Viynlester

[samastonlongley]

Hi Guys,

I know this has been covered before but aside checking the build sheet how do you know if you have a Viynlester bodied car. I read on a previous forum that the only way to tell was to rub through the layers. I’ve been carrying out some repairs to my car and it got my curious. Below the top layer of resin there’s seems to be this (see pictures) perforated material almost looks like a foam. Is this how all standard bodied cars are or is this a sign of viynlester? I’ve also noticed my bonnet to be very very flimsy and I’ve heard this is also potentially a sign of a vinylester. I’ve attached some pictures below. What do we think?

[RFC1]

I will quote "plasticmans" reply from an older thread.......

"vinylester refers to the resin not the fibreglass reinforcement which is a higher quality and stronger generally than polyester . It is also more expensive so that could well be a factor in the price of a repair . When repairing or joining these panels most repairers would probably use polyester resin and are unlikely to use the same format of fibreglass due to ease of use."

[GazzaM100]

I heard it was lighter due to the fact it used less layers of fibreglass while still being as strong

Edited by GazzaM100 on Saturday 7th April 16:24

[samastonlongley]

Hmmm! Thanks for the info guys, how do we know then? If at all, weather a car has the viynlester body or not? By the sounds of it your saying you can’t tell by looking at the car with or without paint over the material.

Thanks
Sam

[petrolburners]

I have a T350t Red Rose Lightweight and despite 'Vinylester lightweight body' showing on the build sheet, when buying the car from str8six I was told to take this "with a pinch of salt" as it really can't be guaranteed anything left the factory with what it was meant to. I shouldn't assume its definitely a RRLW considering only 5 or 6 were apparently made.

Furthermore, I'm told there's very little in appearance to differentiate a standard body from a vinylester body. If you see a lot of them, apparently the bonnet feels lighter and flimsier but that's about it. As someone mentioned, the same glass is used, just a different resin (and less of it).

A few years into ownership the car went to Surface & Design (ex TVR bodyshop) for a nose cone repair and respray. To end the speculation once and for all, S&D sent a tiny sample of the original body to Scott Bader for analysis. A spectroscopy was sent back, confirming that the resin used was VE679 (which is Vinylester).

Hope that helps.

[RFC1]

Very interesting reply thanks. Hopefully I will be in a position to offer more to this discussion soon!

[samastonlongley]

Hmmm very interesting! My bonnet seems to be made of tissue paper but then I haven’t experienced a T350 before so they could all be like that! Interesting discussion though! Many thanks