Gelcoat??

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Aug 30, 2003 | 11:02 PM

wickedwillie

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Gelcoat??

I have just finished razor blading all the old paint and primer off of my "new" hood.I sanded all the remaining primer off with 180 grit and a block.The hood is GM pressmolded glass and has no repairs. Should it be gelcoated, or just primed?
Thanks willie

Aug 30, 2003 | 11:25 PM

59er

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From: Gold Coast Queensland Australia

Re: Gelcoat?? (wickedwillie)

There's lots of talk on this and other forums about the use of gelcoat, but from all the info that I have heard from the guys that really know their stuff, no gelcoat was ever used on early and probably late Vettes.

I used an epoxy primer to seal all of the repairs. Never even seen gelcoat except on boats.

Mark.

Aug 31, 2003 | 08:53 AM

DansYellow66

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From: Central Arkansas

Re: Gelcoat?? (59er)

I gelcoated my car during repainting to seal all the various repairs and loose fibers down. That's what it's primarily for. If there isn't any damage on the hood and the base fiberglass is tight and smooth then it seems that epoxy primer is the most favored approach. :steering:

Aug 31, 2003 | 08:56 AM

REVIVER

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From: Land O Lakes, FL

Re: Gelcoat?? (wickedwillie)

The hood should already have gelcoat on it but if you can see glass strands everywhere or major glass repais then you will need it. It sounds like the hood is fine the way it is and ready for a good primer and blocking. :flag

Aug 31, 2003 | 12:14 PM

wickedwillie

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Re: Gelcoat?? (REVIVER)

The hood has no gelcoat on it,and I don't believe that GM used gelcoat.The only parts that I see gelcoat on is aftermarket handlaid panels. I have been painting for a living for close to 30 yrs,but I have had very little to do with corvettes(even though I have owned this car for half my life)
I know that on any of the fiberglass repairs we do, they get gel coated before we prime them. I figured if I had no repairs and the hood is pressmolded glass, then I more than likely could just e-coat it.
Thanks willie

Aug 31, 2003 | 12:17 PM

SWCDuke

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Re: Gelcoat?? (wickedwillie)

The OEM panels do not have gelcoat. To the best of my knowledge, other than repair of minor surface defects they were primed by St. Louis as they came out of the mold without any specific surface treatment/preparation.

JohnZ can probably confirm.

Duke

Aug 31, 2003 | 12:42 PM

JohnZ

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From: Washington Michigan

Re: Gelcoat?? (SWCDuke)

No gelcoat was ever used on any Corvette panel after mid-'54 when the last panel was converted from hand-laid to press-molded in matched steel dies. St. Louis took the raw panels out of a rack, installed them on the body, wiped them down to remove any traces of mold release compound, and started with a coat of red oxide primer. :thumbs:

Aug 31, 2003 | 02:14 PM

wombvette

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From: New Hill NC

Re: Gelcoat?? (JohnZ)

Yes, BUT. If they did gelcoat the panels as a surface preparation maybe the paint would have been better and lasted longer. Lets face it, factory paint was not great. If you have the chance to do a better job now, why not do so. I have been doing them for 30+ years and have done them every way that you can imagine. Those that I gelcoated with real polyester gelcoat, have lasted much longer than those that I didnt. That is for those cars through 68-69 that used polyester panels. After then other products need to be used.