Member Since: 03 Jun 2017
Location: West Lothian
Posts: 1
Full respray or touch up?
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Hi All,
I have just joined the group today although I have been a proud defender owner (along with various disco and series vehicles) for around 11 years.
The pride of my fleet and love of my life is my 2001 TD5 hardtop 90 - Daphne. We have been through a lot together, as a daily workhorse, general run around, wedding car and 4x4 response vehicle.
Daphne is now getting on a bit and at 16 years old she is starting to feel her age (although she has a modest 104k on the clock). Recently I have started a rolling rebuild and modification program on her with new cellular dynamic shocks and standard springs fitted a few weeks ago, replacement turbo hoses, EGR blanking kit, buzzweld rear cross-member paint touch up and a line up of other jobs to freshen her up a bit and catch some of the corrosion (new rear floor and struts are sitting waiting for installation ATM).
Speaking of corrosion, the bodywork is, as you would expect of a 16 year old workhorse, a bit tired. although a clean and a polish can still make her stand out from a distance (as you can see in the photo), up close however is a different matter:
The rear door has blistering at the bottom and rub marks from the spare wheel, every panel has scratches of varying degrees, the front right wing top has had the clear coat and topcoat eroded off by power steering fluid and there are chips of primer showing through on edges between panels everywhere.
I am keen to have the whole car resprayed to bring her back to a top standard as her duties have been lightened since the arrival of my shiny new 110 utility wagon in late 2015. However, a friend of mine has suggested that perhaps a good session with a bodywork detailer would bring her up to scratch (apart from the damaged wing that definitely needs a respray). My concern is that there are so many chips and scratches that actually, a detailer won't be able to do anything with them. so my questions to you all are:
1. Can chips easily be touched up and blended into the existing paintwork without respraying entire panels?
2. Can bubbled and blistered door panels that are sound on the inside be buffed back and resprayed or is there serious
metal failure by this point requiring replacement panels?
3. Obviously a full respray by a professional will leave the car looking like new but will touch up and detailing bring it up to a high standard?
I'm not looking for a concours condition vehicle, just a properly tidy truck that I can be proud of again!
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