gel coat 56/57

[Jerry B.]

I have checked the archives with no luck. What is the color of gel coat and what was the purpose. thanks

[Michael W.]

Re: gel coat 56/57

As far as I know there was no gelcoat on any '56/57s, only on the very early '53s.

[Jack J.]

Re: gel coat 56/57

"Once And For All" clarification- Were EARLY 53's the ONLY time that gelcoat was used on ANY year Corvette from day 1 till present? I have had so-called knowledgeable people? argue this point with me and I'm sure others would like to know also. Thank you, Jack J.

[Domenic T.]

Re: gel coat 56/57

I have checked the archives with no luck. What is the color of gel coat and what was the purpose. thanks

Jerry,

I personally never heard of the factory using gel coat and know that they use a inner and outer mold so they can squeeze the resin out of the glass.

I'm not saying that in their 1st year they didn't but if they did they stopped pronto.

The strength is in the glass not the resin and resin is gel coat.

The purpose of gel coat, in my opinion, would be a way to promote cracks.

I have found gel coat/ resin on poor repairs that were done on vettes.

The inner and outer mold process kept the glass at a uniform thickness and made it easier for production and repair.

Uning it will look good for a while then it will crack as there is nothing (strands) to bind it.

Boats use gel coat and boats crack when they get older.

I believe ALL resin eventually shrinks with age even though it is advertised not to.

DOM

[Wayne W.]

Re: gel coat 56/57

In general Gel-coat was not used, BUT, and there is always a but, Some parts of some cars had gel-coat. Very low production parts, early pilot parts, and some special parts were gel-coated. For instance, Some big tank parts were gel-coated, Some early pilot line 63 parts were gel-coated, and the largest example, some 54 cars were largely gel-coated. This was obviously an experiment with using colored gel-coat, however, in my opinion not too successful. The only color gel-coat that I have seen is white. In the case of the 54 cars that were gel-coated in an attempt to gel-coat color the body, it was very thick in some areas, specifically in the hood and trunk ledges. This caused serious cracking with age. But the surface could be buffed to a shiny finish.

[Mike M.]

Re: gel coat 56/57

our 54, vin 2184, has about 50% of its panels gel-coated from the factory and it was thick in some areas as wayne noted. mike

[Gary C.]

Re: gel coat 56/57

Jerry,

If there's a hidden question in your post - Gelcoat or not. The answer is Gelcoat. If you don't you run the risk of spiders.

Gary
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