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As I am in the process of finishing off my modified nose and fenders, I am wondering about the gel coat, or lack of it. The parts were originally from CMC (?), as I was told, and the finish is a very dull, white, almost chalky substance. It also appears to be brushed on. As I am grinding and shaping the parts for my needs, I find there are lots of voids, many of which filled with this white coating. However there is nothing between the fibreglass and the white coating. So it is like a gel coat. Does anyone know what it is? I'm at the stage, where I could sand it all down to the blank fibreglass. What I want to avoid, is filling, finishing and painting, and the finding out that it is a poor sub-strate.
As always, I appreciate all your inputs.

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Martin


My build log:
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My build video:
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I'm no expert, but I used CMC fiberglass parts too. Mine were more grey than white in colour, but you're right, the quality is pretty low. Some spots on my parts were glossy, other areas were not. I left most of the gel coat intact. I sanded my parts a bit, reinforced some thin spots from the back, and filled the voids with glazing putty, then primed and painted. If you want more of the same low quality parts, let me know, I didn't use the fenders and still have them. They look a bit different than yours though. I might end up doing the same as you and ditching the scuttle too. I did a bunch of fiberglass work to it this winter to have the dash stay on the car when the scuttle is off, but I'm not real excited about how it turned out.
Kristian

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V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
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Do you know if these parts spent much time sitting outdoors? I'm not a fiberglass expert by any means, but what you're describing sounds like oxidized / UV damaged gel coat. Or, if the quality is as suspect as you turbo_bird is suggesting, it's possible that the gel coat wasn't properly catalyzed.

Thanks guys.

Greg
I don't think it is oxidization, as it is the same through and through. And as far as I know, they were always on a shelf in a shop. As for not properly catalyzed, quite possible.

Kristian,
I only have the nose and rear fenders from this one source. The scuttle I actually got from Perry, and it was a well finished part. But after some serious butchering to fit inside the roll cage, the patient sadly didn't survive the plastic surgery.

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Martin


My build log:
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14520&start=0
My build video:
https://vimeo.com/143524140 password "matovid"

I don't think those are CMC fenders. The ones I got were gray like Kristian's. They tilt downward slightly at the top from inside to outside and had a lip detail around the wheel opening that I eventually cut off. Oh they also had to be widened about an inch to fit 205 wide tires.

Sorry I can't help with the white, chalky issue you are having.

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Chuck.

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What Chuck said on the styling sounds about right. Except mine are pretty wide, I think 11" for the rears and 9" for the fronts. When I ordered everything they asked how wide I wanted them because they had a couple different options.
Kristian

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V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=7587
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Sounds like you have no gel coat, just a primer. If it seems thicker than spray can primer, it is. The first coats of "paint" as you begin to finish the surface of your parts is "high build" primer. Before that though, if you have noticeable voids, fill and smooth them with a filler first.

John

Thank you, John.
That makes perfect sense. It also explains the brush marks that I can see, when I hold them up to a light. I did not know that primer could be applied that thick. They probably sanded it down after brushing, to give a smooth finish.
Thanks again.

_________________
Martin


My build log:
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14520&start=0
My build video:
https://vimeo.com/143524140 password "matovid"

I have the CMC rear fenders & nose, and they're all that dull grey appearance. I haven't modified my rear fenders (think they'll work as they are), but I did notch the nose for the steering rack boots.

I'm inclined to agree that the surface of the CMC parts is primer, rather than gelcoat. Oh well, it's all gonna get painted anyway...

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They might be Curtis Unlimited fenders. The first set of Lotus XI panels I bought were from Curtis, and the white gel coat was very thin and was brushed into the molds. There were many voids in the panels where the resin and mat weren't in contact with the gel coat. I didn't complain about it as the panels were to be prepped for paint, but I ended up getting another set of panels as the Curtis one's weren't correct for the chassis I built.

If I were to use them, I would gouge out the voids and feather the gel coat, then build up the voids with filler if they're not too deep, then top coat with a high build primer, sand then paint.

Rod

Sounds like those fenders might be for sale. If so, details and pictures please.

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Bill H
Winnipeg, MB, Canada

It might be an idea to key up the surfaces you have and apply a few coats of the spray on gelcoat. Trying to drown fiberglass strand with paint and filler is hard work.It would at least give you a stable base that wont move about on which to start the paint layers

http://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/p ... alyst.aspx

Bob

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They could potentially be. I'm not sure if it would be worth it once shipping is figured out though. I'll dig them out after work today.
Kristian

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V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
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Thanks, Rod and Bob.

That's what I'm doing, Rod. Now that I know that it is primer, I'm comfortable feathering it. My fear was that it would chip off more, but once I exposed all the voids and ground back the surrounding area, the chipping is gone.

I was going to apply gelcoat, Bob, but by the time I set everything up for spraying it, it will probably be as much work as filling, priming and sanding. The areas are actually quite small. As usual with my build, more elbow grease required.

_________________
Martin


My build log:
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14520&start=0
My build video:
https://vimeo.com/143524140 password "matovid"

Hate to be the contrarian but I think it's gelcoat. I used to crank out Kenworth truck cabs by the dozen in my university summer job. They were sprayed with a light green gelcoat that was never intended to be the final finish. It was one guy's job to scuff sand them. When they left the factory they had a dull, non-gloss finish. I believe one reason is that gelcoat is easier on the molds and it's easier to proceed to a finish working from gelcoat rather than bare resin.

The brushing doesn't indicate much. I've sprayed large objects like canoes but brushed smaller objects where it simply wasn't worth having to clean the gun. It's more difficult to get a uniform thick coat by brushing.

Looking good Martin.

Ron

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