What to Expect During a Professional Car Respray Process | GVE London – Blog

There’s something oddly satisfying about seeing a car roll out of a respray centre looking all shiny, like the day you first laid your eyes upon it. As amazing as your car looks afterwards, the positives keep growing because it isn’t merely an aesthetic upgrade, new paint also keeps the bodywork protected and maintains value. But let’s be honest, it’s not always clear what happens once you hand over your keys. So if you’re wondering what the car respray process involves, let’s break it down in plain terms.

Understanding the Car Respray Process

It All Starts with an Inspection

Before any paint touches your car, the teams at a car respray centre will inspect the vehicle thoroughly. What they do is check the condition of the current paintwork, look for rusting, dents or any previous repairs. If you’re booking a luxury car respray, you’ll likely find the assessment even more detailed, as high-end vehicles often require extra care due to their original finishes.

This step is necessary because it helps the team understand what all prep work needs to be done and where all the effort will likely go. Consider it to be the planning phase.

Prepping the Surface (Yes, This Takes Time)

Prep work makes or breaks a paint job. Most individuals do not know this because nobody pays attention or even sees this part, merely the end result. However, the old paint needs to first be sanded down. If there are any dents or chips, they’ll need to be filled or smoothed out. Any rust would need treatment.

All this process of making the body of the car smooth and clean and then covering up the parts that don’t need paint, like windows, tyres, trims, badges, any chrome, etc., needs to be covered up, takes days for a full luxury car respray.

Into the Spray Booth

Now comes the part most people imagine: the actual respray. But it’s not as simple as picking up a spray gun and going for it.

A professional car respray centre like GVE London will use a controlled spray booth. These are sealed, dust-free spaces with clean airflow. That keeps debris from settling into the wet paint. The painter will usually apply a base coat first, followed by the colour coat, then a protective clear coat over the top.

High-quality paints and equipment matter a lot here. Especially with a luxury car respray, even the slightest mistake can stand out. Some paints, like pearls or metallics, also require multiple layers and exacting technique to get right.

Read Also: 5 Signs It’s Time to Respray Your Car

Drying & Curing

Once the paint has dried, it still needs time for curing. In most professional respray centres, heat lamps or bake cycles are used to speed up drying and harden the paint properly. However, it is still recommended to not wash your car for a week or two because you really don’t want to rush things here. Incomplete curing can lead to paint imperfections, peeling, or poor long-term results.

Finishing Touches & Quality Check

Now, this process may vary. You can choose to drive your car back home and let the paint cure there, but it is better to let the shop keep it since they do some final touches. A final polish or buff removes any slight texture from the clear coat. It also brings out the shine. Paintwork gets checked under proper lighting to spot any issues. If needed, they’ll correct small flaws.

For luxury car respray clients, the quality check often includes panel alignment, seal inspection, and detailed wipe-downs to ensure the finish meets premium standards.

Final Thoughts

It is important to get a full car respray from a proper supercar showroom like GVE London. A professional car respray is more than just a fresh coat of paint. It’s a mix of prep, skill, patience, and materials. Choosing the right team and understanding the process makes a big difference, especially for a high-end vehicle. Our speciality just so happens to be high-end vehicles, and we’ve got all the special colour codes for them that you won’t find in most centres. Furthermore, being enthusiasts, we not only perform the usual repairs and service but can work on customisation, modifications and detailing as well. To know more, hop on a call with us today!