Standox and AK Bodycraft: Super coatings for supercars

AK Bodycraft is a specialist bodyshop based near Ely, Cambridgeshire. Established in 1996, AK Bodycraft has built an international reputation as the glass fibre and carbon fibre repair experts. Standox has been with the organisation since its beginning, providing super coatings for the supercars.

“We specialised in repairing and restoring supercars from the start and this side of the business has just kept growing, although we do still undertake normal accident repair as well,” says AK Bodycraft’s founder and owner Andrew Waite.

AK Bodycraft works closely with Essex-based Oakley Design, which specialises in the personalisation of modern supercars. It designs and manufactures carbon fibre parts for new and damaged vehicles from all over the world. The parts are then passed to AK Bodycraft to be trimmed to fit, and painted. “The most important thing is for the texture of the carbon fibre finish to still be visible after the painting process,” explains Waite. “For this, a specialist primer is used and after careful colour matching, we apply the Standohyd topcoat and Standocryl VOC 2K clearcoat. When we first started working with Standox we did a lot of motorcycle repairs and were impressed with the quality of the products and the colour matching. Today, our supercar work has followed the trend from glass fibre to carbon fibre, and Standox has continued to be our brand of choice. Not only does its products give us consistently good results, but the service we get from the brand is excellent as well. If we have colour issues or need training our dedicated representatives are always very helpful.”

The majority of vehicles AK Bodycraft works on come from Europe, with some even originating in the Middle East. Later this year the bodyshop will be featured in a Channel 4 series about supercars, showing how the company applies coatings to carbon fibre in order to get the right look for the vehicle.

“One of key reasons for our success is the pride we take in our work,” says Waite. “Every job we undertake, be it a repair under an insurance claim, custom bodywork or a restoration, is given the same high level of care and attention. Nothing leaves the premises without being fully inspected by me. The quality of our work and the quality of the products we use combine to give outstanding results.”

The supercars market is going from strength to strength, and with it the demand for personalisation and repairs, ensuring that the partnership between AK Bodycraft and Standox will continue to thrive.