Got the following text from Gibbons web site and was wondering if anyone has painted their glass car black and had problems.
"Because fiberglass is a chemical, it does some moving around. We have found that age cure and heat cure are two different things. We suggest, that after installation, parts be set in the hot direct sun for a couple of days. Since weather and time may not always offer us sunshine, we recommend heat curing in a bake-oven. Most body shops have a bake-oven in their painting facilities. They will typically "bake" your fiberglass for you, for a reasonable fee, even if they are not contracted to paint it. The body should be bolted on the frame with doors closed while in the bake oven. After proper curing, your glass is ready for body and paint work. Heat is fiberglass' worst enemy. The darker the color you choose for your paint, the more heat absorption you will have. We strongly discourage the color black."
Thanks Roger

There is alot of truth to that.
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The "New" and Unimproved edcroozer... Charter D.S.R.A. member, WPoC member, Gimmeheadtilimdead member, and general pain in the neck to the needy. Possible daddy of Mr.Willys, Grandson of J.W. and Al Leibmann`s NY connection.

Gibbons Fiberglass is just a short drive from me in Darlington SC. Nascar is there now for the weekend.

Black is a poor choice for a fiberglass car. Black is the hottest in the summer. Some fiberglass cars smell of resin in the heat of the day during the summer months around here in the hot, humid South.

I believe that to be a contributing factor in a large number of fiberglass cars being painted 'ice cream' colors. That and the fact that pastels show less imperfections in bodywork and straightness.


Mine is black as a crow. Has been for over 70 years LOL.


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Same Wife, Same DEUCE Roadster, Same Job for over 20 years. Must be in a rut. AIN'T LIFE GRAND.....

One thing i don't understand. They say they want you to cure it. why don't they do that before they sell it. If they let it sit outside for a coupe day, It's don't cost them any more to make.

I wonder if that's on all bodies from other companies too.
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awsum34

Nothing better than a good friends,good beer and street rods

Yep, it's like that from any company. If it's fiberglass, you gotta give it time to cure. Most companies...believe it or not, don't have all the parts they sell just sitting in a huge warehouse waiting to be shipped. You call them and order the body panel. Then they make the part and ship it. So this is why they always tell you to let it sit out and cure. Ive seen stuff body worked and painted the day after it was taken out of the crate, and it looks great like anything else right after it's done. Then you might see it one day and look close and see fiber patterns, and maybe some small imperfections like sullivent pops, then look at it later and it looks great again. Then you know you need to re-do it. So let'em sit outside for a couple days or more before body work and paint.
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Please, keep restoring those cars to stock... So that someday my grandkids will still know what it feels like to cut one up and build a hot rod!

Seems like the time spent building the car is sufficient to cure the glass.

My 1985 era Wescott 32 roadster body is black - since 93 - spends a lot of time in the San Joaquin valleys 100 degree + temps and no problems other than a body flex crack at the right rear corner of the cockpit.
Perhaps due to the torquey 462" Buick engine.

Interesting part is, the only place there's a paint problem is on the steel hood.
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C9

My 'glass 27 body spent about 4-5 years here in Texas curing in the summer heat and has been flat black now for several years...yeah it soaks up the sun enough to the point that ya have to be careful where ya put yur hand!! So far, there has been no blistering or any other noticable problem..If it gets a ding in the paint, I fix it with a rattle can and rub the area out with a towel after its dry..The best "cleaner" I've found for it is Windex! It gets rid of bird stuff, hand prints, etc..

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Fred P.

seems I have seen a lot of black corvettes ?
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Just because it is written down doesn't make it true

On the subject of Fiberglass and the sun, A glass builder cautioned about using pressurized gas struts on the decklid! since the struts put constant pressure on the decklid when closed, if parked in the sun he said the deck could arch up from the heat.
Dave
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dave

Roger, theres a lot of truth to what they say, it's just not the whole truth. You may want to contact Stephen Lawing at Specialty Auto Works in Knoxville, TN. He builds a good number of glass street rods, he lets them litterally set out in an open field for as much as a year to, "cure" as he puts it, before beginning to work on them. I'm sure this is not what you want to hear but it would be worth your time to contact him, he is a wealth of information on glass cars. www.specialtyauto.com
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Life ain't easy when you're fat and greasy

To add a little bit to the curing time questions, I've read that it's a good idea to have the frame ready to go, bring the body home and bolt it to the frame.

Lots of things can get done with the body on the frame and once the body is settled in and removed make sure to block it adequately to forestall any sagging problems.

One thing that really helps on the roadsters is to use a piece of 1 x 1" x 1/8" aluminum angle and make a spreader for the door.
Cut a pair of 1" angle pieces for both ends of both door spreaders and drill them so they can bolt onto the door hinge bolt holes and the latch bolt holes.
One bolt each end is sufficient.
Set them up while the body is still on the frame.

This stiffens the body up considerably so that moving it
around and storing it won't warp it out of shape.

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C9

C9, those are good suggestions. Taking it one step further, if you're having a fiberglass body built, have it put together when it's on your frame.
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Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/

Gibbons Fiberglass will build the body on your frame. I have a friend who had this done and his car seems to be one of the better fitting 32 glass roadsters I have seen.

A divorce and some other family problems forced the project to to back burner for more than 6 years. It sat in a hot, humid southern warehouse for all that time. To say it cured would be a understatement. It is painted a very,very dark green and has held up well so far.

I believe the keys to it being OK was it was built on the frame it was going to be used on and the aging it went thru.

.
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Same Wife, Same DEUCE Roadster, Same Job for over 20 years. Must be in a rut. AIN'T LIFE GRAND.....

Thanks to all who have contributed. I actually have a Harwood body which has been sitting on the frame for 18 months now in various build stages. I have rolled it out on sunny days to clean the garage. There has never seemed to be any odors from the body in the line of fiberglass. Not sure if the reinforcement with porcelain ceramics is of any benefit. Sure would like to paint it black, but don`t want to have lots of problems. Anyone out there with a Harwood body have any input. Thanks Roger

And-I don't want to step on any toes here but letting them set in a field to cure (unless they are bolted to the frame) is a really bad idea! they will wind up like a pretzel.
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Digger
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DSRA Member, GoodGuys, NHRA, Metalshapers assc.

I threw it away yesterday, now I have to go buy one
Just when you think you have won the Rat Race along come faster rats

I got my Wescott body 6 years ago and when it came time for paint my body guy did bake it for quite awhile in the oven at his shop. The car is REALLY black (RM Diamont)and after about 14000 miles there isn;t a crack to be found anywhere, or any "sinkage". He told me that on glass bodies it's a REALLY good idea to grind out all the panel joints where they join the panels in a "V"and fill them with resin, then sand . He said that if you look at some glass bodied cars in the sun that haven't done this you can see the seams. I know an mine you can't see them but I have noticed on some that you can, so whether that's true or not I don't know but I know it worked on mine, and the body on mine is as good as it was 6 years ago! Interesting comment about gas struts in glass cars tho, when you think about it it makes sense!

I have a Downs '33 Ford coupe body with fenders on a custome made pro-street chassis. I did mount the body onto the frame as soon as possible.......but, the car is and has been painted BLACK and shows no signs of cracking or deformation to any of the body panels. It has been in the sun, rain and cold but it has had no affect on the body or fenders. I would not be concerned about painting a glass car black in the future. I have had this car on the road for 6 years without any body problems as mentioned here.
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RICH

NO CRACKS !!!
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RICH

Got a brain storm last night and flipped through my Harwood catalouge and lo and behold... black finished cars. Guess its not such a problem afterall as stated by many who have contributed to this thread. Black she goes!!