Fiberglass & paint-Does it Mix well

[PhilBarone]

I had a phone conversation the other day with someone I was interviewing about having my Impala rebuilt and told him that I wanted to replace a lot of the body with fiberglass. The fenders, bumpers, hood and trunk and he said that after a while that the paint would breakdown and it wouldn't look as good over time as steel. Is there much truth is this? On one hand I was relieved that I would't have to spend the money but on the other I really wanted to lighten the car up because I'm spending a ton of money on the motor and want to get as much out of it as possible. Thank you, Phil

 

[Tom Kochtanek]

My opinion

I don't know much about the properties of aftermarket fiberglass parts and their ability to hold paint over time, but I do have some experience with older factory fiberglass, specifically Corvette stuff. Ten or so years ago I did a frame on resto of my 1963 Corvette, started with dismantling and media blasting all the original paint and the one repaint. Went down to the bare fiberglass, which has a "gel coat" over it. Had to redo the gel coat in certain areas. Did the paint in base coat/clear coat(s) and over time a few stress cracks have appeared, which is common. The occur in areas that undergo stretch and twisting as you drive the car. Not too bad, a half inch here, an inch there. Gives her a bit of a personality .

Not sure if aftermarket parts will do that, especially bolt on parts like fenders and hoods that more or less "float" on the frame.

If you want to lighten something up, fiberglass is one way to do it, and in a decade or two you might want to repaint her anyway...

Perhaps others have opinions and experiences to add to this.

Good luck!

TomK