I'm restoring a 54. I've stripped it to bare glass. The surface of the glass is very rough - not from damage - just a very rough surface from the early glass fabrication methods. What is the best approach to fill all these small pits and fiber voids.
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Well, my '55...
...Had 120,000 miles on it when it went into body restoration. Stress crack city. Once you are down to the glass, with all the paint gone, you need to re-gel coat the entire surface, otherwise the exposed fibres will "wick" any finish you apply, and it will look like, well, crap. Try to resist the temptation to smooth out the "waves" in the surface- they all had this, and removing them will make it look great, just like a kit car. The lower rear corner of the doors will protrude somewhat, etc., this is normal. -
I think I Goofed
Thanks for the feed back - I was afraid the answer was to Gelcoat the car. I didn't realize the pitting was as bad as it is until I applied a coat of Featherfill (I goofed) I have sanded the majority of the featherfill off but it still remains in the low spots and pitted areas. I assume I will have to remove this coat before I can apply the Gelcoat. Later year cars I have restored did not require the gelcoat step but I think you're right in this case. Oh well - the work is most of the fun.Comment
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Re: I think I Goofed
John,
If you have already started with featherfill, then I would just continue down that same road! Gelcoat and featherfill are both polyester resin products. The only difference in featherfill is that it has a some inert filler material in it to allow fast fill and easier sanding. I still prefer gelcoat, but it is a bitch to sand!
Regards, John McGrawComment
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To Gelcoat or not to Gelcoat
John - thanks for the response. The featherfill seems to have done a fairly good job of filling the surface where I've used it. I was just concerned wheather I'm setting myself up for problems years down the road. I'll research it more before I do anything. One thing I can afford is time. PS if you want to see the project take a peek at www.johnsvetshop.com thanks again - JohnComment
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Re: To Gelcoat or not to Gelcoat
John, There are many,many guys who have used featherfill over the years, and have had excellent results. I have used it quite a lot on steel-bodied cars and have been satisfied with it's performance. I have stuck with straight gelcoat on fiberglass as I think that with the lack of filler material it might be harder and more durable. Can't tell you for sure if this is the case, but I can attest to the difficulty in sanding gelcoat!
Regards, John McGrawComment
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Re: To Gelcoat or not to Gelcoat
Thanks John - I think I'll play with the Featherfill a little more - like you say it sands easy, and seems to do a pretty good job smoothing out the pits. I can always strip it and Gelcoat.Comment
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Re: To Gelcoat or not to Gelcoat
John; Been doing these car's for over 30 year's. I would use nothing but the Ekler's Gel Coat, never had a car go bad. Put about 2 gal on also I used 40 grit on a DA to rough up the body. Give the Gel coat a week then knock off the wax look with 80 on a DA then you can work it on down the way you want it. johnComment
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Gelcoat or Bust it is - thanks John *NM*
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