Body repairs are evident??
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 832
Likes: 1
From: Breckenridge Colorado
Originally Posted by markbett
I remember the owner told me never, ever bake a fiberglass car so after he sprayed it in a HEPA filtered room and left it there for 3 days. Just an idea.
When the C3's were painted in the St. Louis Corvette Paint Shop the car was baked in a lower temperature of 140 degrees for 30 minutes. Then after more coats of paint were applied, the car was baked at 250 degrees for another 45 minutes. According to GM, 250 degrees was the temperature limit for the Corvette body fiberglass material. As a comparison, a steel bodied car would normally bake at a higher temperature of 325. Since paint curing had to be done at a lower temperature, highly visably body surfaces were oil-sanded and machine-polished to bring up the final gloss level. If the shop that did your work baked the car at a higher temperature then that alone is reason for them to redo the work.All this and more information is available in the current months issue of Corvette Enthusiast.
Last edited by MartyW; Aug 22, 2006 at 08:22 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,209
Likes: 87
From: Putnam county NY
2025 c3 ('68-'73) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Originally Posted by falken
I just picked up my 69 vette from the body shop in mid July and now a month later some of th repairs are evident. The body shop says this is normal for vettes and that there was nothing he could do about it. By the way, the tab for the paint was $14600.00 . I dont think I was cutting any corners and he was highly refered. The paint job could not be better, but a couple pf the repairs leave something to be desired. He thinks that they are old repairs that had some adverse affects from baking the paint. What are your experiences with glass repairs and can they be done correctly?
For that money, you should have an award winning paint job!
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
Likes: 201
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
Someone backed into my door 6 years ago and there was a big hole, I got the whole car painted and 6 years later you cannot see a trace of where the hole was. Also the bodyshop told me they fixed a million cracks and they are also not visisble 6 years later.
It is a big hassle to get things fixed when you are in the situation you are in but you have to get them fixed one way or another, you paid alot of money it should be perfect
It is a big hassle to get things fixed when you are in the situation you are in but you have to get them fixed one way or another, you paid alot of money it should be perfect
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
tracdogg2, Thanks for your help. Just to elaborate on my problems, it appears as if the repairs have shrunk in some places and bulged out in others. I apply pressure with my fingernails and it appears to be very hard. it seems as if these repairs were pretty good until I had the car out in the heat and sun at a car show. is it possible these repairs have not been sealed from the inner fender wells and water got at them?
Safety Car
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 4,176
Likes: 7
From: Jennings LA
looks like I have learned a few things from this thread
1 let all the solvent dry after you wipe down the car before priming.
(how long should you wait?)
2 never bake a fiberglass car.
this is coming from someone who has just wasted $900 in paint materials. I did not wait more than 30 min after I wiped it down before
I applied my 2K primer. my car now has very tiny bubles under the paint. may be solvent poping, not sure. the paint rep is going to look at it this week. all my beautiful paint will have to be sanded back off
1 let all the solvent dry after you wipe down the car before priming.
(how long should you wait?)
2 never bake a fiberglass car.
this is coming from someone who has just wasted $900 in paint materials. I did not wait more than 30 min after I wiped it down before
I applied my 2K primer. my car now has very tiny bubles under the paint. may be solvent poping, not sure. the paint rep is going to look at it this week. all my beautiful paint will have to be sanded back off
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 14,112
Likes: 28
From: Florida
Corvette still has minor problems with paint pop. Glass is a difficult product to work with when applying high luster auto finishes. Everything has to be right.
Here are a couple of links if interested.
http://www.autocomposites.org/autoco...paint%20pop%22
http://www.compositesworld.com/ct/is...February/363/1
DIY'ers probably luck out more than they realize when prepping their own cars simply because of the work is usually spread out over such a long time period.
All polyester or epoxy based resins will shrink until fully cured. When painting with lacquer way back when, we used to always wait as long as possible (30days) before final blocking etc to try to eliminate this shrinkage. Brand new C3's were known for having their bond seams show. Most body shops have to rush the cars out to make money, so it can be a potential problem.
Here are a couple of links if interested.
http://www.autocomposites.org/autoco...paint%20pop%22
http://www.compositesworld.com/ct/is...February/363/1
DIY'ers probably luck out more than they realize when prepping their own cars simply because of the work is usually spread out over such a long time period.
All polyester or epoxy based resins will shrink until fully cured. When painting with lacquer way back when, we used to always wait as long as possible (30days) before final blocking etc to try to eliminate this shrinkage. Brand new C3's were known for having their bond seams show. Most body shops have to rush the cars out to make money, so it can be a potential problem.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 663
Likes: 0
From: Honolulu Hawaii
Originally Posted by markbett
I had mine done about 3 years ago and I could not be happier with the results. I paid about $4,300.00 complete. The shop that did the work used a polyurethane and he had a few seams to repair. I remember the owner told me never, ever bake a fiberglass car so after he sprayed it in a HEPA filtered room and left it there for 3 days. Just an idea.
When I had my '78 done it seemed like it took forever, stripped it down, all body work done.. let it sit for a week.. 3 coats of sealer/primer, block sanded... let it sit for another week.. they had painted it on a friday and left it in the booth to dry until monday morning..The shop told me that they had to do it this way because you shouldn't bake a fiberglass car unless necessary..paint looked as good as it did coming out of the shop even after 1 1/2 years when I sold it..
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,137
Likes: 51
From: Cartersville GA
Ecklers had put out some videos on how to repair and how to paint Corvettes. They were well worth the money to me as far as how to make proper repairs, prep for paint and paint process, time between operations. One comment I recall was that they let the car "sit in the sun" in Florida for 4 or 5 weeks after expoxy priming to let the primer "shrink". You also should leave plenty of time to let any solvents leach out from stripping or cleaning prior to applying anything. Also, keep it in as clean an environment as possible during the whole process.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,269
Likes: 54
From: Orlando Florida
St. Jude Donor '05
Thanks everybody, very good info here 
I'll be painting my '79 soon, didn't know about letting it sit after the primer is on.....
$14600 is a lot of money for a paintjob, I'd be pi$$ed and I hope they'll fix it...... this story is one of the reasons I'm attempting to paint myself: I can screw it up for less
I'll be painting my '79 soon, didn't know about letting it sit after the primer is on.....
$14600 is a lot of money for a paintjob, I'd be pi$$ed and I hope they'll fix it...... this story is one of the reasons I'm attempting to paint myself: I can screw it up for less
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,036
Likes: 2
From: Huntingburg Indiana
They probably wouldn't be able to bake it over 240 degrees. We had a very high dollar booth at work and it baked at 140. If they baked the paint, they probably baked the primer, too. Baking is what you do for a rush repair. A $14000 paint job should not be rushed. Baking makes the primer skim over quickly so you can sand, but it continues to dry after. This shows shrinkage.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,995
Likes: 110
From: Garland Texas
falken,
Water will show up as small bubbles or blisters. It sounds like poor repairs and rushed work is what you are seeing now. Since you can see the repairs and bulges better when it sits in the sun that's a good sign you've got different fillers under the paint/primer.
Mike
Water will show up as small bubbles or blisters. It sounds like poor repairs and rushed work is what you are seeing now. Since you can see the repairs and bulges better when it sits in the sun that's a good sign you've got different fillers under the paint/primer.
Mike
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 755
Likes: 1
From: Hobart Tasmania
My buddy who has been a panel beater and spray painter for many years assisted me with my resto. We had not worked on fibreglass before and found that after a while the primer and paint will shrink into the glass causing imperfections. We used a specific two pack non sag primer which is specifically made for fibreglass and had no problems. The product was made by Wattyl, not sure if this is available in the US but I am sure there would be something comparable.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 113
Likes: 0
From: Melville, Long Island NY
Originally Posted by RedBad1979
$14600 is a lot of money for a paintjob, I'd be pi$$ed and I hope they'll fix it...... this story is one of the reasons I'm attempting to paint myself: I can screw it up for less
I'm planning on doing my 79 over myself too! (returning it to the original silver).
It was sprayed 15 years ago for about $2500 w/2 stage paint. Still looks fantastic w/no bodywork showing through inspite of having the front fender and surround panel replaced.
This guy needs to make it right!