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Has anyone had any problems with Corvette Image fiberglass panels? I seem to recall a thread a year or so ago.
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YES *NM*
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Re: Corvette Image mid year fiberglass
I am not sure what the problem was but I believe that because of the issues they started recommending jellcoat. Some of the problem might have been related to how green the panels were. I have ordered panels from them and felt they were still sticky? Let them sit long enough and it seems to go away. Shimmershines sells pannels also (not sure on spelling) and not sure if they are better or not. Ecklers might make there own panels. I am not sure about that. I think if you give the car a lot of time to air out and prep well you will have good results. I you wash the car with water, make sure you sit it out in the sun for a while to get it out of the fiberglass. Just my opinion. If you look around you might find some NOS out there. TerryComment
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Re: Corvette Image mid year fiberglass
Rick,
There have been problems with ALL the manufacturers of fiberglass panels from time to time. Most of the problems can be traced to the body shop not following the manufacturers recommendations on prep for the panels. Corvette Image states that you should use polyster based material on their panels before anything else is applied. I follow those recommendations on all match molded fiberglass panels and have no problems.
Corvette Image and Sermersheim are the ONLY ones that make exact reproductions of the original panels including the original colored fiberglass. They are polyster resin fiberglass and should be treated as such.
Regards,
JRComment
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Re: Corvette Image mid year fiberglass
I agree. I think there are so many places a person can trip up when applying paint to fiberglass. It is really hard to trace the problem back to the manufacture of the panel. Once the panel is fully cured/stable you stick to a system of paint application and use a lot of common sence. I don't think it is wise to wash a bare fiberglass car one day and put primer on it the next day. I think you need to pay attention to the manufactures recommedations to apply the multiple layers of paint so that you get the adhesion between the layers. Some layers have a limit on the amount of time that can pass before the next layer goes on or you won't get proper adhesion. I am not an expert. I think it is best to find a painter that paint corvettes on a regular basis and has been in business for a good number of years. They are out there and usually eager to do the work if you pay for it. The one's I have talked to don't cut corners and are eager to talk about their methods of application. Later, TerryComment
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Re: Corvette Image mid year fiberglass
A few years ago, I got some front panels from Eckler's who was getting them from Corvette Image, I think. The pieces I got were the long side bonding strips. They had a plastic look to them, and in my opinion, didn't look like original except in shape.
The plastic look was kind of like a waxy look, I suppose. I don't know if they could have been lightly sanded or washed down with lacquer thinner or something to flatten or dull the look to be more like the original or not. In my case, I returned them and found NOS, which was more luck than anything.
Compared to originals, I think they matched in shape and function. I just didn't like the look. But today, there isn't much choice. Even then, several told me I was lucky to get the reproduction items and live with them.
Quality-wise, I think they were good.Comment
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Re: Corvette Image mid year fiberglass
Terry,
I think you might really enjoy talking with Bob Zimmerman (streach) about paint/body work. He's been doing Corvettes for 30 years that I know of and probably knows more about the subject than anyone I know. (63-67 at least) His shop is in Naperville but I don't remember the name.
You mentioned "not washing bare fiberglass before 1st prime". I did exactly that once and for the next several years, little circles that were water spots, or lime rings in the glass, kept working their way up through the primer, all the way to the top coat. I learned the hard way.Comment
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Re: Corvette Image mid year fiberglass
Hears another one for you. When applying paint, some painters like to control the paint by faning it with air (ie. sprayed the paint too wet in an area and faning with air to prevent the development of a run). That is a No NO accorting to many manufactures. For proper adhesion, it needs to do it own thing and sit there.
I do like talking to paint people on corvette's. Trying to get them to change there ways is next to impossible. Once they find something that works for them they stick to it. If you ask them to do it your way they won't guarantee the work. Many won't guarantee the work for than a couple years.
Yup, I probably would like to talk to him.
Later, TerryComment
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Re: Corvette Image mid year fiberglass
Thanks for the information. Three years ago we replaced a number of panels (8)on my 67 coupe with Corvette Image panels. After three summers these panels only have developed tiny bubbles in the paint. I should have paid more attention to what the body shop was doing and what materials were used. Now I'm going to have to have the whole car repainted. Can I get some advice on exactly what procedures I should tell the body/paint guys to follow and what products to use/avoid. Thanks for the help.Comment
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Re: Corvette Image mid year fiberglass
After years of sitting around, bare fiberglass will gray a bit. Original stuff had less resin in my opinion because of the machine that pressed them out actually used some serious force to do it as I recall. I think it used heat also to speed the process. I am almost certain they are not using original molds and techniques to press the glass. So, I believe they are rich in resin.
Original bonding strips were lightly sand blasted and that will gray them also. All for now. TerryComment
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Re: Corvette Image mid year fiberglass
------Mike, What else would it be but "Classic Motors". And you are correct, its in Naperville, Illinois.........Bill SComment
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Re: Corvette Image mid year fiberglass
Yep, I should have remembered that it was called Classic Motors. I also forgot to add the fact that it was in Illinois. It was about 2:00 AM when I posted and the brain had gone to sleep hours earlier. Thanks Bill.Comment
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Been there, done that.....
.... and have a lot less money in my pocket to prove it. Corvette Image recommends that the panels are gelcoated before priming, and with good reason. Gelcoating seals the panel to prevent things (like release agent) from one day showing up in your paint job. My "body man" who was supposedly a corvette "expert" refused to gelcoat and I wound up with lots of little oily deposits showing up in the paint. You don't even want to know how he "fixed" it. Anyway, now C.I. pre-gelcoats the painted surfaces, but good body men still re-gel after installation to avoid any of the aforementioned problems. They make a good product, but their instructions do need to be followed.
BKComment
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Re: Corvette Image mid year fiberglass
Rick:
As far as quality, fit, and appearance of the visible (underside) areas, Corvette Image panels are closer to the originals than Sermersheim's, who also makes a great product. The difference is that S.... gelcoats his pieces, on BOTH sides in order to provide a bulletproof moisture barrier. Image, until three years ago was not gelcoating theirs, at all, just like the originals. Beginning three years ago, they began gelcoating their panels on the painted surface only, while leaving the underside naked, as original.
As mentioned in a post above, original panels were molded under extreme pressure, which made for a denser, more glass rich panel. Todays reproductions are not manufactured with the same process, are not as dense, and REQUIRE A BARRIER AGAINST MOISTURE. Even with such a barrier, your new panels are not as resistant to moisture as originals, TRUST ME ON THIS ONE. If your car is exposed to excess humidity which condenses on the body, and you cover your car, this moisture WILL permeate the panels FROM THE UNDERSIDE, and eventually migrate to the surface and blister your paint.
Here is what I suggest when using non gelcoated (old)Image panels:
1. Follow the manufacturers directions by applying AT LEAST 20 mils of polyester gelcoat before priming. To be safe, apply 30 mils.
2. If your garage is damp, DO NOT KEEP YOUR CAR COVERED, and use fans to circulate the air.
3. If your car gets moisture on it, then drive it until the moisture evaporates.
In my case, exactly one month after completion of a three year body off project, the paint blistered on THE AFTERMARKET PANELS ONLY!! Because of this fact, I had to conclude that the paint application process was not to blame. I had the car painted a second time, last year, after this heartbraking experience, only this time with the body on the chassis. The painter did a fantastic job protecting everything, except that I had it rough, having to remove all of the dust from everywhere. This time the painter went heavy on the gelcoat. Over the gelcoat he applied epoxy primer, sealer, urethane BC/CC. The paint is still flawless, so the above rules work for me.
JoeComment
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Re: Corvette Image mid year fiberglass
A nearby restorer had similar tiny bubbling of the paint only on the Corvette Image panels. He's done 100's of Corvettes and this was the only time. The account he got from them is somewhere along the way one of their suppliers used silicone, which came into contact with their panels. He was irate, and after a n umber of phone calls, etc. got a new front end (the old one had burned--a fuelie, of course) and some other considerations.Comment
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