Al, thanks for that it's appreciated. Those times/prices are very close to what I've been quoted. (don't have the sheet on me, but from memory total labour+paint was damn-near £800, so given easily-fluctuating labour charges from place to place, as Sir Tig says, could be £40-50/hr, £8000 vs £731 to me is tomato tomarto)
at present I have a donor car with shiny (just plenty of imperfections in the paint, slight orangepeel) doors. The NSF wing however looks original paint.
In theory that means use the 'free' doors and wing of the donor car, and the only panels which
need paint, are rear door and rear wing.
Of course still be arguing whatever I can possibly get from them, not in a money-grabbing sense, but literally to give me room/margin for other things- like ideally a decent paint job on the front door and trims etc.
The direct route of the Third Party's Insurers was suggested to me by a mate, so that's two advocates for that route. As you say, the faff and ballache of my insurance does start to get convoluted.
Omegod, that seems fair do's and you / we are entitled to value our own vehicles at whatever we want, because, biased though we are, we do know the true value of them. At the end of the day, scratches and dings, and age on the bopdywork, I'd like to find the Black Omega PFL with brand new and/or refurbished front suspension and brakes, a recent cambelt, new exhaust, new gearbox oil, and 3-week old roof paint and rain sensing screen. There's only one of those in the world!

I'll get in touch with the TP's insurers, and see what they say.
