Hi all, I realise this is a novice question, and a bit like asking ‘how long is a piece of string’, but hoping to get an idea of the ballpark cost to repaint an XK120 OTS in a different colour.
There is one for sale which has had an older restoration.
It looks presentable overall with a nice amount of patina, but I can’t get past the choice of (non-factory) colour.
It has a slightly misaligned door and a few slightly wavey sections to some of the panels, but assuming it’s in reasonable condition underneath and no other surprises during the process, can anyone suggest a ballpark figure to strip, prep and repaint?
Hi Josh, it really depends on what you are willing to do regarding prep work, if any.
Also the quality of the paint job you want.
It dosen’t compare to your car but I recently had my XJR (1999) repainted classed as a doors shut job i.e. they masked off what wasn’t getting painted .
I was quoted prices from $NZ8-12,000 with me taking every thing off the car and then having to replace everything.
I ended up with going with the doors shut for $4000.00 in the original colour code. This was drive in drive out.
Its not a concours job by any means but I drive my car and have always said I will never own such a beast.
as you hinted…it will range from 500 to 18,000 or so…depending what you want. IF…you strip most chrome yourself, watch video of how to sand, blocksand, prep and if you have time to do any of that,…still any bodywork at all will run cost way up. How do you want it to come out…perfect? or nice at 15 feet away. What paint type? clearcoat? IF…you can do some prep yourself, and get it sanded smooth, at least to where final fill and prep can be done, …you can find a shop that does turn-em, burn-em quick paints…see if they will do it with their best spray man…and you will list them on a placard at car shows…
It is our tradition on this forum to welcome novices and their questions.
Early 120s up to late 1952 were black under the bonnet and in the boot, where after late '52 they were body color everywhere in the body.
If it is an early car you can get away with removing only some parts and masking the engine bay and boot.
If it is a later car and your intention is to get rid of the undesirable color everywhere, you should view it as a total removal of all unpainted parts.
The more work you can do yourself the better, and you will get to know the car that much better, as opposed to what we call a checkbook restoration.
It is possible to paint over old paint, but better results may be achieved with stripping off any that is questionable. A painting forum might give you more in depth information there.
Some good answers here. It depends is the basic and begs for more info.
I’d recommend, as Rob did, to strip as much of the car as possible. If it isn’t your intent to do a re$toration, stop turning screws when they tell you they will cause you to spend money. Allow the paint shop to mask bits and chrome.
A tip: as you re-install the bits and pieces use new rubber and polish, clean, paint any of it that you can do yourself. You may have a few bits that aren’t perfect, but it’ll look like you put some effort into it and the project will be more attractive to someone else someday.
As you get into it, come back with any questions and pictures. There’s plenty of information here.
Thanks everyone for the replies.
It is an early car, however in its 1980s restoration it was painted body colour (not black) under the bonnet and in the boot.
It won some awards like that… I guess the knowledge and judging criteria was different back then.
In terms of quality, id say perhaps an 8/10 would be acceptable to me- I want it to look good, but I’m not after a concours car, (even if I could afford one). Instead I want to be able to drive it and not worry about every little blemish or stone chip.
Thanks again for the suggestions- very helpful- I’ll err on the higher side of the ranges provided, and work backwards to get a purchase price…
I think the important statement was that you want to drive it and not worry about stone chips and bug strikes
My XK120 is about 3 different shades, especially in good sunlight. But I dont see that as
Im sat behind the wheel grinning. (And the you get to the problems of hearing every new rattle…)
As others have said - the lions share of cost is the body prep time - and that can be hundreds of hours. Some of it is low skill and can be done without professional help. A good helpful shop will guide you into how to do some stages yourself and which stages they will do.
