Twybil wrote:
"My eyes hurt at the typical soft joints on GFRC cornices."

I have sympathy pains with you.  There is no way that sealant joints every 4-5
feet look anything like sheetmetal.  Not long ago we got bullied by a client/CM
collaboration into using fiberglass for decorative pediments, cornices and
applied ornament in place of original pressed metal.  Part of the problem was
not being able to find a specialty contractor willing and able to reproduce
large scale sheetmetal ornament in kind, within (of course) a tight budget and
timeframe.  We recommended they try W.F. Norman.  But the CM kept insisting that
FG would be much cheaper and faster, and away they went.

Can anyone out there recommend some other good custom sheetmetal fabricators?

And, yes, the FG manufacturer does make the polyester gel coat "UV stable,"
though the literature doesn't seem to discuss anticipated service life, just a
12-month warranty.

It may not be a fair question to ask whether FG or sheetmetal will survive
longer, as FG has only been in existence for about 50 years.  How much of it has
been continuously exposed to the weather that long?  Without maintenance?

Bruce Popkin