Gelcoat over epoxy

[Bernie]

I made shelves in a locker using West epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth over some plywood. I understand that I cannot now cover this epoxy with gelcoat. Can I put a coating of polyester resin on top of the epoxy and then coat it with gelcoat to make it all look like the original locker finish? I have gelcoat from the factory that is an exact match.Bernie

 

[Bernie]

Added information

The answer I am expecting is no, you can't put polyester resin over epoxy; but I was hoping that there may be a way of placing fibers on the surface of the epoxy or in a polyester resin top coating, or that some type of bonding chemical or paint might might now be available to provide a mechanical bond so that I can then add gelcoat (Boy is that a long, run-on sentence). Any ideas?

 

[R.W.Landau]

No problem

There is no problem putting gelcoat over epoxy.You will see that in the West System Booklet "Fiberglass Boat Repair & Maintenance" page 7 paragraph 2.2.1.Page 8 has a step by step. You may want to read it so that you understand how the gelcoat is applied and cured. If you don't cover the gelcoat it will not cure. You must either cover it with a saran wrap or spray it with PVA mould release.r.w.landau

 

[mark v.]

it has been my expirience that gelcoat (polyester) will not cure overepoxy .i have done repairs before and had the gelcoat cure everywhere except where the epoxy is!! i have always applied pva over the top of the gelcoat so it would properly cure and have limited luck with wax/styrene in direct sunlite but interiors are o.k.my best recomendation would be to scuff up the locker and apply epoxy white pigment good luck!!