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Paint for the 156 GTA

9K views 99 replies 16 participants last post by  baxter2308 
#1 · (Edited)
Only a week to go now before the GTA goes in for paint with - https://www.alphapaintsltd.co.uk/ - So I thought I'd start a thread to track it through its progress with Paul and the paint shop. It will feel like a very long 4 or 5 weeks but worth it and it will be much cheaper to do it now rather than later. It will be keeping its 846/A Nero Metallico which we hope to bring back to it's former glory. The majority of the paintwork is in really good condition for it's age but the usual GTA rot spots are starting to show themselves, arches, wings and roof as well as the infamous grilles. Here's a few pics at she stands now along with the box of bits to help the resto along the way.

Wish me luck :thumbs:

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#4 ·
Ta very much sir. It’s hard to find a body shop which sees these Alfas regularly, they have the knack for those fiddly jobs like skirt removal. I really can’t afford to go down the new wings route and as it’s a daily driver, another winter in the north and those wings would quickly look like the Titanic’s hull. Paul was keen to take it on though and he has a 3.7 supercharged 147 GTA which bodes nicely. It does mean I’ll be Busso-less for a while which will be odd. How’s the GT? :thumbs:
 
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#5 ·
Sounds like you have found someone who is an enthusiast. Hopefully that translates into decent work and a person who is bothered about the quality of paint and repair they produce. I have always wanted a proper paint job done on many of the cars I've owned, but even before the financial implications have been considered, I talk myself out of it because I have so little confidence in the job I'm likely to get. There has literally been one person I've used who was faultless. Literally. Unfortunately he's not cheap!

The GT is great thanks. She is pretty much where I need her to be, although getting the engine bay refreshed cosmetically (powder coating etc), and a bare metal respray of course would be nice too. Oh, and I'd like some 19" alloys.. :blabla::blabla:

Good luck with the GTA
 
#8 ·
Good question. There does seem to be a significant price difference between the North and South. I'll probably end up paying between £2k and £2.5k for the whole car although that's not a gung-ho glass out respray like edraven had, which in normal cases (up here at least) would mean not much change from £4k. If you did some stripping yourself and sent in a practically rolling shell, you might pay closer to the £2k / £2.5k figure. Have you had any quotes as of yet? :thumbs:
 
#14 · (Edited)
Ha. :thumbs: The guys gave me a call this week, they've have had quite a bit of work on which has delayed the GTA a little but I believe it's being prepped this week... I will admit that the vacant Alfa-sized plot in the carport is getting slightly painful :biglaugh:

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#16 ·
There is that :depressed: but it does give the piggy bank an easier time :thumbs: Are you still considering paint yourself?
 
#17 ·
I've been considering paint on every car I've owned!! :rotate:
Reality is that I don't think i'll ever find the right balance between workmanship and cost. The car is actually pretty good and certainly doesn't need it - it's more about the constant quest to improve and make better. The thing is with yours is that is even the same colour as mine, so the project seems particularly relevant!
 
#18 · (Edited)
Paint is a funny one, I've discussed it with Pud, paint shops, PDR guys and other owners and each time I said I would not paint the whole car... (the whole car is being painted :biglaugh:). Black doesn't seem to be a complicated colour compared the red or blue, especially if you are not blending panels. Plus, with the GTA being a daily I'm not going for a gung-ho concourse finish, just a good tart up. Initially I thought that just painting the two sides of the car would be enough but that would only leave the bonnet, boot and roof to do which isn't much more expensive and you will get a much better finish. In the end it's a bit of a no brainer and I'm now in deep enough where it would be more expensive to walk away :cry:. In Ned's and Pud's words, "There's no such thing as a cheap GTA...".

Paul did say he would send me progress pics so I'll keep you posted. :thumbs:
 
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#31 ·
Pricey, but nothing worth doing well comes cheap. What colour is your GTA? :thumbs:
 
#32 ·
Small update: It sounds like the guys have had a rather interesting and difficult job on another vehicle. More to come next week :thumbs:
 
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#36 ·
Small update: 2 more weeks :thumbs: and I should have something to show you.
 
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#40 ·
Patience is necessary, I don’t want crusty wings this winter :thumbs:
 
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#41 ·
Since I got mine re-winged, de-dinged and repainted, I am (for the first time ever) paranoid about where I park now. It is a most uncomfortable feeling! Almost wish she was as she was last year, when I didn't give a toss!
 
#43 ·
Yup, not all people it seems can be trusted to care about the property of others. OK accidents happen, but I'll bet between us we've had our fair share of dings from careless road users. :grumpy:

Had a similar thought myself yesterday. If/when I get around to sorting a few paint issues (I could end up doing a full respray) I'll probably no longer want to risk it as a daily driver. That's a good excuse to put that day off and enjoy it as a daily driver for a few more years.
I've been putting this off for some time and it really came down to the wings, another winter would probably kill them and at £425 a pop a good value respray becomes a grand dearer. Plus, who knows if OEM wings will be available 1 or 2 years down the line? We may have to do something to the liners to stop them chaffing paint off the wings. I can understand why you'd be reluctant to use the GTA as a daily driver after paint, yours is blue also which is a really nice colour, in my experrience black is a little easier to look after. :thumbs:
 
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#44 ·
What's frustrating for me is that my car had a 'full respray' early 2016. There were indications when I bought it that it wasn't a top notch job, most of which I was prepared to live with. But now there's some rust bubbling up on the driver side rear wing, so pressure is on to act one way or another
 

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#45 ·
That is frustrating, at least you can actually get front wings at the moment. I dread to think what a rear quarter panel would cost, assuming someone could extract one from a breaker as they're not available new. :thumbs:
 
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#47 ·
Parts for new cars and the cars themselves can be easily replaced - GTA's can't easily be replaced and some parts are no longer available.

If I had to live with the GTA as my everyday car, I'd hate it. With where I live, all the traffic, speedhumps, tight parking spaces, poor roads etc.....it would drive me mad!

Hence why my car of choice, when we don't need the space or need to get a few bags of shopping is a Fiat 500 1.2. It's the fastest thing for getting around from A to B. If we need to go further than A to B, or need space for more people, boot space, then it's the family car. The GTA is just for times to enjoy those driving moments.
 
#50 ·
Most cars don't like being left sitting around for months on end anyway, so good to hear yours is still a daily.

I was seriously tempted to drop standard bumpers / front wings onto mine and store the original bits in the loft but putting a lot of effort into spoiling the car's looks a bit seemed like a daft idea to me...

If I'd carried on using it as a daily that'd definitely have made sense though - my cars always get left for at least 8 hours in a train station car park and after a few months end up covered in little dings and scratches, so I'd probably be hiding somewhere with a machine gun by now waiting to pounce on careless parkers if I'd kept it :)
 
#51 ·
I’m not sure that you could always easily replace a GTA, I know that getting one like mine with the provenance is just not out there.

Yes it’s very well insured, but parts are the problem. If it was a total loss then I’d sadly accept it but would not buy another, as it will not be “my GTA”. I might let it go one day, but I think I’d like my children to drive it before I ever let it go, given it’s been part of the family forever.

When I drive it I want to enjoy it and not worry about it when I do, or get frustrated by it’s limitations as I’d start to dislike it.

There is no correct answer here, it is down to each individuals view and need.

Re the stockpiling of parts, I’m starting to collect a few bits as well when they become available at the right price...... just in case.
 
#52 ·
I bought a load the other day as they were cheap... plus new wings, new bumper, new bumper grills and sent it all for paint. Also all new suspension arms sent another load of parts to the powder coating place...

But i think we hijacked a thread sorry but at least its at the top.......
 
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