body work durability - question
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 298
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body work durability - question
Let's say a C2 car has new fenders put on. if the final bodywork and paint looks good, with no seams visible now, will it always look good??
i have seen some cars where repair seams are showing. not sure if they were always showing, or if they show as the repair ages over years. it would suck to pay big bucks for a nicely done repair now, only to have it show up in the future.
In my experience, with metal cars, if the repair is done well and is level now, then it should be good forever. i did body work myself 10 years ago on a pantera and it still looks perfect. i don't totally understand fiberglass and gel coats yet.
i repaired the gel coat on my boat with a gel coat material designed to do it. it looked perfect in the beginning but after a few years, it cracked out. i am not sure what I did wrong there.
i have seen some cars where repair seams are showing. not sure if they were always showing, or if they show as the repair ages over years. it would suck to pay big bucks for a nicely done repair now, only to have it show up in the future.
In my experience, with metal cars, if the repair is done well and is level now, then it should be good forever. i did body work myself 10 years ago on a pantera and it still looks perfect. i don't totally understand fiberglass and gel coats yet.
i repaired the gel coat on my boat with a gel coat material designed to do it. it looked perfect in the beginning but after a few years, it cracked out. i am not sure what I did wrong there.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Sitting in his Nowhere land Hanover Pa
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The factory never used gel coat. Body work is like any thing else. You get what you pay for. New paint hides everything. It only takes a few years for it to show.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Central Arkansas
Factory press molded panels are for the most part pretty stable although over time they can distort and print through from stresses. It's the repairs and joints that often are not stable long term. Properly made fiberglass and resin repairs can be as stable as new panels, but often they were not done correctly. Old fillers are often not stable. Bonding agent at panel joints was never really intended as an exposed surface but there it is and it usually shows up in shrinkage or cracks over time. Generally, you observation that fiberglass is a bit less of a stable component over time than steel is pretty true.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2013
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From: Chicopee MA.
Improperly repaired fiber glass can bubble and swell in time.
I was building up a panel and didn't mix in enough hardener so it didn't cure. I ground off almost all of it and re-did the area with the correct mix.
Two years later, the area has bubbled up.
I was building up a panel and didn't mix in enough hardener so it didn't cure. I ground off almost all of it and re-did the area with the correct mix.
Two years later, the area has bubbled up.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2009
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From: Plano IL
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In my opinion it really depends on the material you use
It is how it was prepped and how it was finished.
Mapping and shrinkage is always an issue
What can you do to help solve it? - Time, and heat cycles
With repairs I try to bake the #$%^&% out of them
Time in the sun and time in the paint booth
I let a car sit in primer for a year and it went thru 90 degree days and 5 degree days (sitting in storage)
Infared heaters do a good job of baking repair areas.
Many people rush repairs - the longer you can leave a repair and let it go thru hot and cold cycles (with good repair materials and good repair methods) the better, it help outgas - just my opinion
It is how it was prepped and how it was finished.
Mapping and shrinkage is always an issue
What can you do to help solve it? - Time, and heat cycles
With repairs I try to bake the #$%^&% out of them
Time in the sun and time in the paint booth
I let a car sit in primer for a year and it went thru 90 degree days and 5 degree days (sitting in storage)
Infared heaters do a good job of baking repair areas.
Many people rush repairs - the longer you can leave a repair and let it go thru hot and cold cycles (with good repair materials and good repair methods) the better, it help outgas - just my opinion
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2009
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From: Charlotte NC
Let's say a C2 car has new fenders put on. if the final bodywork and paint looks good, with no seams visible now, will it always look good??
YES...NO....MAYBE It was mentioned in the above posts...curing heat cycles, TIME...correct materials and KNOWING how to apply them...all come into play. TIME is the biggest issue....and most people just do not want to wait. Seeing their car just sit there...seems to make them freak out...but yet they want it PERFECT.
i have seen some cars where repair seams are showing. not sure if they were always showing, or if they show as the repair ages over years. it would suck to pay big bucks for a nicely done repair now, only to have it show up in the future.
YEP...But...it is what it is. IF TIME was not given...due to an unreasonable time to complete the job for the owner...or....processes and procedures were not applied...then you can have a failure. Also...it has a lot to do with what the car is going to be used for. IF it is a museum piece...it should not be subjected to environmental issues that can effect the body.
In my experience, with metal cars, if the repair is done well and is level now, then it should be good forever. i did body work myself 10 years ago on a pantera and it still looks perfect. i don't totally understand fiberglass and gel coats yet.
I agree...if bodywork is done correctly on a steel bodied car...it should last...but it will not last if you drive it around in salt. Glad that your Pantera is still looking good.
i repaired the gel coat on my boat with a gel coat material designed to do it. it looked perfect in the beginning but after a few years, it cracked out. i am not sure what I did wrong there.
AS you know...and I have mentioned numerous times in the past. If the surface that is getting something applied to it is NOT PREPPED and CORRECT to accept the material being applied...it will fail. Moisture is a really big culprit when dealing with fiberglass repairs. Oil and other contaminants are also culprits...but I have found that the fiberglass getting saturated (so to speak) is what will make anything fall off in time. Especially on a boat. I have repaired several Donzi's, Etc...and I have to make sure the fiberglass is dry before I apply anything.
YES...NO....MAYBE It was mentioned in the above posts...curing heat cycles, TIME...correct materials and KNOWING how to apply them...all come into play. TIME is the biggest issue....and most people just do not want to wait. Seeing their car just sit there...seems to make them freak out...but yet they want it PERFECT.
i have seen some cars where repair seams are showing. not sure if they were always showing, or if they show as the repair ages over years. it would suck to pay big bucks for a nicely done repair now, only to have it show up in the future.
YEP...But...it is what it is. IF TIME was not given...due to an unreasonable time to complete the job for the owner...or....processes and procedures were not applied...then you can have a failure. Also...it has a lot to do with what the car is going to be used for. IF it is a museum piece...it should not be subjected to environmental issues that can effect the body.
In my experience, with metal cars, if the repair is done well and is level now, then it should be good forever. i did body work myself 10 years ago on a pantera and it still looks perfect. i don't totally understand fiberglass and gel coats yet.
I agree...if bodywork is done correctly on a steel bodied car...it should last...but it will not last if you drive it around in salt. Glad that your Pantera is still looking good.
i repaired the gel coat on my boat with a gel coat material designed to do it. it looked perfect in the beginning but after a few years, it cracked out. i am not sure what I did wrong there.
AS you know...and I have mentioned numerous times in the past. If the surface that is getting something applied to it is NOT PREPPED and CORRECT to accept the material being applied...it will fail. Moisture is a really big culprit when dealing with fiberglass repairs. Oil and other contaminants are also culprits...but I have found that the fiberglass getting saturated (so to speak) is what will make anything fall off in time. Especially on a boat. I have repaired several Donzi's, Etc...and I have to make sure the fiberglass is dry before I apply anything.
With that said...the frame and body are under constant movement while it is being driven. And knowing that it is not a TANK...these slight changes in the frame and other variables...came cause a body that was perfect to show some distortion.
(Not writing that you are wanting this) SO wanting a perfect show car...and a driver is... like wanting to have your cake and eat it too. It is unrealistic to expect the body to stay perfect when you drive the car to go get milk from the grocery store. Also...spending over 20K on a really wicked body and paint job should command some respect. BUT expecting the shop to guarantee that is stay perfect all the time ....is also unrealistic...unless you agree to keep it in a vacuum all the time and you can only look at it through a glass window.
DUB
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2009
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From: Plano IL
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Dub - agree 100%
I heat my bodies up super hot
I use an infared heater and paint booths and bake the $*&% out of them.
I heat my bodies up super hot
I use an infared heater and paint booths and bake the $*&% out of them.
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DUB