Was wondering if anyone can help by telling me what year GM started gel-coating the corvettes?

Your help would be greatly appreciated

 

never . except for the first few prototypes in 53. to the best of my knowledge.

 

im not sure what years came with what, but i know that ecklers sells a gel coat for 53-72 year models. beyond that, i do not know if any came with it factory.

why?

 

no gel coat on corvettes .

 

...except a few prototypes like "porchdog" mentioned

But one thing is for certain...the early body Corvettes and those which are NOT SMC...should be gel coated ( in many peoples opinion...mine included) OR...sealed with another product to aid in the issues with the porousity of the press molded fiberglass from the early years SMC does not require gel coating.
"DUB"

 

Thank you

Hubby is helping someone with a restoration and the question came about. Figured if I came here I'd get the answer

Thanks for your time and quick response!

 

DUB and Porchdog,

There were a few more pieces over the years. Some of them were special low production pieces such as parts for the midyear big tanks, but at least one major example was in 1954. There was a run of bodies that were an experiment or engineering project that had the white gel-coat. On these cars most of the major body panels were gel-coated. Also, the `63 pilots cars had full gel-coated tubs and several body parts including the inner fenders. I agree that in general Corvette didn't have gel-coated bodies, but some specific ones did.

 

Was wondering what to use ,as my car sat outside for years and the glass is coming through in some areas and want to seal it up?Do I have to skim coat the body or is there a proper way to seal the glass.Thanks

 

You need to specify the year.
"DUB"

 

1963

 

Either gel coat it or featherfill it or epoxy it to seal it up. All of these products have their proponents and all of the users have what I consider valid arguments as to why. I am certain you will get more, and more pointed, responses... get ready!

 

 

If you are not worried about NCRS judging....and are planning on painting it with the current basecoat/clearcoat systems out on the market....and not planning on painting it in lacquer.

I would gelcoat it...but that is just me.

Like earlier mentioned...you will find forum members that believe that their way is the best...due to possibly having a problem with a method that "back-fired" on them and cost them time and money to repair.

I am not writing that MY WAY is the best. But I have had issues with other methods and have found that the gelcoat has not never caused me any problems that have required a repair due to it failing.

Applying a polyester primer is a also acceptable...in my opinion...if for some reason you choose not to want to hassel with the application and sanding of gelcoat. Gelcoat and polyester primer are very close to each other in regards to the properties that they have in film build and curing. But in my opinion...gelcoat is the better of the two. As an example you have 93 octane gas..which is fine for many cars...but if you have a much higher than normal compression engine....it may require a much higher octane fuel to run at its best. Both are fuels that will work...but one fuel allows the higher compression engines to run better due to being much higher octane than what is considered normal. I hope that made sense...I read it a few times and hopefully I wrote it so it made sense.

Best of luck,
"DUB"

 

Thanks Dub,I appreciate the info,do you think I should look for a body shop that has experience with fiberglass? I really hate body work....

 

whitey63,
I sent you a PM.
"DUB"

 

If Corvettes never had a gelcoat. Why do so many people talking about stripping a Vette down to the gelcoat? I know they even mention this on C4's.

 

Ive done paint and body work for years and always assumed corvettes had a gel-coat like all other fiberglass. Like mentioned above, SMC fiberglass is of a higher quality then standard fiberglass and done not require a gel-coat, I could see GM getting away with just a primer/sealer.
But the older pure fiberglass cars it seems as if they would have to have some sort of gel-coat or gel-coat type coating to seal the fiberglass and cover/smooth the chopped fiberglass strands.

I know personally that the C4's have a black gel-coat type coating.
Ive sanded into it before and it is whats peeling from the door on my 94 vette. Ive actually got a chip in my hand I went and picked off just to see what it is and it looks like a normal, black gel-coat.


If they did not use a gel-coat then what did they use?

Josh and I where talking about this on another thread and it had me thinking. (smell something burning? )
Gel-coat in the can is heavy. Much more heavy then a typical primer/sealer type coating. Do you believe GM decided not to use gel-coat due to the weight? Or does it come down to a money issue.
(why spray a gel-coat and a primer when you can just spray a primer and save money on materials and labor)

 

Except for very early cars (C1's), the Corvette panels were press molded which leaves a nice smooth surface. This surface is good enough to just require scuffing for adhesion before primer.

 

They are uninformed.

 

You might think that, but except for the few mentioned examples, Corvettes did not have gel-coat. The later SMCs have a black, epoxy or urethane type primer.