The Lowdown:

This Toyota Celica came into our bodyshop with the intentions of having a respray to black as well as a restoration to the bodywork to make it feel and look brand new again. The standard grey it came with from factory is being changed to a black, which will completely transform the overall aesthetic of this Celica.

The plan:

Bodywork: Restoration and rust removal and a respray to black

With the car in the bodyshop it was time to strip it down and get it ready for its paintjob. The Bumpers, the doors, the interior and any other parts which wouldn’t be painted needed removal.

Next it was time to strip back the old paint to bare metal enabling us to see what is under the paint, what we are dealing with, and whether there are any nasty surprises.

With the paint removed the majority of the panels are actually in pretty good nick, however it has revealed a couple of dodgy past repairs covered by an inch of filler in some places, most notable the near side rear quarter.

Al has been using the Pimpler gun to help pull out some of the dents that were hidden under an inch of filler, this will then help minimalise the amount of filler we have to use.

With the dents pulled out a small amount of filler was used to skim over the surface which was then rubbed down.

The panels have been in the both and sprayed with high build primer and Al has started to rub them down.

The shell has now been masked up and sprayed with high build primer.

The Celica has been in the booth and has had a coating of primer which has all been rubbed down.

The shell has been masked up for the final time and has been coated in its final colour which the owner has chosen Subaru Crystal Black Metallic.

Al has started to put the car back together and flat and polish the car and panels. Kyle has also masked up and sprayed the Celica logo black seen on the backlight panel.

Kyle has painted the rear Celica letters in black to match the rest of the car.

The trim has been painted in satin black and has been fitted to the car, i have to say it has a bit of the Knight Riders about it! The windscreen has also been replaced and the old windows flat and polished.

Kyle and Al have given the Celica a final flat and polish and it’s ready for the owner to pick up. Very happy with the way this project has turned out, it looks better than the day it rolled out the factory! Keep your eyes peeled for the final shoot.