Subaru Brat body panels covered w gelcoat

Joined
Mar 25, 2017
Messages
1
Re: painting over gel coat ??? or not



Ayuh,... As noted,.. You heard Wrong...

Gelcoat is nothing more than a colored Resin,... Just like the resin used for the fiberglass lay-up...

Scuff it Up,+ Paint it....

Thanks for providing this info. While I registered for my boat,
I have come across a different problem which this thread answered for me.
A few months ago, I bought a 1979 Subaru Brat to restore.
I began stripping off the old paint so I could repaint it after repairing the rust spot.
Once I began stripping, I discovered both front fenders were more bondo than sheet steel.
As you can imagine, finding replacement parts, especially Body Panels are difficult to come by.
I came across a man who happens to have 30 SETS of front fenders which fit my Brat.
They are 100% Fiberglass, covered with Gel Coat. Apparently they have been up in his storage garage since 1980.
There are some very small Fiberglass areas that need repair but, I was wondering if I could Paint over them
or if I was going to have to match the new Gel Coat color with the rest of the Truck.

I am very happy to hear I can scruff up and paint when painting the entire truck.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,306
they paint fiberglass every day.

scuff, prime, paint
 

MTboatguy

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Jul 8, 2010
Messages
8,988
Fiberglass is easy to paint, even if it is gel coated, I have done it a lot when I helped my buddy in the RV business.
 
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