Hi was wondering if anyone could offer me any advice?

my mystic blue (mettalic purple :roll: ) mk 3 golf is looking very tatty with rusty bits and paint fading everywhere, and i want to tidy it up, does anyone know how a colour change affects things like insurance, getting stopped by cops saying thats not blue etc?

the log book just has the car down as blue so the car could go any kind of blue without affecting any paper work etc, but what if i was to change it completely? also does anyone know of anyone who would do it on the side for cheap, even letting me help a bit and learn more about how to paint cars without rust bubbling through in a matter of months?

any advice welcome even if its a big no dont do that?

Also does anyone know how to get the rear quater windows out so i can tackle the worst of the rust around the bottom of them?

cheers j

changing colour, there is a line in the log book, you just say what colour you changed it to and send it off, job done :thumb:

as for painting it, i know people who can paint, but you need to know someone yourself, a mate etc who would be willing to put the time and effort in with you......or get some basic equiptment yourself, and have ago yourself with some mates.

windows, if there same as a mk2 they pop out, seal holds them in and thats it, just get a plastic wedge in behind seal and ease it out with someone inside pushing

are rears not bonded on mk3s?

Yeah i think they might be bonded rob, thats a problem cos they rust like buggery just underneath the bottom of the window so taking all the rust of is a real problem without taking out the window, so the rust just seems to spread back out from behind the window, if they are bonded is that something i could do myself? is the glue used available or is it a specialist thing that i'd shell out loads for from a specialist supplier?

had a go at touching bits up here and there in the past, and that doesn't go too bad its just getting to the point where it needs a good going over before it starts to look like a patchwork quilt,

does anyone know how much it costs to get a respray done proffessionaly, either a full on one ie door shuts and the lot or just a basic do all the outside bits and dont worry bout the door shuts?

ok, i dont know iv not paid that much attention to a mk3 golf :lol:

re-spray your looking at 1500+ at a bodyshop

I use sikaflex for putting glass back in if its bonded, but you need cheese wire tool to cut the glass out, you can get these items from your local panel and paint shop.

i had one of my old scoobs repainted from green to grey inc door shuts but wasnt happy after if you are having it done pay the extra money and get under bonnet done
mine cost £600 and was crap looked good from a distance and up close for about 6 months but after that started to look tatty. Didnt have under the bonnet done wish i had though.
here are some pics

before



after

yeah it really is worth the extra money

You really have to pay the money to get a good job. As above really, £1,500 minimum.

1500 on a mk3 is just silly tho as far as i'm concerned. never be worth the cost of the respray.

Yeahbutt - it purley depends on what you want to do with the car imo.

Seen some beltin mk3's

vinyl wrap it :thumb:

yeah 1500 is pretty steep, seen some real mint mk3's but to be honest i could never justify spending that on it,

are vinyl wraps any good? never actualy seen one in real life before? plus i've never found anywhere that does em, plus how much would that cost?

at the minute i have an idea in the back of my mind just to get some decent spraypaint and do it a matt blue colour myself, but then its back to the problem of longevity, how long would it last before it started to fade/crack/look crap, obviously i'd take the rust back and treat those areas so hopefully no rust would start showing back through?

thanks a lot for all the advice so far, its a big help :thumb: