Gel coat fade

[AlexCim]

I tried using the search, but honestly the search on this forum is well below... useable :P

Anyway, just wondering what peoples experience with the gel coat fading (or going cloudy) is? I was planning on spraying my car for this reason, I don't want it to start to fade/cloud after only 1 year.

I am from Australia. The sun is pretty wild here. My car is black. I plan on doing quite a few KM (at least 10,000km) a year in my car.

Cheers!

[Storer]

My car is nearly 12 years old and was black before my respray silver recently. Apart from the crazing and other accidental damage/scratches the gel coat looked very good. I could not see any fade and it had spent some of it's life parked outside.

Gelcoat fade is more of a problem with red cars I believe.

Paul

[LuckyP]

My black car started to go ever so slightly brown after 15,000 miles and a garaged life.

Dunno

[T5GRF]

I think the red gel coat is the worst for fade. My 3 year old Canam when I owned it was fading badly.

I am sure over time depending on how the car has been stored and looked after all gel coat colours will fade and discolour to a degree.

[02PRUV]

Look after it and keep it waxed up it should last a long time before signs of fading.

[andygtt]

despite what I was told red fades a lot, but the more its used in sunlight the worse it will be... we left a damaged red clip outside and it was almost white a year later.

I have seen signs of fading in other colours but it doesnt seem to be anything like as bad with most still looking great after 10years

So if your worried about fade don't buy red.

[GTR-TT]

On my red GTR I painted the inside of the fiberglass with black top coat (gelcoat with wax in it). After a few years the black from the inside started to shine thru to the outside. It looked like it does when you try to clean a dirty car with just a wet towel and then let it dry in the sun. I had to paint the car

[AlexCim]

I am most concerned about it going cloudy/milky. I doubt the black can fade too far, but the clear can go. I really want to paint the car, but I like the idea of gel coat.

Alan - What do you mean wax it up? How do you wax it? (I've never owned a fibreglass car or boat)

[Rusti Evo]

LuckyP said:

My black car started to go ever so slightly brown after 15,000 miles and a garaged life.

Dunno

At Goodwood several folk said - Ooh your car isn't black is it......it's a sort of... dark brown colour - how interesting.



Being courteous Southerners nobody said whether "interesting" was knackered black or a classy deep brown..............

[k wright]

Is it possible that the clear outer layer is oxidizing and needs a polish? I've seen this work very well on boats.

[Mr Pid]

For my GTR I needed to do some minor 'repairs' to the gel coat during the rebuild. It is Black and the gel coat I got from Ultima matched absolutely perfectly ...... 5 years after the original build.

[02PRUV]

AlexCim said:

I am most concerned about it going cloudy/milky. I doubt the black can fade too far, but the clear can go. I really want to paint the car, but I like the idea of gel coat.

Alan - What do you mean wax it up? How do you wax it? (I've never owned a fibreglass car or boat)

Waxing your painted car or or fibreglass car/boat regularly is the same process just different products to suit the application. You will protect it from the weather and from UV.

[LuckyP]

Mr Pid said:

For my GTR I needed to do some minor 'repairs' to the gel coat during the rebuild. It is Black and the gel coat I got from Ultima matched absolutely perfectly ...... 5 years after the original build.

They probably reached for the bottle marked "Black - 5 years"

He-he :snort:

[chucknorris]

Most gel coats have additives to make them reasonably uv stable and so shouldn't fade and I believe the factory uses a high quality gel coat so this should definitely be the case for all the Ultima colours Except Red! This is because and It is quite well known ( or maybe it isn't ) that most red paints/gel coats are not uv stable, I'm not entirely sure why but I'm led to believe it's because the pigment that's used to create the colour red isn't and cannot be made uv stable. This is why you will see older red cars looking more like a shade of pink! As an example, even older red BMW's are subject to this problem and BMW have had one of the best paint processes for many years and if they can't stop it then I doubt anyone can.
So...If you want a gel coat finish then go for it, I don't see why it shouldn't last for many many years, and if the body work does dull down over time, then gel coat is far easier to bring back to a good shine than a painted finish, it just requires a good cutting paste and a lot of elbow grease. As for the starring problem, it is possible to rub it back and apply a layer of gel and then rub and polish it all up to blend in with the existing gel coat, although it's not easy and should really be left to a professional.
My last point is this, although I've not finished building my Ultima, I was struggling with the question of whether to paint it or not, now that I've nearly finish prefitting the bodywork, I've not only realised how good the gel finish is but also how easy it would be to have the body sprayed later on should I fancy a change...so the gel coat finish stays and is perfect for now ALSO it saves me the added cost of painting...at least for now!

Edited by chucknorris on Tuesday 25th October 23:17

[Storer]

There is a lot of work required to ready the car for paint if you want to change the colour. Probably less if retaining the original colour.


Paul

[AlexCim]

How often would you wax up?

Ahh well, worst case scenario is the gel coat goes south and then it's either time for a vinyl wrap or spray then. Could imagine it being a prick doing a spray then though if it's not any except an exterior spray.

[ezakimak]

Alex, Was yours the lime green one ?

[Storer]

His car is black - see original post.

Paul

[Fat Albert]

chucknorris said:

Except Red! This is because and It is quite well known ( or maybe it isn't ) that most red paints/gel coats are not uv stable, I'm not entirely sure why but I'm led to believe it's because the pigment that's used to create the colour red isn't and cannot be made uv stable. This is why you will see older red cars looking more like a shade of pink! As an example, even older red BMW's are subject to this problem and BMW have had one of the best paint processes for many years and if they can't stop it then I doubt anyone can.

Agree, never having a red porker again!
Takes about 3 hours to turn mine from Pink to Red

[Storer]

I wonder if those with black car's have tried using a cutting compound and then polishing to get rid of the "browning".

Another thought. Have those with gel colour change issues had strong smell of fuel when the car is parked in the garage? Could this be a cause as not every car seems to be affected!


Paul