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Gel Coat Paint vs Regular Paint

FM Former Member
I am in thinking of:

1. Upgrading my old CMC Gauges to the regular 3 VDO Gauges

2. Removing my mirrors from the doors and installing them in the fenders just like the real speedsters

3. Removing some snaps that are on my doors

4. Doing some touch up's on some cracked areas

This however will require patching the old holes and repainting some of these areas when finished. When I tried got a quote from a body shop that works on replicas they asked the question "is your paint gel coated?" My answer was that "Yes" it is, they then turned around and said they couldn't do it.

What is the difference between Gel Coat Paint and Regular? Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.
Oscar


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FM Former Member
I am in thinking of:

1. Upgrading my old CMC Gauges to the regular 3 VDO Gauges

2. Removing my mirrors from the doors and installing them in the fenders just like the real speedsters

3. Removing some snaps that are on my doors

4. Doing some touch up's on some cracked areas

This however will require patching the old holes and repainting some of these areas when finished. When I tried got a quote from a body shop that works on replicas they asked the question "is your paint gel coated?" My answer was that "Yes" it is, they then turned around and said they couldn't do it.

What is the difference between Gel Coat Paint and Regular? Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.
Oscar


vwbugvwbug
Gel coat is not paint. It is a colored resin. That is to say that the color is part of the fiberglass. You can repair chips and holes easily by appling fresh gellcoat, however, very few can paint a patched area and blend the paint in where it repair is not noticeable. Gelcoat ages faster than most paints as well, so even the most skilled painters know that the repaired area will show soon. With gelcoated cars it paint it all or nothing.


Ben
WOLFGANGWOLFGANG'89 CMC FWB, FL Supporting Member
You can patch with colored gel coat though vice repainting the entire vehicle. This would work best on the snap holes and possibly the mirror holes. Boat repair places do it all the time. Check out this Evercoat color gelcoat repair kit -

http://www.apsltd.com/Tree/d3000/e2148.asp

For the dash I'd either paint it or cover it with vinyl or tooled aluminum.

p.s. silver may not be a color offered though!
FM Former Member
Keep in mind mirrors were a dealer installed option on real speedsters,
so there isn't a correct place to put them. I think most of the aero
mirrors end up on the fenders because the can't adjust properly to see behind the driver from the door. You could also substitute with a
Durant, Ray Dot, Ponto-Stabil or Talbot.
WOLFGANGWOLFGANG'89 CMC FWB, FL Supporting Member
All CMC and suspect all FF were factory color gel coated. They only came in following colors: beige/dove gray/white/primrose yellow/black/red/dark green/brown and burgundy so that's a good start. Gel coat is thick - better than thickness of a (up to) a nickel or quarter. It does chip at edges easily. You should be able to tell where the cuts outs were made or holes drilled.
FM Former Member
I guess this is good news? I jut got back from Vintage Speedsters, after Kirk inspected the paint he came to the conclusion that it is regular paint. I guess this makes it easier for any body shop to work on it.

Thank you all for all your imput as it always greatly appreciated.
Oscar
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