Should I clearcoat my car?

My car is rather old and I am going to have to fix some spider web cracks before I paint it. I was wondering what I should do in terms of clear coat. If I skip clear coat and just paint it black then if I have another spider web show up it will be an easy fix but if I clear coat it I know it will be a lot more work to blend the paint after I fix it. If the fiberglass is old does it get more brittle?

If you fix spider cracks properly - they won't come back. Anything you mount should have good size fender washers behind it to spread the load. Shubbie used West Marine epoxie products to fix cracks in his MG TD some years ago and still looks perfect. Key is prep work in tracing all the gel coat cracks with a dremel grinder and then filling. Clear coat gives a more modern wet look - some don't want that on a vintage car. At least after 30 years your fiberglass is fully cured - so shrinking and warping are done with. CMCs have thick fiberglass and bodies are stable once put together (my CMC stress cracks came delivered from the factory!).

Mat,

If your current paint is single stage, then use single. If your current paint is two-stage (base coat plus clear) then use that.

Two stage is more expensive in general. Both can provide great shine but the clear coat is usually easier for a home builder painting in a less than ideal circumstance to have a high shine. You can put quite a bit of clear on, and cut it down to clear up the bugs, dust and drips without distoring the base color at all.

The cracks? Fix them right and they are gone.

angela

Assume you still have the original CMC color gel coat finish?

Windex and comet has worked well for me!

Dave. Check your email and Spam folder. I sent a couple of messages.
Troy