Fading Gelcoat

[Rich]

My red convertible came resplendent in red gelcoat which was showing the odd swirl when I picked it up last year, it's gradually become worse while it's been sat outside.

I understand this is caused by the oxidation of the pigments used in 90's paint, I've owned the odd pink Sierra in the past.... I'm advised that buffing it with G3 paste should help, anyone been down this route?

I realise that a respray is the long term solution, but after all the work I've done on the car that's not a road I want to be travelling down this year.

Rich

[Hans Efde]

This was an item on the previous forum and printed in tgt56:
QTE

I am just about to start re-building my Midas Bronze. It has stood outside for a number of years and the body colour (white) has faded and become matt in appearance. Any ideas for restoring it to something like the original, apart from painting it?
Regards,

--------------------------------

the best way to restore the gell coat is to flat it down whith 600 wet an dry then 1200 wet an dry then polish whith g3 cutting polish this is how it was done in the corby factory i have just done my mk2 and it has came out lovely
barry

---------------------------------

I'd be tempted to just T-cut it first and see how it comes out, then of course give it a polish.
Stuart.

---------------------------------

I thought it was bad to use anything containing ammonia on gelcoat, that has always been the train of thought on the Quantum forum. I did a bit of my gold coupe that had been outside for 7 years with G3 and an electric polisher and it came up OK, plus it didn’t fade again after a couple of weeks, so I think I would try the G3 first with a polisher, you can always resort to wet and dry after if it doesn’t work.
Russell

----------------------------------

Is this G3 stuff normal polishing compound of esspecially for gel coats? I have tried "commandant" polishing agent on my gelcoat to get rid of discoloured stains due to battery acid spillage. But the gelcoat is much harder than paint and I just couldn't get through. Also I have failed this way
getting a shiny finish on my gelcoat. It is not faded, but just looks like a plastic car. If there are special cutting agents for gelcoats, can anyone give me details of the product needed?
Cheers, Hans

----------------------------

Hans, it is what bodyshops use to cut back normal 2 pack paint, it is made by Farecla, it comes in various grades, right down to one to remove swirl marks, it is good stuff.
Russell

-----------------------------

Hi,
Does this work for the fine crazing that has got alot worse on my MkII? Just taken the cover off it today after a year or so and the gel coat is looking bad on the wings and roof. Heart braking afternoon.
It used to look like this :
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/darren.goode2
At a bit of a loss what to do with it at present. Ill health causing lack of use.
Any suggestions great fully received.
Darren

--------------------------------

I would suggest trying T-cut or Farecla G3 on a small area first to see how well it comes up. If that isn't good enough, then either try a coarser cutting compound such as Farecla G6 or 1200 grit Wet and dry, again on a small area and then polish up with G3.
If that still isn't good enough then try 800 grit Wet and dry, followed by 1200 then G3. The next step would be to try 600 grit etc.

If you need to do multiple experiments, then do them on different sections to avoid taking away too much gel-coat in one go. If you
cut back too much you will end up having to respray.

Finally, when you have got the gelcoat evenly polished up, finish off with a good coat, or two, of a protective sealer such as
Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection, or a carnuaba wax such as Meguiars.
These are purely protective finishes that include UV filters to stop the colour bleaching and will keep out moisture, which causes micro-crazing.
The waxes included in polishes, such as Autoglym's Super Resin
Polish, only provide short term protection.
Regards,
Alistair Courtney

-----------------------------

Ive noticed there are a number of products designed for fibreglass
boats to revive the gelcoat. Some have 2-3 chemicals that u apply in
sequence supposed to remove chalking and then bring back the gloss. I
havent tried these products but their claims sound good. Has anyone
tried these marine related items for fibreglass??
thx, jim


UNQTE

[Rich]

Thank you Hans, that just about covers it all!

I've got a buffer, just need to find some G3.....

Rich

[rocketron]

I'm a marine engineer and the yard works on all sorts of gelcoat finishes. We only use Farecla G3 and G6 to restore shine, though we have used Autosmart Platinum polish which gives very good results: it's like "add-on shine" rather than smoothing to a shine, but the results are still excellent.
My GTM Midas is in white gelcoat but now it has flashes/bands of yellow throughout: I gather it is a reaction in the pigment within the gelcoat.
Does anyone else have any experience of this? Has anybody managed to polish this out?

Regards, Ron

[M.Ouvinen]

My car has originally been beige/yellowish, and it's been sprayed white at some stage. Poorly. The white paint is chipping of and peeling off the grey primer. I'd be tempted to strip it back to the beige gelcoat, but I guess the gelcoat would be quite bad by now. So my best option might be a respray, but I still have to strip at least the white coat off...

Well, that can wait. First I need to get the rear suspension and the engine sorted out.

[Rich]

My car has originally been beige/yellowish, and it's been sprayed white at some stage. Poorly. The white paint is chipping of and peeling off the grey primer. I'd be tempted to strip it back to the beige gelcoat, but I guess the gelcoat would be quite bad by now. So my best option might be a respray, but I still have to strip at least the white coat off...

Well, that can wait. First I need to get the rear suspension and the engine sorted out.

Mmmm, beige, surely that would be 'Champagne' or 'Harvest Glow' or some such?

[Hans Efde]

The first Midasses could be ordered in 4 colors: white, red, light blue and beige. There is a color chart in the first brochure, which you can find on the Archive CD (which can be found on Colin Spencers website as a download).

[Stuart]

I've got a widearch mk2 in Beige too, I think the colour really suits it, early eighties kind of colour

[Rich]

I've got a widearch mk2 in Beige too, I think the colour really suits it, early eighties kind of colour

Reminds me of Marinas and Triumph Acclaims.

[Rich]

Update.

I still haven't found a local supplier of G3 but I have done the bonnet with T-Cut on a foam pad running slow on the buffer. There are still obvious changes in the pigmentation but the red colour has been restored with the chalky effect gone and the shine is back, aided by some Meguires polish.

I don't know what the G3 is like, but using the liquid T-Cut is a very messy business and coveralls are a definite must.

Rich