Using some of the best car polish can make a dramatic difference to the look of a car, but sometimes more in-depth correction is needed, like respraying it. It’s a big undertaking to respray a car. There are loads of reasons why it can be necessary. The car may have been in an accident, it might look generally tatty, you may just fancy a change of colour. The colour of your car can affect its residual values, as well – grey may be the most popular colour for new cars, but used car buyers prefer black, so respraying a car could increase its value. However, costs may be higher than you think.
A 2019 report by job-prices.co.uk found that the majority of people thought it would cost around £2,000 to fully respray a 2015 Ford Focus. In fact, it would cost considerably more than that and only 7% guessed the correct number, of around £2,500 to £2,999.
Whether you’re looking to respray your whole car, or just one or two body panels, the costs shouldn’t be underestimated. Especially if you’re thinking about having it done ahead of selling your car – the cost of the respray could easily exceed any uplift in value.
How much does it cost to respray a car?
There’s a lot of ‘it depends’ here. There are loads of factors that go into determining the cost of respraying a car. How much of the car needs respraying? Is there any other damage that needs fixing first? Are the car’s panels a simple, smooth shape, or are they fiddly and complex? Is the car in a common flat colour or a rare metallic? Where in the country are you? Is the bodyshop a nationwide chain or a one-man band? And so it goes on.
In the report mentioned earlier, job-prices.co.uk points out the cost of respraying a varies wildly. It’s entirely possible the most expensive quote could be double the cheapest. In April 2022, the website found the average costs to respray a 2015 Ford Focus:
| Work needed: | Cost: |
| Full respray with minimal repair work required | £2,800 |
| Full respray with moderate remedial work – multiple dents & rust | £3,200 |
| Bumper respray to match rest of car | £290 |
| Panel respray x 1, minimal remedial work required | £425 |
You should get quotes from as many bodyshops as possible and cross-reference the quotes with online reviews before committing to getting the work done.
What happens when you respray a car?
Key to respraying a car is preparing the area of bodywork that needs painting. That could just be a small area of one panel, or the whole car. The old paintwork is carefully sanded back to the primer or bare metal, depending on what damage there is and the desired quality of finish.
Once the panel is ready, fresh paint is applied one coat at a time and allowed to dry. Then it’s ‘flatted’, gently sanded down so the next layer of paint can bond to it. This process is repeated for every coat of paint required. Finally, at least one layer of lacquer seals the surface and gives it a nice sheen.
Most bodyshops will remove panels from the car before painting them – that includes the doors, boot, bonnet, and bumpers. It’s just easier to work on them when they’re off the car. Any areas that don’t need to be painted are covered over with paper.
When you get your car back from a bodyshop, it’s advisable to not wash it for a month, to allow the fresh paint to thoroughly cure.
Should I respray the whole of my car, or just the damaged panel?
If only one panel of the car is scratched or damaged, there’s no need to go to the expense of having the whole car resprayed. If the cost is covered by your insurance company, they will only pay to have the damaged area sorted out.
Colour matching between resprayed panels and the rest of the car be difficult. If the bodyshop gets it even slightly wrong, the error can stick out like a sore thumb. That’s an argument against having a single panel resprayed but a good bodyshop should have the latest tech that can identify and mix exactly the right colour.
Can I respray my own car?
There’s nothing stopping you, indeed there are many amateur restorers and customisers who paint their cars to a very high standard. But it’s not easy. You need specialist equipment, a decent amount of undercover space and a lot of time and patience to achieve a professional-grade finish.
Getting a mistake corrected could cost more than having the job done professionally in the first place. And a poor quality respray can devalue a car as much as tatty paintwork.
If you are minded to have a go, get as much practice as you can first. Many colleges offer courses, there are loads of tutorial videos available online. Test your skills on some scrap metal before you set to work on your car.
Common errors amateurs make include not properly preparing the area that needs painting, applying too few coats of paint, and not blending the new paint into the old.
If there’s just a small scratch, there are plenty of scratch repair kits that are much cheaper and easier than respraying.
Can I repaint over paint?
You can, but you shouldn’t. Adding fresh paint on top of old increases the depth of paint in that area, making it impossible to blend the surface together. For a SMART (Small or Medium Area Repair Technology) repair, the technician removes the existing layers of paint, then builds them back up until the new paint is level with the old.
How long should a professional respray take?
Respraying a car is a very time-consuming process, even for a professional bodyshop with experienced staff and the right equipment. The surface being painted needs careful preparation to remove the existing paint, then each coat of fresh paint has to dry before the surface is prepared for the next coat. None of that can be rushed if a factory-standard finish is to be achieved.
If you’re having a scratched door resprayed, you may be without your car for a few days, possibly a week. Respraying a whole car could take three weeks or more.
How can I assess the quality of a respray?
A professional bodyshop will warranty their work, so it’s vital you inspect your freshly resprayed car for any problems as soon as possible to get them fixed free of charge.
If a small area has been resprayed, have a good look to see if the colour has been matched accurately. Colours look different in different lights, so you may have to do this several times. Also run your fingers over the area to feel for any lumps, bumps and ridges. Also have a look elsewhere on the panel to see if there is any ‘overspray’ – paint in areas it shouldn’t be – and any runs or drips.
You should also do these checks when a whole panel or the entire car has painted. You should check if the reverse side of the doors, bonnet and boot, and the areas revealed when you open them, have also been painted. If not, does the colour of the old paint match the new?
Is it cheaper to respray or wrap a car if you want to change its colour?
What’s a vinyl wrap? It’s a sheet of self-adhesive vinyl that’s applied to a car’s bodywork to change the colour. There are endless colours and finishes to choose from, from flat white to sparkling chrome pink and everything in between. Wraps can also be printed with custom patterns and liveries.
How much a wrap costs depends on the colour, the size of your car and how complex its bodywork is. But wraps always cost less than having the car resprayed. Bear in mind that wraps do have a shelf life, so you may need to get it done more than once.
Are there any legal implications to having a car resprayed?
A car’s colour is listed on its V5C registration document. If you have the car resprayed in a different colour, you need inform the DVLA so they can change the car’s details and issue a new V5C. You don’t need to do this if you have a wrap, however the police may want to know why the car isn’t the colour it should be.
Is it worth getting a car resprayed?
If your car is scratched, rusty or just looking a bit tatty, it’s definitely worth having some or all of it repaired and resprayed. It’ll shine brighter than even the best polishes can achieve and you’ll feel better about it as a result. If rust was the problem, having it repaired and resprayed could add years to the car’s life.
If you think a respray will boost your car’s value, you need to carefully weigh up the costs against the added value. Also consider other options, for instance if a door is scratched it might be cheaper to buy another one from a salvage yard than get a SMART repair done. If you have a particularly valuable car, you could be quids in. If you’ve got something like a Vauxhall Corsa, it’s unlikely the numbers will tally.
