Alright, I'm asking for a lot here, but does anyone have experience in gel coating? not crack repair, the whole deal. I've completely redone my cockpit - ripped out the rotted core, put in a new one. Tore up the benches, reinforced them. Frankly, I've shocked myself at the fantastic job I've done. It's all faired & ready for the finish coat. Now that I'm done patting myself on the back, I realize that the top coating has to be great or all my hard work will be for naught. I'd like to add non-skid to the sole rather than paint it on later. Right now everything is polyester resin and bondo for fairing compound. I have no way to create an anerobic evironment, as some reading has suggested is neccessary, and using wax paper doesn't sound too appealing. Has anyone done such a project? Is standard gel coating the only material option I have? How large an area can I do at one time assuming 65-70 degrees? Any specific tools work best? Any hind-sight suggestions? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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awlgrip
its the only thing I'd consider ...you can brush that stuff on with a good brush and it'll look like a pro sprayed it.
its the only thing I'd consider ...you can brush that stuff on with a good brush and it'll look like a pro sprayed it.
Gelcoat,
Gel coat should be applied to a max of 20mils. Remember that gelcoat is just polyester resin with no wax and no reinforcing. If you apply the top coat heavier that 20mils it will not be reinforced with matt or fabric and will be volnerable to cracking. The area should be preped by wiping with acetone. You can spray it with out much problem by thinning using a max of 10% styrene or 5% acetone. Spray it like you are painting a car.HVLP works best. Then apply PVA water soluble release film material. The PVA is also a spray-on application. This will cover the gel coat so that it will harden and then can be removed by water washing. You can then sand out any imperfections with 220 to 320 sand paper. Then buff out with 600 to heavy rubbing compound. Be careful not to burn through the gelcoat. I know you want a reference... I can't give it to you. This is an accumulation of info from mfg's, articals, and experience. Since it is a big job,my suggestion is to try a small job on say an add on project to practice. hope this helped. r.w.landau
Gel coat should be applied to a max of 20mils. Remember that gelcoat is just polyester resin with no wax and no reinforcing. If you apply the top coat heavier that 20mils it will not be reinforced with matt or fabric and will be volnerable to cracking. The area should be preped by wiping with acetone. You can spray it with out much problem by thinning using a max of 10% styrene or 5% acetone. Spray it like you are painting a car.HVLP works best. Then apply PVA water soluble release film material. The PVA is also a spray-on application. This will cover the gel coat so that it will harden and then can be removed by water washing. You can then sand out any imperfections with 220 to 320 sand paper. Then buff out with 600 to heavy rubbing compound. Be careful not to burn through the gelcoat. I know you want a reference... I can't give it to you. This is an accumulation of info from mfg's, articals, and experience. Since it is a big job,my suggestion is to try a small job on say an add on project to practice. hope this helped. r.w.landau
Done that
Steve I just finished redoing my entire deck...recored using Nidacore and put the original non skid pattern back on top. We laid the new non skid sections up in the shop using the original pattern and gelcoat....I wanted it to look like the original and now it does. Look at the Pearson forum....I have a thread with all sorts of pictures from start to finish.....If you have any questions let me know Greg
Steve I just finished redoing my entire deck...recored using Nidacore and put the original non skid pattern back on top. We laid the new non skid sections up in the shop using the original pattern and gelcoat....I wanted it to look like the original and now it does. Look at the Pearson forum....I have a thread with all sorts of pictures from start to finish.....If you have any questions let me know Greg
Gelcoat is resin???
Don't think so Landau. Gelcoat comes in a can as a runny paste with a special hardener unless I was asleep when I redid my rudder. It doesn't even smell like resin setting up. It does smell like bondo and after checking the cans at the local auto parts store (I'm REAL cheap) I found that they are similar products. So we are all sailing around in unpainted bondo-ed up boats I guess. I have successfully used bondo and paint for gelcoat repairs that where "out of sight" Works great, less costly. But seriously Steve, There are 2 kinds of gelcoat. With and without curing wax. The former will setup just fine but you had better get it right as once it is set up the wax causes the surface to cure. If you have to apply another coat or continue with an overlap you HAVE to grind off the cured layer to get a good bond. The non wax type never sets up fully until you apply the Poly Vinyl Alcohol to it. This is good as you don't have to sand before the next coat and bad as you can't walk on the "tacky" surface. Think bugs crawling in paint and you get the idea. It goes on like thick paint, watch the vertical surfaces for runs, several thin coats is easier than one thick one and burshes are real cheap, any boo-boos can be sanded out just like bondo. In fact my bondo cheese grater makes short work of runs once they are "firm". Once it is "hard" and you have all the surfaces "just like you want for the finished product" you apply the "final hardener" poly vinyl alcohol. The alcohol makes your anerobic (I don't think that is the term but we will use it cause I don't know the right one either) environment for final hardening. NOTE: I have never done textured surfaces just flat ones. I read the following in a sailing magazine several years ago. To get a textured surface you need a mold or a roller. If you have a section of the texture elsewhere on the boat you can use that to make one. Alignment of the texture across molds is a REAL pain so plan ahead to get a mold that fits the surface to avoid having to do it in the first place. It is easier to make 2 molds than to try and line up the patterns using only one mold. I do not remember what they used for the mold or how they got it to not stick to the gelcoat. I'll do an internet search later and get back to the group. The roller technique would seem to be straight forward (what do I know though).
Don't think so Landau. Gelcoat comes in a can as a runny paste with a special hardener unless I was asleep when I redid my rudder. It doesn't even smell like resin setting up. It does smell like bondo and after checking the cans at the local auto parts store (I'm REAL cheap) I found that they are similar products. So we are all sailing around in unpainted bondo-ed up boats I guess. I have successfully used bondo and paint for gelcoat repairs that where "out of sight" Works great, less costly. But seriously Steve, There are 2 kinds of gelcoat. With and without curing wax. The former will setup just fine but you had better get it right as once it is set up the wax causes the surface to cure. If you have to apply another coat or continue with an overlap you HAVE to grind off the cured layer to get a good bond. The non wax type never sets up fully until you apply the Poly Vinyl Alcohol to it. This is good as you don't have to sand before the next coat and bad as you can't walk on the "tacky" surface. Think bugs crawling in paint and you get the idea. It goes on like thick paint, watch the vertical surfaces for runs, several thin coats is easier than one thick one and burshes are real cheap, any boo-boos can be sanded out just like bondo. In fact my bondo cheese grater makes short work of runs once they are "firm". Once it is "hard" and you have all the surfaces "just like you want for the finished product" you apply the "final hardener" poly vinyl alcohol. The alcohol makes your anerobic (I don't think that is the term but we will use it cause I don't know the right one either) environment for final hardening. NOTE: I have never done textured surfaces just flat ones. I read the following in a sailing magazine several years ago. To get a textured surface you need a mold or a roller. If you have a section of the texture elsewhere on the boat you can use that to make one. Alignment of the texture across molds is a REAL pain so plan ahead to get a mold that fits the surface to avoid having to do it in the first place. It is easier to make 2 molds than to try and line up the patterns using only one mold. I do not remember what they used for the mold or how they got it to not stick to the gelcoat. I'll do an internet search later and get back to the group. The roller technique would seem to be straight forward (what do I know though).
Bill, I did not say rosin I said resin
which is exactly what you are talking about. Read your container and it probably states that it is polyester resin as is Bondo. And yes you are correct, they all must have a catalyst added to harden. r.w.landau
which is exactly what you are talking about. Read your container and it probably states that it is polyester resin as is Bondo. And yes you are correct, they all must have a catalyst added to harden. r.w.landau
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