Driving in Gelcoat question

[Mark Eaton]

I recently ground down the parting lines on my MK4 using 36 grit. I have decided to drive the car in gel coat for a while before completing body and paint work. I am wondering if the body is ok to drive this way or should I put some layers of Rage Gold or Slick Sand type product followed by an epoxy sealer over these lines which I have ground down?


https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=119115&d=1576645892

Thanks,

Mark

[rich grsc]

I drove mine for over 2 yrs after cutting down the mold release lines. I did nothing and all was fine.

[DadofThree]

Hey there Mark,
As mentioned in the PM, you can drive it like that. Once I sanded the entire body on my build, I was committed all the way to epoxy sealer step.

Note: I saw a car at the London Cobra Show who filled his seam lines with the red gel coat to hide the obvious lines. I think he somehow obtained from FFR; said it was gelcoat from the 818, but maybe you can purchase some to match. Anyway, I could barely tell where the seams were and it looked great!
See ya out there!
Dave

[grluisi150]

Hey there Mark,
As mentioned in the PM, you can drive it like that. Once I sanded the entire body on my build, I was committed all the way to epoxy sealer step.

Note: I saw a car at the London Cobra Show who filled his seam lines with the red gel coat to hide the obvious lines. I think he somehow obtained from FFR; said it was gelcoat from the 818, but maybe you can purchase some to match. Anyway, I could barely tell where the seams were and it looked great!
See ya out there!
Dave

That was probably my car. I little gelcoat and a buffer and it looks good from 5 feet. I only used about 10% of the kit. I you would like some of the paste and gelcoat PM me.

Gary
119193

[chmhasy]

This youtube channel provide great information about gel-coat, and fiber glass. I am running my car in gel-coat now and I buffed down the seams

This is buffed out gel-coat
119196

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0kDqq-pSzdqFUk3oTaHBuA

[GoDadGo]

Dang Gents,

Maybe I shouldn't paint mine just yet.

https://youtu.be/meBYeI96_A8

It's tempting, but I really need to get finished.

Steve

[chmhasy]

Dang Gents,

Maybe I shouldn't paint mine just yet.

https://youtu.be/meBYeI96_A8

It's tempting, but I really need to get finished.

Steve

Can you register without paint?

[j.miller]

No prob !...da Bat

[GoDadGo]

Can you register without paint?

I live in Louisiana where darn near everything that is fun is 100% legal and if it isn't legal the Po-Po often look the other way.

Open Carry, To Geaux Cups, Bars That Never Close & People Doing Really Stupid Stuff Everywhere, Especially On Bourbon Street.

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

[RAMRobAZ]

Can you register without paint?

I did register mine in Gelcoat. Drove it for a year without touching the seams.

[miller7448]

I plan to drive in Gel coat for at least one season as well. Will likely fill the parting lines with gel coat. Any ideas on color matching? Also I have two rather large voids near the dash. One was cracked the other just a void. Thoughts on best material to fill? I think I should avoid epoxy, but they seem too large for gel coat. Maybe just fiberglass repair resin? Just curious is it common to have voids in this region? Thanks.

119229119230

[BEAR-AvHistory]

To me that looks like shipping damage not a void. Would contact FFR by phone first & follow with some pictures after the phone call.

[chmhasy]

I got my red gelcoat from Merton's in Springfield MA just tell him that you are working with the factory five red gelcoat
he has it.

http://www.mertons.com/index.html

Polynt composites 944RT004-FP RED

[miller7448]

"To me that looks like shipping damage not a void. Would contact FFR by phone first & follow with some pictures after the phone call."


The second pic is upside down for some reason but you can see that the fiberglass does not even touch the gelcoat. Not complaining. Should not be hard to fix. The first pic was a hairline crack. I ground out the crack to prepare to fix and found the void under it. Fiberglass was missing under the crack, just gelcoat. I ground far enough until there was fiberglass under the gelcoat. Will order Red from Mertins, thanks.

[Jeff Kleiner]

... Just curious is it common to have voids in this region?

Unfortunately it has become rather common lately. :(

Jeff

[AC Bill]

After sanding the parting lines on my MK3.1, I hit them with a thin coat of paint.. Used a spray bomb paint that matched the black. It looked better then the sanding marks, and also sealed them. Drove it like that for years, before getting it painted. No issues for the painter whatsoever.

[GoDadGo]

119229119230

Mr. Miller,

You can either grind them out and repair with fiberglass chop strand mat and resin, vinylester if you can get it, or an easier less messy solution would be to use Evercoat's Fibertech Filler which is a polyester resin based material designed for exactly this type of issue. They have other fiber reinforced fillers, but the Fibertech seems to be the most versatile in my opinion.

Here is their video of Evercoat's most popular fiber reinforced fillers:

https://youtu.be/JwAErvc2tN4

Hope This Helps!

Steve

NOTE: Your Issue Is Likely Poor Workmanship By Their Fiberglass Shop Which Frustrates The Heck Out Of Me Because I Once Built Fiberglass Boats!