Nose cone respray

[Foggy]

Hi all, quick question if I may. What in others experience, would be a ball park figure for a nose cone respray on the 7?

 

Thanks in advance.

[PROBE2]

Hi, I just had one done at TSK Dartford, original sprayers, good price and Tony top guy. 

Cheers

Paul

[Foggy]

Hi Paul, I'm aware of TSK's reputation but was hoping to get the work done a little more local, thanks though.

 

 

[Mcalvert]

You don;t say where you are based Foggy, but if in the Thames Valley, I had a great job done by PJA Coachworks in Ashford Middlesex.  Real Caterham enthusiasts and they did a good, and reasonably priced job for me (in my case it was only a noseband though, so I can't tell you what a full nose respray would be).

 

 

 

[Colin Cooper]

Amazing how coy people are about what they pay.

I had a bump last year that smashed the nose cone. New one fitted by me.

As the car is all one colour, no stripes, the garage recommended the bonnet be sprayed as well to blend in. Quoted price £600.00. The garage saw the shock on my face, but it still cost £450.00, no questions asked.

The colour is Lotus Pacific blue, and both bonnet and nose were two packed, and oven dried.

Col 

[nickh7]

I think it’s because a lot of jobs are done as foreigners or as a favour . My friend offered to paint my 7 when I got round to total rebuild for £600 but for anyone else it would have been £900 .  

[Foggy]

Thanks all, I've been quoted around the £400 mark so it would appear that is about the going rate. It's not actually a full respray that's needed just the removal of the name that is sign written below the badge but unless it can be done and blended in, a full respray may be the only option.

 

[ChrisC]

TSK all the way, he seems to have a fixed price list, I guess that’s from all the years working for CC.  I have had nose cones painted before but can’t remember the price, but last year I had back panel £150, rear arches £80 each, and a few patch repairs (from brake fluid damage on the side panel near the master cylinder) £30 each.  This was a metallic paint.   

From memory nose cone with nose band and no join was about £160 ish, so £400 for a nose is steep in comparison.  TSK was cheaper then having the paint protected.

[Jim 123]

The price you have been quoted does sound well OTT although admittedly removal of the sign thingy under the badge will add a little bit of extra cost.  Would you be prepared to remove the nose badge, number plate, bonnet seal and grille, and refit these yourself? 

If the damage is due to front end stone chip blemishes you might also explore repaint of damage but blending into the existing nose finish towards the rear.  As there is a panel gap and also angular offset between the nose and the front of the bonnet; colour variance can be quite forgiving assuming a reasonable attempt to match the original finish is the starting point. (If you look at your profile photo you might notice that the bonnet appears darker than the nose.  This is probably angular variations between the 2 parts reflecting light from the metallic paint flakes at different angles.  Alternatively the colours might just be a little different on each panel anyway).

 

[bluenose]

Tony recently sprayed my nose in Lotus Lava Orange(pearl), same colour all over, £80. He even fitted new dzus fasteners.  Sprayed some wings for a local owner to me, metallic green, again £80 per wing.

Nick

[Jim 123]

IMHO Tony knows exactly what he is doing and his work is the benchmark for all Sevens.

Many other body shops have never seen a Caterham before, and either quote disproptionately high as the they do not want minor cosmetic business tying up their ovens, or alternatively they load their pricing in case they have to learn on the job.

[Foggy]

The general consensus of opinion seems to be that Tony at TSK is capable of walking on water so I called and had a quick chat.  The outcome of which is my nose cone is now boxed and ready to be shipped to Tony.  Not something I had considered but given a combination of such high recommendations and cost, I'm prepared to gamble the couriers dont't lose/damage it!

Thank you one and all for all the advice and opinions, very much appreciated and I will report once returned.

Thank you

[Foggy]

Right then, the nose cone is back from TSK and as suggested, Tony can clearly walk on water! Nothing was too much trouble and he even called to say he could remove the signwriting without necessitating a respray. Given that his pricing was soooooo much more competitive I went ahead with a full respray and even threw in a curved ball by requesting a nose band at the last minute. Very, very impressed so a massive thank you to Tony for his amazing work and thank you to you all for persisting with his recommendation.

 

[Sooty]

Just got mine back from a local paint shop. New cone , acid etched primer, 3 colour coats and 3 clearcoats £80. Good job.