Looking for a decent bodyshop

Good man Brad, really appreciate it mate!

I had this problem and my supposed best friend is a top sprayer but is absolutely useless when asked for a price!
Hence I bought my own spray gun and taught myself!
Takes time (The preparation) but litterally anyone can paint a car if they really wanted to and with bodyshop results!
If you have time, tools and space I recommend doing it yourself! I would only ever let top end garages like Thor racing etc touch my car and as I cant afford those kind of luxuries I do it all by myself with the help of the mk1 owners club  
Best of luck with your quest!

I would love to be able to do it myself and can already paint to a certain degree but the unit my car is in is shared with someone else and can just say fit both our cars in, plus the roof leaks a bit. It's just not a good environment for spraying tbh. The other thing is time, I don't have much of that atm.

Melteddrummer said

Spikes Vintage Restoration  is somewhere I would consider but I think it's just too far away for me, I would like to be able to go and have a nose at what's been done periodically etc

All the decent places seem to be miles away from here

Only just saw this post lol, ready to book mine in but not had a chance to speak to Andy yet lol. He's miles away from me, but even further for you lol. Still gotta be worth it tho…

As with everyone else, not many people want to take on jobs like this, most ignore them or give you a "f***k off price lol"

Andy's always given me the time of day, even at his open day when he was swamped!!

When's it going in the Alfie? It'll be great to see someone decent take your car on, god knows you've had some bad luck with it so far   Keep us posted on the progress mate

Its a total minefield and one ive been treading through for a while.  Ive had bodyshops approach me after seeing various posts ive put up on forums saying they could do the job to my satisfaction.  After doing some research it turns out their customers arent so satisfied.

  I found a recommended bodyshop in sunniside, tyne and wear called ASP body and paint.  Went to look at a lupo they had painted that had been taken to shows and done well and i was impressed by the quality of their work.  I booked my mk1 in for a full respray but i couldnt source a replacement factory sliding sunroof skin and that he wasnt willing to repair the rust on the existing roof so that fell by the wayside.  Id still recommend you have a chat with him though.  His number is 0191 488 8378.

  My next port of call was unit 16 and they seem to do decent work and i was going with them until things changed after i went to view one of their customers cars that had been painted by them.  I noticed "fish eyes" in the paint and asked about them and was told that they were due to the fact that the car was painted at their previous bodyshop which wasnt as good as their current set-up.  After this i was told that id never be happy and they were no longer prepared to paint my car!.

  Ive ended up going back to a bodyshop i nearly used many years ago but at that time i couldnt afford what they were going to charge.  Thankfully the mk1 i have now requires less work and he was more than confident he could repair my sunroof/roof issues too.  The name of the bodyshop im now booked into is Heritage classics on riverside industrial estate in middlesbrough.  When he came to look at my car he had an XK jaguar on the back of his transporter that was on its way back to its owner after paint.  I had a good look around it and it was stunning.  Ive been down to his bodyshop a good few times now and seen other cars at various stages of their restoration.  Panel beating looks top notch and the final product is good enough for any show.  Ive seen many E types, aston martons and all sorts in between there and hes always busy.  When you find a good bodyshop as im sure you will know by now, there is a waiting list as they cant get the work done fast enough.  This has worked out well for me as i want to trial fit my engine and gearbox, remove unecessary brackets from the engine bay and make any adjustmets/drilling etc now before it goes anywhere near the bodyshop. Frustrating but its worth the wait.

  Im looking at around £5000 which might sound steep but this is inside and out, along with a fairly extensive repair to the roof involving removing the sunroof tray.  Ive been assured ill be left with a finish that would hold its own at a show.
The car should be going there soon after ive trial fitted the engine.  Anyway good luck with your search and hope this helps a little bit seeing as though the places ive mentioned are fairly local to you.
  

Thanks for your reply mate. I tried booking in to ASP a little while back but they are stowed off. I've also tried getting in touch with unitsixteen but couldn't get a reply

I have now managed to get someone to paint the car, the guy is down in Sheffield and was recommended by Brad who knows him and his work.

The car is booked in for the middle of March(ish)  

£5000 for your car doesn't sound too bad tbh as there is a fair bit of work left to do inc. roof swap etc

 Its not too bad really, id sooner pay for a job im happy with than less for a job im not.
  I think its important to get something down on paper between you and the bodyshop, a clear statement of whats going to be done so that there is no gray area and also have a frank discussion about your expectations and what happens in the unfortunate situation of you not being happy.  Once everyone is clear on what is expected and what is achievable and you have something down on paper this should help avoid any disappointment and give you some comeback.
  My car was supposed to have gone mid feb but i was called back to work and have yet to speak to the bodyshop and reorganise it.  Ive still to fit the engine and box and work out my catch tank, radiator and oil cooler set-ups so will be a few weeks after i get back from work.  Ill try and get a build thread going again.

Yay, glad you found one now Andy  

Yomp said

Greg Howell

Greg painted mine and it won best paint at the AGM.  and got marked down at Stanford Hall because "the paint is just too good"

His own Mk1 got best paint at Ultimate dubs last year. He'll be painting the rallye I'm restoring.

I know people travel from all over to get their paintwork done there so don't be put off by the distance. He's got one coming from Paris soon! Its a small price to pay long term.

I think the issue maybe getting it in. I know he's very busy.

Yomp

I have seen his Green Golf before and it looked good. Now that i have approval i will be approaching him. He is an hour away from me . Plan to get Feeby restored

I looked into Gregg Howell's place after seeing Yomp's Mk2 and was really exited to have found him. He's not far from me either so sounded perfect.

Unfortunately he was far from keen to take on my car on and hinted that to prep and paint my MK1 could be anywhere in the region of 6 to 10k. He did offer to quote me but didn't hear anything back. Bit if a shame really as his work looks top notch!

not sure how far your willing to travel but take a look at http://www.spautomotive.co.uk un-beatable standard


jon 

Alfie said

I looked into Gregg Howell's place after seeing Yomp's Mk2 and was really exited to have found him. He's not far from me either so sounded perfect.

Unfortunately he was far from keen to take on my car on and hinted that to prep and paint my MK1 could be anywhere in the region of 6 to 10k. He did offer to quote me but didn't hear anything back. Bit if a shame really as his work looks top notch!

thanks for the heads up on this mate….. looks like I will give him a miss…. 6/8k is too much man…

Has any one heard or used they guy who was featured in the camper crisis show on dave

can't remember his name…..but he is on face book too 

  Well it looks like im on the search for a bodyshop again . My car is with a local specialist at the moment and he has done some work to it which turned out to be much more expensive than i thought.  Fair enough as hes expensive and supposed to be good i thought so i told him id need an idea of how much the remaining work was going to cost including repair work to the sunroof.  Unfortunately hes started to get funny with me and ive decided i dont want to be paying top money to someone who i dont feel i can communicate properly with so the search continues.  Looking for someone in the north-east but will still consider travelling if need be.  Hows everyone else getting on with their search?  Any recomendations?

I can vouch for these chaps in Selby, if that's close enough?

Colour concept bodyshop | Goole

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