find the best wax about at the moment for price and performance is Collinite. its ver durable and lasts a long time, gives great results. There are far more expensive waxes out there but they dont last as well as a coat of Collinite. Under 20 quid for a big tub that will last ages.

Its worth investing in a decent drying towel for when you wash it too to avoid any nasty fine scratches caused by leathers etc. Get a lambswool washmit and some decent shampoo too.

When you wash the car use 2 buckets. One with shampoo and water in and another with just plain old water in it. When you wash the car rinse the mitt in the bucket of clean water before dunking the mit back in the soapy water. This clears all the grit and crud off the mit so you dont end up rubbing it all over your nice new paint. This will reduce the amount of swirl marks on the paint.

Dry the car off and layer up a couple of coats of wax and it'll look fantastic and be nicely protected too.

T

 

[jimbobery]

Cheers Tom. I switched to using the two bucket method, lambs wool mitt and big microfibre drying towel when I joined this forum - can't belive I ever used to use a big sponge and old leather chamoix, how did I not realise this was going to leave fine scratches on my paint! Caught my sister washing her car with a sponge and washing-up liquid and promptly shouted at her!

I'll lookup Collinite cheers, obviously the job is costing me hardly anything so I don't mind spending a bit on keeping the paint looking good.

 

[reptor245]

how much is this costing you for the respray?

 

[jimbobery]

I'll be keeping track of all the supplies I use, but including paint, all materials should be under 200 and I'm paying the spray guy 200, so 400 in total.

Edit: and I'll be doing all the prep, so no labour to pay for there

 

[S3 HODGE]

400 for a respray...Sounds like a great deal mate, Lets just hope that it comes out well.

 

[Dani_B19]

Deece where do you live!

 

[reptor245]

Bargain. It cost £700 just to do my roof so thats a real bargain. What colour is your car? mines a pearl so maybe thats why it was more. I want the rest of the car doing but i cant justifie spending 1 - 2k on it.

 

[jimbobery]

It is a good deal, my mate is doing me a real favour (although I've done a fair few for him too), I'll only be literally covering his costs for materials, and I don't mind paying the spray guy, he's actually also friend, I'd just feel guilty if I wasn't covering the cost of materials and time.

I'm in Northamptonshire, why?

 

[jimbobery]

Bargain. It cost £700 just to do my roof so thats a real bargain. What colour is your car? mines a pearl so maybe thats why it was more. I want the rest of the car doing but i cant justifie spending 1 - 2k on it.

Yeah I know I'm lucky, I wouldn't be doing it for full price, probably couldn't justify it. Mine is the standard metallic black, luckily there is only one variance on the paint scheme and I acutally got them to do my boot lock strip and the paint matches very closely (not that it really matters with a full respray).
I think you're right about pearl, I think that does cost more, solid colours are easier and cheaper.

 

[Dani_B19]

Was hoping you where closer, would love mine doing at that price.

 

[reptor245]

I think you're right about pearl, I think that does cost more, solid colours are easier and cheaper.

Dont i no it. LOL Typical really. I bought the car and then spent like 2K on getting it nice. Just need a respray to get it looking like new but i aint spending another 2K as its just not worth it. goood luck with urs tho. post up some pics afterwards

 

[jimbobery]

Was hoping you where closer, would love mine doing at that price.

Well they are open to doing non-motorsport paint work, but that price is a proper mates rate, and I've done free work for him over the years, I'm having to insist on paying, he'd do it for free otherwise and I'd feel bad.

Dont i no it. LOL Typical really. I bought the car and then spent like 2K on getting it nice. Just need a respray to get it looking like new but i aint spending another 2K as its just not worth it. goood luck with urs tho. post up some pics afterwards

Cheers, I'll get some before and after pics sorted.

So, anyone got any answers to my question in the first post?

 

[1.8twes]

From previous experience I would say there's no such thing as a 'cheap' respray, just make sure the car is prep'd properly and it hopefully it will come out ok.

Good luck

 

[WildBruce]

Ask the experts: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk
I have learned a lot from that forum, and in the detailing section of this forum you will find Polished Bliss http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk and they are really helpful, and their web site has loads of info on car care, so check it out [there are some stickies on how to treat dark colours]

Also a great source of info on products, as they test loads, and drop them from their line if they don't meet their strict standards.

Werkstat Acrylic was recommended to me when I asked for advice, and I have the same colour as you [still have not gotten round to getting it done, as I live in a flat now ]

 

[jimbobery]

So after a lot of hard work and some long nights I’ve got my finished car back together and its looking perfect! As above I’ve had a full respray excluding the roof and I’ve had the grey plastic inserts done too, I managed to find a matching colour on the paint scheme so with matt lacquer they look like brand new OEM ones.

Anyways, some before and after…

Headlight Washers Before

Headlight Washers After

Front Bumper Scuff Before

Front Bumper Scuff After

Rear Bumper Before

Rear Bumper After

… some more pics.

… keep the de-badged look or stick them back on?

… this is my favorite, the passenger door is like a mirror…

 

[Nilz]

Excellent work mate, looks mint, however on a black car, i think you should put the S3 badges back on again, they will finish it off.

 

[S3 HODGE]

Looks very very nice! Id stick the badges back on and dont go letting c*nts opening there door onto it!

 

[S3 Rav]

badges on. looks mint

 

[Olly P]

Badges off, looks much smoother!

 

[emery1990]

should of got it matt black

 

[Dani_B19]

I want a re-spray now . Just hope no t**t catches and watch your lass, they are t**ts for clipping it wit their bag then going wasnt me you did that even though you heard the bag hit the car

 

[simch]

I'm considering having mine wrapped in Matt Anthracite later this year!

 

[emery1990]

how much is that ..£700 init , im thinking of spraying my bumpers matt black.. the very bottoms but dunno if youll notice a difference as there already just black plastic ?

 

[b16 will]

That looks a nice job, nice and shiney. Ive only had mine back from paint 3 weeks, and now the paint has had time to completly dry its polished up great. I had mine done by a stratstone bodyshop, the roof and spoiler wasnt painted but the rest was preped and painted for £800, i supplied the paint but it cost me £30 from TRI and i got the laquer through another mate for nothing, and its the laquer that costs ! Im waiting for the stonechips to apear, but silver isnt as noticeable as darker colours.

 

[ianysm]

That looks amazing! Definately badges back on.

 

[jimbobery]

...the roof and spoiler wasnt painted but the rest was preped and painted for £800, i supplied the paint but it cost me £30 from TRI and i got the laquer through another mate for nothing, and its the laquer that costs ! Im waiting for the stonechips to apear, but silver isnt as noticeable as darker colours.

Thats not a bad price either, I'd have happily paid that.

I think you lot are right, the badges are going back on. It looks too much like I've debadged it to hide that its a diesel or something. It'll be at Audi's in the Park on Sunday so I'll get some more opinions no doubt, but I think the decision is made.

Just after the job was done one of the experienced paint guys recommended I flat and polish the car. He said because the laquer wasn't fully set hard polishing would easily get rid of the orange peal and high spots to give it a mirror finish. He showed me on a panel and it involved using a dry 1500 grit pad on a sander, then a wet 2000 pad, then a wet 3000, then a polish with a cutting compound, then a going over with some machine glaze.
Its the first time I've ever done anything like that to a car, and when he took the dry 1500 pad to the paint it looked like it was ruined, but after the other pads and polish it obviously worked. I did the rest of the car, I reckon it took me over 30 hard hours in total and then required waxing afterwards!!! Obviously he could've done it in no time but I was stopping all the time to check I was doing it right. The 1500 pads can get clogged up and cause 'seeding' scratches so they have to be dusted off al the time, I went through 25 of them for the car, 50p each but worth it.

 

[emery1990]

it looks like its got a chrome finish in some of ya pics! can you do that mirror finish to anycar then, or does it have to be when the laquer still hasnt hardened ?