Hi All,

Two Questions,
1. Chassis is getting shot blasted and primed in the next couple of weeks. I've decided to get it done red in the long term. Would people recommend powder coating it or painting it?

2. The Fibre glass body is very weather worn. Sun has really bleached the colour out of the bonnet. I've read you can't Tcut the Gel coat. What would you recommend. Can the body just betaken to a workshop for a respray as with normal metal panels, or does the gel coat cause problems with this option too? Is there a colour restorer that can be bought for gel coat?

Cheers

Only my opinion:

Powder coat - it's a lot tougher than paint, but if I were you, i'd coat over the underside afterwards with something rubbery to stop stone chips.

If it's that far gone a respray is the way forward. Most bodyshops have experience in spraying grp spoilers and splitters for ricers and chav-mobiles, so you shouldn't find too much difficulty there.

You can T Cut gelcoat. There are also Farecla products made for restoring gelcoat.

http://www.farecla.com/pdfs/Marine%208pp.pdf

If it's really bad and a respray may be on the cards then it might be worth trying 1200 grit wet and dry on a small area then polishing it up with T Cut.

If you do need to spray it then it's perfectly possible although some body shops will suck their teeth at you. All the common paint systems have plastic primers or adhesion promoters which should do the job.

Should have put up a photo already. It has faded almost to white in some places. The number was the original colour.

I would try farecla G3 cutting compound (worked on my rossa) and NOT "T" cut (it has amonia in it). If you can borrow a proper polishing mop with a foam head that would be the best route, again NOT one of those lambs wool cheap things from halfords or such like but the proper item (like a 9" angle grinder with a foam head instead of the disc). Then once polished seal with a really good polish/wax to help stop the fading.
If all else fails then a respray would be the best route and there is no issue spraying a glass car as opposed to a steel one any good body shop should get you an excellent finish, remember there are a lot of "production cars" that are glass. TVR, Lotus, Marcos etc.

Farecla g3 is what Fox's Marina use on the yachts to bring them back up to a decent finish.

If you need to spray in then end, i would recomend an ICI etch primer specifically formulated for use on fibre glass, not all etch primers are suitable, this stuff although expensive is well worth the cost, as it sticks i have cracked/torn fibreglass and this stuff has stayied on the gelcoat, the paint itself flacked off the primer only thing i dont like about it is the fumes, use a good organic mask and the army green it is.



In regards to powder coating, it use to be the case where you need the part nice and hot to do it, and this was the problem as it wont stick if the chassis is not hot enough causing corrosion under the powder coating, have a good talk with a poweder coating frim, and ask a few see what the success is like as it may be better these days, how about acid dip then galvenising wish i galvenised mine when i had the chance

WEST

Yes T Cut does have ammonia in it but I have used it many times on GRP with no problems.

1. It's not as though you're using it on a weekly basis. The amount of ammonia is not going to be significant

2. With gelcoat blooming as bad as this example I would imagine that the presence or absence of ammonia in the polishing compund would be the least of his worries.


Farecla G3 is a fine product but if you're going to use a Farecla polish why not use they one they designed for gelcoat restoration?

FARÉCLA MARINE GEL COAT RESTORER

Product Information

Farecla Marine Gel Coat Restorer effectively removes oxidation, chalking and minor scratches from gelcoats and acrylics. Restores to a high gloss finish.