Car respray, a nice change from dent and scuff repairs!

Although at Car Magic we are experts in dent and scuff repairs, it’s nice when a more meaty job comes into the workshop. This car respray on a lovely 2009 Land Rover Defender was a great project to get stuck into.  We documented the progress in pictures to give you a little insight into what is actually involved in a full car respray.

Transforming a Land Rover Defender  – in pictures!

Surrounded by cars in our workshop in Chesham, the Land Rover wasn’t in great condition. Here it is stripped down being prepared for work to start.

The removable elements of the car are removed to be painted individually. The doors, for example, are taken off and treated separately to the main body of the car.

A look inside our low-bake oven. Here is the Land Rover looking much neater than when it was waiting in the workshop. It is now primed ready for painting in this back section.

The steering wheel and dashboard are taped up here. This raised structure is actually what is left when the seats are removed from the car. Obviously, all the metalwork has to be an exact match whether it’s on the outside or inside of the car. It all has to be primed and painted in the same way too.

Time for the paint

The back is looking good now with its first coat of paint expertly applied by our team. We respray cars and parts of cars every day in our workshop with the help of our precision matching paint system. When working with repairs, which we do much more often than a full car respray, it’s very important that we find the correct colour and work to the manufacturer’s standards.

The internal areas are given the first coat of paint and start to look more like a Land Rover with the new green colour.

This photo shows the external parts of the car primed and ready for the first coat of paint.

The Land Rover is a classic shape even when it has been deconstructed. To prepare for the respray the electrics have to be removed and the holes covered or filled with paper and tape.

Now you can see the shine of the lacquer on this coat. The lacquer is also to a manufacturer’s standard and that is all taken care of by our experienced team.

The front of the car is already looking great. Now it is time for the team to put the car back together!

We think you’ll agree this shade of green is perfect. For such an iconic Land Rover it’s only fitting and it works really well with the black and silver.

Once all the parts are reassembled, electrics reconnected and windows back in place, the car is transformed.

Car respray – the before and after

Here’s a look at the Land Rover before and after. We’ve taken this 2009 Land Rover Defender and given it a makeover suitable to take it into the 2020s and beyond. Don’t you agree?

We were so pleased to receive this review on our website from the owner once he’d come to collect the car. It had been a long time since we’d seen him and we were glad that he was so pleased with the results:

“I left my defender 90 for a full respray over the summer and I honestly couldn’t be happier. When I came back the car was ready and looks absolutely incredible. Martin and Stuart have done a brilliant job, they are super friendly, easy to talk to and have gone the extra mile with my landy. Would recommend to everyone who needs small or major repairs 👍”

It really was a labour of love and we agree that it looks absolutely incredible.

We love car resprays, restoration and renovations!

At Car Magic we have a passion for restoring cars and projects like this one. Projects are less common than our day to day car repairs. That doesn’t mean that we’re not always on the lookout for something to get stuck into! Last year we completed a renovation on a lovely VW Transporter for a local family and we’re always keen to hear about your projects.

Get in touch

If you have a vehicle restoration underway or an idea for the future that could do with some of our insight and expertise please get in touch via the online form or give us a call Monday to Friday from 9 am – 5 pm on 01442 864022