gelcoat!!! Truth and facts!!!

Time to get to the real truth here....the real Facts...

First... how to apply gel coat...
I think this is the fact...
The only way to apply gel coat the right way is in the mold.. covered by the layers of fiber glass,
gel coat must be spayed at just the right mixture and thickness, and even in the mold things will happen,... I think it's called Creep... or some thing like that, that you will find when the hull is popped from the mold... when the deck is sprayed,.. the top is the deck is the lowest point,all the low corners get whats called puddling , that's where the gel gets too thick,.. and that's where you will get stress cracks down the road..

gel is not that flex able, too thick and it will crack.. too thin and the uv rays will kill it in the sun and cause fading and deterioration of the gel

Right???

Next...gel coat is like a tattoo,.. make sure you take the time to think out the colors and design... it's forever..and the cover up will never be as good as the original sprayed gel..
sure it has been said and done that you can't even tell they did it..but that's just getting lucky... and it will come back down the road

Go white then paint it

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Originally Posted by HB Vic

Go white then paint it

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In my opinion, paint to gel is a mechanical bond... which means to have to sand the shit out of the gel to have something for the paint to bite..then, unless it's for a show boat... it won't be near as durable...

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Originally Posted by 2FORCEFULL

In my opinion, paint to gel is a mechanical bond... which means to have to sand the shit out of the gel to have something for the paint to bite..then, unless it's for a show boat... it won't be near as durable...

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As long as you dont play bumper boats you'll be fine. Mine is capped, so much of it is paint. I rarely fuck it up :)

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Originally Posted by HB Vic

As long as you dont play bumper boats you'll be fine. Mine is capped, so much of it is paint. I rarely fuck it up :)

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don't know for sure,... but I'm gonna bet they didn't put paint on your boat when they capped it....

I would say that the bond of properly applied "paint" to GEL is as good as any paint to metal/ECOAT/or whatever...

Epoxy primer base ( DP402LF or equivalent) as a seal coat on the "320 prepped" GEL, followed by high build and then base/clear is going to be together for LIFE... Just like a premium auto paint... for sure...

https://www.ebay.com/i/112646700865?rt=nc

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Originally Posted by 2manymustangs

I would say that the bond of properly applied "paint" to GEL is as good as any paint to metal/ECOAT/or whatever...

Epoxy primer base ( DP402LF or equivalent) as a seal coat on the "320 prepped" GEL, followed by high build and then base/clear is going to be together for LIFE... Just like a premium auto paint... for sure...

https://www.ebay.com/i/112646700865?rt=nc

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IMO, just won't be as durable...again..prep.... but ....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2FORCEFULL

Time to get to the real truth here....the real Facts...

First... how to apply gel coat...
I think this is the fact...
The only way to apply gel coat the right way is in the mold.. covered by the layers of fiber glass,
gel coat must be spayed at just the right mixture and thickness, and even in the mold things will happen,... I think it's called Creep... or some thing like that, that you will find when the hull is popped from the mold... when the deck is sprayed,.. the top is the deck is the lowest point,all the low corners get whats called puddling , that's where the gel gets too thick,.. and that's where you will get stress cracks down the road..

gel is not that flex able, too thick and it will crack.. too thin and the uv rays will kill it in the sun and cause fading and deterioration of the gel

Right???

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Right.... so you spray the seal layer of GEL after you sand out the checking OR any repairs, thin seal coats, long board, and then use premium automotive epoxy primer as a sealer and high build/base clear system on top, and it will hold its shine FAR FAR FAR FAR longer than a poly resin gel coat finish can...

^^^^ the same process used to do repairs on Corvettes... These guys wrote the book on PREMIUM "Bloomington Gold" Corvette fiberglass repairs https://www.ecklerscorvette.com/book...p-manuals.htmlhttps://www.ecklerscorvette.com/book...p-manuals.html

it's funny how many variations you can read on the www.

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Originally Posted by 2FORCEFULL

it's funny how many variations you can read on the www.

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lol :D

Here is a good series of videos, you may like this first one... Check out some of his other videos, this is what I would consider as TEXTBOOK for cracks/checks/repairs: https://youtu.be/i9HbPP8A0Fo

DONT follow this process, he didn't "bed" his vertical plywood into the base... This is wrong...

His tabbing also is not textbook... BUT I do agree with skinning out the plywood with resin before starting the construction...

https://youtu.be/9jHUI0CiYbs

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2manymustangs

DONT follow this process, he didn't "bed" his vertical plywood into the base... This is wrong...

His tabbing also is not textbook... BUT I do agree with skinning out the plywood with resin before starting the construction...

https://youtu.be/9jHUI0CiYbs

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looks like a lot of work...

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Originally Posted by 2FORCEFULL

looks like a lot of work...

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now you will be more sympathetic when you get the bid on your gel repairs :D