WilliamHall

When doing bodywork on a Vette do you need to worry about this. What function does it play? If you strip the paint off the car do you need to worry about it before priming and painting it?

DansYellow66

It's function is to seal down fiberglass after stripping and seal off any body repairs. Some will say it's to seal off and prevent stress cracks from popping through a pain job but don't believe it. Only way to fix stress cracks is to grind them out and glass them in. If your car is straight with no previous body damage, has been carefully stripped and the fiberglass looks to be in good shape, you can probably go with epoxy primer just fine. I used gel coat on my car because I had to do quite a bit of body work and repairs. It's a mess to work with, especially in your garage, but after 9 years the paint job still looks brand new except for a couple small stress cracks that I missed and sneaked back through. :steering:

58Mike

There was no gel coat on C1s or C2s from the factory. Gel coat is the top finish layer in hand laid (as opposed to Vette parts, which are press molded) fiberglass parts, usually boats. I wouldn't mess with it, just use primer.

- Mike Greene

62fuelie

So long as the top layer of the original glass is in good condition there is no need for anything other than a good primer. If the glass is damaged and there are any glass strands exposed it is like trying to paint the end of a piece of celery.
There are some sprayable polyester products that are a little less messy and easier to use than gelcoat.

REVIVER

I use Featherfill to seal down and as a high fill primer to block the body out with. I have also used Slicksand on metal cars and it worked great. I just used gelcoat on mine to seal down the body work. I had alot to do so I wanted to seal it down good and It was a real hassel to block out. Clogs the paper fast until you break through the top layer but it is a good shell to put over the body work and glass. Featherfill goes on in the morning if all goes well. Then I get a week of curing for the fingers to scab up before more blocking.

wombvette

True the original panels did not have gelcoat as such. They did have a filler thickened, resin rich surface, with very fine fiberglass strands, which served as a good surface. That is not to say though that gel-coat would not be beneficial, especially when lots of work has been done or stripping and sanding etc. has removed the surface. If you use the correct type of gel-coat cured under PVA it will sand fairly easily and is much like using the polyester primers. BTW gel-coat is also a polyester product and works well on old glass but not on SMC. That means you shouldnt use it on 73 and up. I personally wouldnt use Feather-Fill on my push mower. That stuff has cost me and my customers thousands over the years and I will have no part of it.

Solid327

What is PVA?

I too am interested in the different opinions and practical experiences of those with C1-C2 Corvettes and the paint processes used. I have not yet chosen a body man/painter to do my '62. I need to have a couple of panels replaced and I will use the press molded panels as original.

Some guys I have talked to advocate gel-coat, other say it is not necessary. One guy I knew, who was actually a very good painter, suggested Awlgrip, as that was what he used on Ferraris to get a perfect surface prior to painting. Awlgrip for the uninitiated is used primarily on boats and is much tougher than gelcoat. It is also much harder to sand.

It doesn't seem right to me to have to "coat" the original fiberglass with something before painting. It seems like you can accomplish the same thing with a good quality primer matched to the paint you will be using.

Since I don't plan to paint my car in acrylic lacquer, shrinkage shouldn't be a problem. What conditions would drive a decision to use gelcoat?

Maybe I should take "Painting Your Corvette" instead of "C-1 Repair Techniques - "40 Yr. Old Tricks of the Trade" - The Solid Axle Series", at Bloomington this year.


[Modified by Solid327, 3:55 PM 6/10/2003]

wombvette

PVA is Poly(Vinyl Alcohol). It is sprayed on the surface to seal the surface. As I understand it the material cures better when not subject to the outside air, Oxygen moisture etc. It will eliminate the sticky surface commonly experienced with gel-coats, body puddies and other materials. It is also used as a mold release agent. It simply washes off with water.

Solid327

Poly Vinyl...I should've remembered that from visiting County Corvettes website. They have a nicely illustrated link showing body work in progress on vintage vettes.
http://www.countycorvette.com/corvet...airprocess.htm

They apparently do all their cars in gel coat, claiming it is the only way to effectively seal the fiberglass. The poly vinyl is used as follows: "Another unique step that we use is to coat the newly applied gel coat with a poly vinyl coating to allow the gel coat to dry in the absence of air. This prevents any moisture from working it's way into the gel coat."

I still wonder if it is necessary to "encapsulate" the body shell that way, unless the condition warrants it, as the only way to restore the surface to a paintable condition.

DansYellow66

Now I hear about this (Poly Vinyl)! I was like Reviver in that I thought I would never get my gelcoat blocked out. Must have gone through 50 sheets of sandpaper because they kept gumming up. The good news was I covered my garage floor with plastic before gelcoating the car or the floor would still be black. The bad news was the one cup I put too much hardner in for the rising temperature and it set up in the gun. :banghead: