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Sat Nov 18, 2006 7:15 pm

Hey guys, I was talking to some guys about the buggy im looking at, and one of the previous owners sanded off all the gelcoat so that all is left more or less is the fiberglass body. they were telling me that i was going to have to recoat the body with a gelcoat and then paint, is this true? what type of process will i have to take to have this thing painted? if it makes a difference, the temps here vary throughout the year from -45degrees all the way up to +40degrees celcius

Thanks

Sat Nov 18, 2006 7:24 pm

There is alot of good information here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=203383

He has a rough gelcoat, and wants to know what to do.

I have a different situation where paint has been scraped away from my gelcoat, so I plan on stripping the paint with a marine stripper formulated to leave the gelcoat intact and will have to repaint the hood (or buy a Manx one since it is one).

I know a few places here in FL that do gelcoating, but am unsure on how involved it is. [/url]

Sat Nov 18, 2006 7:37 pm

Hi fill polyester primer and shoot some new paint.

Sat Nov 18, 2006 8:18 pm

I noticed that link, but all the info everyone seems to be giving is just buy a new body, which i am not interested in as a friend has just about all the materials i need to repaint, and is willing to help out with everything. You can see pictures of the buggy here http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2099435642 you can see whats left of the old coat. i was just wondering if the paint applied over top of the fiberglass will crack if the body shifts, expands and contracts between the different weather or out in the sun unless i put a new gelcoat on and then paint?

Sat Nov 18, 2006 8:49 pm

Beetle_1970 wrote: i was just wondering if the paint applied over top of the fiberglass will crack if the body shifts, expands and contracts between the different weather or out in the sun unless i put a new gelcoat on and then paint?

Yes. Anything less will be short lived. I've been a profesional bodyman for 35 years and worked at a Corvette shop for 5 of them.

Mon Nov 20, 2006 7:19 am

I used a Sherman Williams polyester high fill primer and a single stage viper red paint on this car in 2001. The newest owner recently emailed me on with some questions on the car and said the paint looks great still. I am no pro so take this as only the advice of an amatuer.

If your really concerned about the flexing they make an additive that you can add. It's used for the urethane bumpers and such. The first couple of cars I did I used it, but the guy at the store kept trying to talk me out of it so I stopped using it. He said the shine wasbetter if you didn't use it.