JeffP1167
Well-known member
I want to get my 90 vette in the garage for shade to work on it. So I was wondering if my 82 would be fine outside in the heat and sun completely stripped.
will bare fiberglass be fine in the sun for extended periods?
- Thread starter JeffP1167
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GT6Steve
Well-known member
NO!.............
JeffP1167
Well-known member
What happens to it? With a car cover it should be fine though right?
GT6Steve
Well-known member
The UV breaks down the binder and it starts to flake out. I believe it's good under the gelcoat however.
And a good carcover should protect it.
Mind you, I'm in the Mojave desert and our UV is a bit more intense and longer lasting than most places.
And a good carcover should protect it.
Mind you, I'm in the Mojave desert and our UV is a bit more intense and longer lasting than most places.
JeffP1167
Well-known member
was never a gel coat
MYBAD79
Moderator
The '82 has SMC panels, the last coating before you hit the white/grey SMC is brown... that's what I think is the factory primer or gelcoat... if that's wrong please someone correct me... when I stripped my '79 I removed the red crappy paint, the cheap primer and then the original black paint... under the black paint was redish/browinish primer and then the brown coating that you see on these photos:
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If you stripped further than this brown coat then I'd seal it with epoxy - PPG DP40 is about the best you can buy.... but I think you have to topcoat even that stuff with some standard urethane primer because epoxy is not UV resistant as far as I know....
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If you stripped further than this brown coat then I'd seal it with epoxy - PPG DP40 is about the best you can buy.... but I think you have to topcoat even that stuff with some standard urethane primer because epoxy is not UV resistant as far as I know....
JeffP1167
Well-known member
this is how it is
MYBAD79
Moderator
looks like bare SMC to me.... under a car cover it'll most likely be fine.... if is was my car, I'd spray epoxy and primer just to be safe.....
JeffP1167
Well-known member
Yes it has been heat stripped to bare.
clutchdust
Millionaire Playboy
Well then I'm screwed. Mine has been bare FG for the last year.
The brown layer is the factory lacquer primer.
Gel-coat is something completely different and was not applied by the factory on C3s. Many aftermarket panels are gelcoated.
Bare 'glass will be ok for a while in direct sunlight. It's not good for it, and certainly not recommended, but it will take time to get damaged.
Still, If it will be outside for a year I'd shoot some primer on it first.
Gel-coat is something completely different and was not applied by the factory on C3s. Many aftermarket panels are gelcoated.
Bare 'glass will be ok for a while in direct sunlight. It's not good for it, and certainly not recommended, but it will take time to get damaged.
Still, If it will be outside for a year I'd shoot some primer on it first.
J. Abbott
Well-known member
The cars were never gel coated. But in the case of the 82 they are completely smc panels which is not fiberglass. It is a plastic resin filled mat basically. I still would not leave it out in direct sunlight for an extended period of time. it will not look hairy like say a 66 sitting outside, but it will start to break down the panels. When you go back to paint you need to start with a good epoxy coat on it, this way the paint will never bubble or any work that done will not bleed through, unless you used fiberglass to make those repair. After I strip a car i will sit the car out in the sun to help pull any contaminants from the glass. It could take several days but that is not long enough to do any damage.
Justin
Justin
