Has anybody experience fiberglass "print through" on there bodywork? ( Print through is where you can see or worse feel the fiberglass weave)

I just painted my Phoenix body shell and experience some heavy print through.
The fiberglass is old 15yrs so it should have done all its shrinking and post curing years ago. ?
Was given a full paint job epoxy primer / high build / base / clear and was looking fantastic while in the booth and for the next week in the garage.

But once back on the car and left in the sun for 2 days I noticed print through on some areas mostly the front and rear wheel arch.
It is way to much to buff out so will have to live with it.

But has anybody experience this?

Did you fit lightweight panels? If so this is "normal" weight is saved in the amount of gelcoat/resin, race cars are all about weight saving over looks

Not by choice!!!
I assume the are race weight there was no option at the time of purchase and the layup is very poor and very light....

But why am I getting print through? Nobody can explain why it has happened 😂
From what I read print through happens when the layup cures or shrinks. Not after painting?

My striker shows this up in hot weather, and more so when the car has been left in the sun.
It is due to differing expansion rates between the fibreglass, resin/gelcoat and paint distorting the surface, and is more noticable where the gelcoat is thin.
I also have several repairs on the rear tub that are not visible when cool, but show up in the paint when hot. When i repaired them i used fibreglass tissue to give a uniform structure where the gelcoat was ground off and to stop the repair showing through but it didn't work completely.

Dave

Maybe thinners used on paint affected the resin used on layup..

obfripper ok this makes some sense as it only appeared when placed outside on a very hot day and on the side that was facing the sun. when in the garage for 2 weeks after painting is was perfect.

So does you car look good when it is cold or can you always see the print through?
because the next question why can is still feel it now the weather is cooler and at night. has it stretched the paint somehow?
and can it be fixed?

I have ruled out anything with the paint process at it would have affected all panels the same.



(spoke to a laminator and he would have expected much thicker gelcoat layer then tissue then bi axial cloth or combination mat then csm and finally roving's (woven roving's being the worst for print through) not the thin layer of gelcoat and 2 layers of roving's I seem to have....)

When it is cool the pattern is not visible, going from a cool place to direct sunlight it is clearly visible after 30 mins.
The original panels are all csm construction, and the gelcoat varies from 1mm to 5mm in the areas i have repaired. The thinner gelcoat areas are where the pattern is most visible.
When I repaired the damage on the rear tub, i worked the primer repeatedly (4-5 applications) until no marks were visible, and applied approx 4 coats of 2k gloss black. The print shows through all this paint as well as the original gelcoat, and also shows up on the cycle wings that are still original gel coat finish.

My jk seats are woven roving cloth in construction and the print is always visible on those, however they are lightweight and only have a thin gelcoat which makes it show more.

Dave

It is good to hear that the section where I can only see the weave may improve in colder weather. To be honest the visual weave sections are not that bad only really noticeable when you are looking for it or catch it at the right angle.

But the 2 sections on top of the drivers side wheel arches
I can actual feel the weave and looks terrible from a distance because the rest of the side is shiny with a good reflection.

There is not enough clearcoat to even think about blocking it out.may try heating it with a hot air gun try and flatten it back out.

[Edited on 10/9/18 by ArAKern]