Body prep and paint recommendations

[mladen]

Hi all,

Realize this has been asked ad nauseam, but after much research and a few calls to well-known names, I'm running out of info. I'm in DC area and I'm looking for a shop on the east coast that does both body and paint work, and someone that can take just the body and work on all the fittings/fillings while I continue working on the go kart. I called Whitby's, but the wait time is 24 months. Didn't manage to get in touch with Jeff yet.

[nuhale]

Give a look into Spotlight customs in Dahlonega, GA. They may be another option for you as many are booked up pretty solid.

[rich grsc]

Not how I've done my builds. Finish the build, install the body and drive in gelcoat for awhile, working out any bugs, then get an appointment for paint. Not a lot of painters who have the setup to paint a body, and get all the gaps, doors, hood and trunk fit correctly without having the body mounted to the frame.

[RBachman]

Give a look into Spotlight customs in Dahlonega, GA. They may be another option for you as many are booked up pretty solid.
You cannot go wrong with Spotlight Customs. Carl Emery can do the hauling if you need (he hauled mine several times). However, you'll get the best fit and trim once the body is on the car.

[Chopper]

Whitby is the only one I know of that can setup the body gaps and paint it off the car as they have a spare MKIV chassis to use for adjustments. I did have my car painted by Whitby several years ago. Before the pandemic increased delays everywhere, I told himself that if I built another, as soon as I got the kit I would take the body down and drop it off for them. However, I don't want to turn this thread into a discussion about Whitby - you can search the forum and find plenty of information.

That said, there are a lot of excellent painters we've seen on the forum...Jeff Kleiner, Metal-Morpheus up in CT, Spotlight Customs in GA, and I'm sure many others I'm forgetting.

[Theshandman]

You cannot go wrong with Spotlight Customs.
Right! I visited Mike Bowen’s “Snake Pit” last week (I’m 20 minutes away). First rate shop and top notch operation. He says to bring in the car with the raw red gelcoat and pick it up all fit and finished a ‘few’ months later. There were 5 cars there from around the country in various stages of finish. Mike was happy to take time out chat about the process and how he goes about his work. He’s definitely getting my business.
172227