A couple of questions about restoration costs

1 - Can anyone please supply a ball park estimate for a complete respray in black cellulose on a Wolseley 6/80 - bodywork is sound 2 - What components should be hard chrome plated

Regards & TIA

Reply to
Jim Burton
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"Jim Burton" realised it was Mon, 9 Apr 2007

21:34:13 +0100 and decided it was time to write:

Not really. It all depends on how much needs doing, how you want it done (bare shell or masked? Bare metal or just isolator and paint?), what you do yourself, how many setbacks there are during the job and, most important of all, the quality you want.

A quick blowover will be cheap and will probably look nice from a few feet and for a few years at most. If you want something better than that, you'll have to pay for it.

Hmm. That's what they all say. Experienced bodyshops know better.

What do you mean by 'hard' chrome plated? Can't think of what 'soft' chrome would be like.

All components that were originally chrome plated should be chrome plated. Good chroming (a good quality chrome job that lasts, which is rare these days) costs loadsamoney, as it's very labour intensive work: clean off old chrome, repair dents/holes, polish, copper plating, polish, nickel plating, polish, chrome plating, polish.

Reply to
Yippee

Normal chrome is just a thin top coat a few atoms thick. The finish depends on the polishing that was done before plating. The best quality decorative chrome plating is triple plating, a thin layer of copper is applied first to seal the surface, then a thick layer of nickel, which is polished and finally a thin layer of chrome.

Hard chrome is built up to significant thickness that allows further engineering processes like grinding to be carried out. Due to expense hard chrome plating is a process that is only used on exposed sliding bearing surfaces like motorcycle telescopic fork legs, some struts or damper rods. It's very durable. Parts of a German WWII fighter was pulled out of a Jersey harbour in the 70's after 30+ years in salt water, it's telescopic landing legs were still good.

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Reply to
Peter Hill

Cellulose is now hard to get - it's only available for classic restoration and you're much more likely to find a bodyshop willing to do two pack. And two pack holds up a hell of a lot better than cellulose over time.

I'd want the car stripped to bare metal, dismantled, welded as required (there's a 99% chance it'll need welding somewhere) then have the shell e-coated and painted. I'd expect costs to be around £3k to £5K, particularly if it's a dark colour. OTOH a bog standard scuff over and paint can probably be done for £500 but it isn't going to last you long.

Reply to
Doki

You might find it difficult to get anyone to do a respray in cellulose these days due to solvent emission regs. But modern water based based paint is an acceptable substitute - it hasn't that too glossy look of two pack.

I had my SD1 done a couple of years ago - and stripped off everything myself. It's difficult to say what the actual spray cost as I'd a few other things done at the same time - like a new windscreen and a couple of door skins fitted. But 1500 quid wouldn't be miles out.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

1) Twice half the price. You'll only know once the paint has been stripped off.
Reply to
Conor

There's no reason to strip off good paint.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Dave Plowman (News) ( snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Very true.

But which paint on it is the good paint?

Reply to
Adrian

Depends what you're painting over it with. On several occasions I've painted over apparently sound paint, only to have it react with something underneath. Then the whole lot has to come off.

So I can see the point of stripping it back to bare metal - it might be more work in the beginning, but it can save time later, and at least then you know 100% what you have.

Reply to
Chris Bolus

You use a sealer coat. You have to anyway IIRC with water based stuff.

On a car of that age there shouldn't be any hidden nasties - unless recent cover up work.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

That's interesting to know. I haven't sprayed anything in the last year or so, and I was intending to ask the paint suppliers about it. Do you happen to know what they seal it with?

Well... my 67 Elf had some marks in the roof paintwork which seemed to sand out as I rubbed it down. Then as soon as I sprayed it, up they popped again! I eventually got a passable finish on it, but that car is going to need the bare metal job on it at some point in the future (and yes, it is a "keeper", so it will be me that has to do it all again!)

Reply to
Chris Bolus

AFAICS it'll be possible to avoid water based for as long as you like as long as you're using straight two pack. Basecoats are water based but primer and lacquer are still 2K, so if you're using a solid paint, there's no good reason for them to stop you, so they don't. Which is quite nice if you'll be painting older cars that came solid in the first place.

Reply to
Doki

No - but any paint supplier should be able to.

I had the SD1 resprayed a couple of years ago and it's solid black. They used water based - they said it's all they use these days - and the results are pretty good. Of course it's probably not suitable for domestic use due to needing an oven to dry it. But that doesn't apply to body shops who have used ovens for ages.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I'm of the impression that water based has no shine on it's own - it's all covered with a solvent based lacquer. I may be wrong, but that's what my tame painter's told me.

Reply to
Doki

No lacquer on my car. Just solid paint.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

How do you know what bodges lie beneath? Chances are there'll be gobs of filler.

Reply to
Conor

I know someone who paid 14,000 (yes, fourteen thousand pounds) o have a DS Decap resprayed a few years back. Mind you, it was by Chapron's successors in Holland, and they did an awful nice job.

Ian

Reply to
Ian Johnston

That's the fellows

As I understand it, they have the Chapron patterns and forms.

Ian

Reply to
Ian Johnston

Which part of 'the bodywork is sound' escaped you?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

It's an old Wolseley. Having had a couple of relatively modern cars to bits lately, I'd happily bet a tenner that if the car were stripped down, you'd find welding that needed to be done, most likely that can't be seen from external inspection.

Reply to
Doki

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