Old Composite Plane Appearance

"Charles Talleyrand" wrote ...
I think we all know what old aluminum planes look like. But what do
old composite planes look like? Are they less susceptible to hanger
rash and faded paint?

Can't point to any generic difference. It comes down to maintenance I'd say.
I fly a 1981 Grob motorglider and its white surface shines almost as new,
especially when polished.

The paint has faded appreciably more, and on the canopy plexiglass the age
shows. But that affects all airplanes.

Some hangar rash, like small scratches, can easily be repaired with gelcoat
and sanded + polished to become invisible.
More difficult are small hairline cracks in the gelcoat that may occur, for
example at cutouts with too small corner radius. Not any safety issue, but
tend to return if just repaired with gelcoat. I guess on newer designs the
designers have learned to avoid such pitfalls. Also nowadays gelcoat is more
seldom used, as paint is preferred.