Nath 1,975 Posted January 20, 2015 Anyone know any good ones? Don't know anyone, or even know anyone that knows anyone that can recommend someone that knows anyone. I've emailed a couple of places regarding quotes on getting the XD taken back to bare metal and resprayed, but no-one's gotten back to me yet. If anyone from here has dealt with any good ones I'd love to know - kinda taking shots in the dark here. Cheers, Nath Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve mcqueen 1,796 Posted January 20, 2015 You got a spare 20k have you? Dont email these people, that says "your not fair dinkum" Take a day, drive to half a dozen smash repairs across sydney and its west introduce yourself and say "whats it gonna cost for a full bare metal respray" Tell em what you want, what colour, what work you want done and watch the dollar signs roll. Some places might say 'they not interested' but some might say 'yeah mate we could do it'. How much work are you gonna put in to it? Do you want them to 'remove and replace' the parts? You want the engine bay and door jams painted? Better make a list now and tell em what you want. so everybody is on the same page when you get your quotes in. Alot of us, including me would love to know how much its gonna cost you. 3 Nath, blu xe and Stumps reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nath 1,975 Posted January 20, 2015 Good post! That was my next plan - rocking up and asking. Just didn't know any good places. Well, the thing is it has to be done. It's got light rust everywhere, no welding required. A good sand blast (or alternative) will do it, but it has to be everywhere - interior, engine bay etc. As far as I'm concerned I can trailer the stripped down shell right into the shop. Got my own engine crane and stand so I can pull the motor myself and strip the interior and panels and stuff myself. I'm kind of counting on the fact that if I strip it myself, and if it requires no major rust repair, it shouldn't cost an arm and a leg as they should only have to sandblast it and do the prep/paint. I'm also aware that this means I'm gonna need a lot of random bits and pieces (weather seals etc) that will probably add up. At the end of the day as much as I hate to admit it, the old man is right. There's no point having a shit hot driveline in a half rusted out body. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SLO247 1,713 Posted January 20, 2015 You seem like you would be able to manage it yourself. Try asking on AFF, some of the guys with the older stuff should be able to point you in the right direction. Don't bother asking normal crash shops, they won't do it. They more do just insurance repairs with quick turn around. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nath 1,975 Posted January 20, 2015 Not even gonna think about doing it myself. I can't paint for shit (but know people who can...) But at the end of the day, even if I got the labour for free I still don't have any of the gear or a good place to do it... Gonna be a soup sandwich if I try it myself. Anything north of 5k and it's really looking like a much better idea to just buy a new shell though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nath 1,975 Posted January 20, 2015 Also I'd probably go the same colour just in 2k paint. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nath 1,975 Posted January 20, 2015 Hey here's what Polaris Blue in 2Pak looks like.... http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/gatton/cars-vans-utes/1981-ford-falcon/1063012864 Not a huge fan of it without the moulds and other bits to break it up though... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve mcqueen 1,796 Posted January 20, 2015 Yep, soda blasting is the way to go, There is this technology in the states but im not sure if it hit us in OZ yet. Give these people a call and see what it costs for your car to get done. http://www.allsodablastservices.com.au/default.htm If you can strip the car to a rolling shell its gonna save you money so with that saving you can put it towards a new rubber kit for the old girl, a rubber kit you can get through Rare spares. Dont assume 'there is no welding'. Once that back window comes out and you find rust that needs cutting out 'Ka-ching' goes more money. There maybe rust in the firewall and plenum? Whilst its striped nows the time to replace things like the 'heater core in the dash' Would hate to see it leak due to rust after you have just put down new floor carpets. What sort of time frame do you want this project to be completed in? There is 6 weeks left of summer so if you dont have a garage to put this freshly painted roller into whilst you take 6 months to put it back together, thats not gonna be good. So many diffrent factors in a project like this, so planning is crucial. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nath 1,975 Posted January 20, 2015 I vaguely remember seeing a post on here (I think) saying that someone got their car soda blasted and it didn't remove all the rust... Not sure how true that is. I definitely can strip it to a rolling shell no worries. Definitely would do the heater core and stuff too. Also would want new underlay for the carpet. If nothing else a lot of the trim needs a clean too but I can do that concurrently. I'm 95% sure there's no rust anywhere that requires welding. The car had been someone's pride and joy, then after he died it sat in a garage undercover since 2006. It's got some surface rust but nothing more. Touch wood. Good work doesn't happen in a day, I get that. Don't want it to be off the road for 6 months though. I do have a garage (competing with 3 other people for said coveted car spot though). Most likely it will be sitting under the car port in the backyard with a heavy car cover on it like it is now, and has been for the last year. I'd bust my arse to get it back together (why pay for rego and insurance I'm not using hah) just like I did when getting it rego'd. This time I actually know what I'm doing though, so it shouldn't take forever. Decided though, if it's happening, it should happen now, and not in a couple of years when that surface rust turns into rust holes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SLO247 1,713 Posted January 20, 2015 That surface rust will probably stay like that for another 30 years. Honestly. Rust used to scare me too but after a while you can tell what's what. When there's bubbles and flakes that's when you worry. Soda won't remove surface rust well from what I've read. Sand will likely cause some damage if they aren't careful. They all make a mess. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nath 1,975 Posted January 20, 2015 Yeah I know but it just looks damn untidy. At the moment it looks like no-one gives a shit about it. Hate looking at it.To be honest, I don't mind doing it so much now that I've seen what good condition XDs (regardless of motor) actually go for... Prices are going up, and while I'd never make my money back on it, I don't feel as guilty if I'm not putting a 5k paint job on what's always gonna remain a 2k car. Regardless of that Ive grown kinda attached to it now and intend to keep it until I wrap it around a tree or end up under semi. I think if I'm going to go the whole hog and do the driveline, the bodywork has to be done first... 1 Stumps reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nath 1,975 Posted January 21, 2015 So there's a place down the road from me... Bayside Smash Repairs. Looked like a normal panel beater shop till I drove past and saw that it was full of classic cars... Not sure they'll do it but it might be worth dropping in and asking. Gonna head down later today or tomorrow. Can't find any reviews or much about them on google though. Don't even have their own website. Also gonna have a chat to old mate across the road and see if he can recommend anyone... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stumps 311 Posted January 21, 2015 Nath, another thing to organise with the panel beater would be a weekly payment plan, bullshit or something and say you are crap with managing money or something similar and you would like to pay for the work that has been done each week, rather than at the end. This will cut down the amount of time and fucking around the panel beater/spray painter will take to do the job, more often than not they just see an old project car as something to do in their spare time and push it to the back of the work shop...or in the case of my old EB XR6, outside where it will sit for 6 months before they get motivated to work on it. Another thing to check is to see if any apprentices will be working on it as they will often end up being a bodgy stuffed up bog job, or a shit paint job, or sometimes much worse, as I found out with my EB. There are plenty of good panel/paint shops out there but a lot more dodgy ones getting about who will do a substandard job and rip you off, remember when you take the car about if the guy either doesn't look at the car or doesn't take any notes/has a good look at suspect area's or just plain ummm's and ahhh's about it then say thanks but no thanks. I had more than my fair share of dodgy body work/spray jobs and I've learnt the hard way how to get a good result and anything under $10k is not a bargin. 1 Nath reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nath 1,975 Posted January 21, 2015 Good advice. That's why I was wanting recommendations if anyone knows people who do good work. That payment plan is definitely something to consider. Don't want it sitting there for 6 months. Especially if I'm doing half of the hard work for them (stripping it to a shell and dropping it in their garage), I'd expect it to be done in a reasonable amount of time. As long as there's no hidden welding, which I doubt there is, it's a pretty simple job. I'm definitely going to talk to the guy across from me about it. He and my uncle used to sandblast cars and re-paint them next door, plus I'm pretty sure as an old speedway guy he'd know a few good shops to go to. Need to have a word to him about the engine build as well. It's just a damn shame that I can't do it myself... I don't really want to be going north of 5k. I understand that 5k will get me a 5k paint job, but at the end of the day it's a daily, not a show car. Could pick up a freshly painted XD with an engine rebuild on gumtree for 10k (like the one I posted). As much as I like this one, it makes zero economical sense to put a 10k paint job on it... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stumps 311 Posted January 21, 2015 $5k for a paint job?....I'll believe it when I see it Unless you are going to completely strip the car to the bones and back to complete bare metal and then reassemble it yourself don't count on a $5k paint job. I don't want to offend any panel beater or painters here but the auto paint/panel industry is one of the biggest rorts in the history of rorting. Sorry to put it like this Nath, but when it comes to that side of doing up a car be prepared to bend over and cop it sweet...if you know what I mean 3 SLO247, NZXD and Nath reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NZXD 2,328 Posted January 21, 2015 Totally agree Stumps. I've seen complete panel and paint jobs costing 15k, and though fark must be mint but then it's pretty average. 1 Stumps reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stumps 311 Posted January 21, 2015 I don't wanna put you off Nath, as a good fresh paint job is chubby inducing, but here in Oz there are many pitfalls to getting work done so be wary, over charging for a substandard work is more than common. But with that said Auto acrylic is fairly easy to work with and with a bit of practice can produce good results and with the right prep work can be reasonably cheap too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stumps 311 Posted January 21, 2015 A polaris blue XD with a nice set of B45's or Convo pro's would look very horny....ohhhh think I need the home made fleshlight...be right back 2 NZXD and Nath reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nath 1,975 Posted January 21, 2015 Had a word to old mate across the road. He recommended a place near me, but also to shop around a bit for others around here. He also suggested I could probably set a day where I have it soda blasted at a separate place (takes like an hour and a half or something), sand blast all the rust off, have it treated, then trailer the bare shell over to the body shop so all they need to do is prep and paint. Said I should pay no more than 1/3 of the cost up front and the rest when the job's done. I figure if I have the entire thing stripped back to bare metal ready to go it may take a lot of the sting off. So tomorrow I'm going to a couple of different places to run that idea by them. Pretty sure the only way I'd pay 15k for a paint job would be if they picked it up from my house, stripped it themselves, put it back together and had it back in my driveway with a full tank of fuel when done... Other than that, I can get garage jobs arranged. I know that's not gonna be that great, but hey, I might learn something and it won't cost 15k either. Don't really want to go that route, but something needs to be done to the body before I do work on the motor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SLO247 1,713 Posted January 21, 2015 Do it at home, $1500 including a compressor and gun should do it easy for a basic acrylic job. Would be equivalent to a $5000 job if you could find one. If you can find a good mob expect to bleed money out your area, even then there's no guarantee. Lots of reading and some practice on scrap panels first. Its not difficult, just time consuming. 2 Stumps and Nath reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nath 1,975 Posted January 21, 2015 At the moment I'm limited to knowing a guy who knows a couple of guys who can do it in their garages. May be the go - get it soda blasted and treated for rust then straight to them. Not gonna do it myself.... Already got a huge old school compressor though... But my yard would be a terrible place to do it. If I'm only paying the body shop for the prep and paint then they shouldn't be able to screw me too much right? Seeing as they won't have Mr Apprentice sanding back all the panels and stuff by hand and taking forever to do it. Probably will though. Guess I'll find out tomorrow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nath 1,975 Posted January 21, 2015 Question - What do they do about pitting? I know it has a fair bit. Will they just sandblast it or what? Also... I just googled it. Apparently renting a spray booth out is actually a thing. Hmm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stumps 311 Posted January 21, 2015 SLO247 has hit the nail on the head, Nath i have no doubt a young bloke like you can knock over a half decent paint job. The first time is always daunting but a few practise runs and a bit of research and its a piece of piss, and if you get good at it you can always make money off ya mates by spraying their cars.... Just a thought..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Polson 10,214 Posted January 21, 2015 I had a mate paint my ute for me... turned out pretty reasonable, certainly good from a distance, and fairly decent up close. Go look in my project thread for more info. 1 Nath reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SLO247 1,713 Posted January 21, 2015 If you can rent a booth its a no brainer. Do all your primer and high fill coats at home, wet rub it then do the top coats at the booth. If you have a big compressor that's a great start. A decent gun will only cost $100. Use single stage paint to avoid the hassle of clear and then you can easily wet rub and polish it to a good finish. Getting shit blown in your primer etc at home won't matter too much as you can rub it out. Haha. They never had clear on them anyway and it would have been acrylic too. No point stressing about rust and pitting until the paint comes off and you see what's left. 2 Stumps and Nath reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
