a little help spraying gel coat

[ANGELMAT4]

had a tree fall across my boat busted it up all the body work is finished that was the eazy part i think. now gel coat if anybody could help with a few questions 1 all gel coat came from minicraft of florida i did not have then add wax to gel thought i would spray first coat without second coat with .i have sprayed a few times with paint first time with gel that brings up 2nd question i have seen someone spraying gel in the past and it was all orange pelled the guy doing it said thats the way gel sprays it sands out with 1500 paper is this normal or should it finish out like paint smooth minicraft sent me gel and top coat reducer to thin is there any other addatives that sould be added other then catalyst that brings up one other thing i'm in texas it's hot here 90-95. i'm in shade not direct sun in adding catalyst adding what minicraft said but couple drops on light side [ANY HELP ON THIS WOULD BE GREAT ]

angelo
angelmat4@aol.com

[van stoneman]

WHEN YOU SPRAY GEL ON A PART YOU CAN THIN WITH STYRENE ON FIRST COAT AT ABOUT 5 TO 8 ML. DO NOT PILE ON! YOU WILL HAVE PEROSITY {ENTRAPT AIR} IN YOUR GEL WHEN YOU SAND ON IT IT WILL LOOK LIKE FINE HOLES IN THE PAINT; SECOND COAT YOU CAN USE EITHER A PATCHING AID FROM THE PAINT SUPPLIER OR I LIKE TO USE A WAX SOLUTION STYRENE BASED.IT GIVES YOU MORE SPRAYING TIME THAN PATCHING AID. MIX 2% CATALYST {MEKP} I LIKE HI-POINT 90 & 2% WAX SOLUTION TO THE GEL
LET CURE OVERNIGHT IF SUCCESSFUL IT SHOULD APPEAR DULL .
THE WAX SOLUTION DOES TWO DIFFERENT THINGS IT SEALS THE TOP OF THE GEL SO IT CURES ON THE OUTSIDE.GELCOAT IS FORMULATED TO CURE ON THE SURFACE SIDE SO IF YOU DONT USE IT YOU BETTER GET A LOT OF RAGS AND ACETONE TO WIPE THE TOP COAT OFF SO IT WONT GUM UP YOUR SAND PAPER.YOUR ORANGE PEEL IS SOME THING YOU WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH.I NORMALLY APPLY A TOTAL OF ABOUT 10-18 ML. OF GEL. SO YOU HAVE PLENTY TO SAND ON.
ILL START WITH 400GRIT SAND PAPER TO KNOCK THE PEEL OFF .
GO TO 600 THEN 1000 THEN 1500 YOUR CORNERS ARE BEST SANDED UP TO 2000 THEN BUFF BUFF BUFF NOT AN EASY JOB tHATS WHY ITS HARD TO GET SOMEONE TO DO IT! WELL I HOPE I ANSWERED A FEW OF YOUR QUESTIONS
ILL BE HERE FROM TIME TO TIME SO HOLLA!

VAN STONEMAN

[ANGELMAT4]

van thanks for the help. i'll try not to a pain in the ___ you say it should dry dull or flat finish i'm playing right now matching the color dab a finger in gel and spot it on a spare pc of the boat that was taken out and it dries with a hi gloss but i did not have any wax in it . #2 the orange peel is normal just sand .i'm working with minicraft they gave me a top coat reducer to thin would i be better using the styrene .last dumb question should i sand between first and second coat iwas thing i would spray 2nd within and hour or so

thanks van

angelo

[van stoneman]

as long as you dont put any additives in the first coat. You dont have to sand it you can wait about 30 min. and spray again with the top coat addittive .Try to make it as smooth as you can and dont put a heat gun on it as it will evaporate the wax and it wont take.About your top coat additive does it have wax in it? if it does you dont need anything else. About Minicraft Ive used them before and they can match the color pretty good if you send them a 2"plug of the boat .
P.S.
Just remember "If you cant be a good painter, you have to be a good sander"

[fiberglass jack]

try duratec high gloss addative this will let the repair dry hard and tack free and allowing a hifg gloss after you sand and buff, if you pratice you spraying techneque you can lay the gelcoat on flat just like paint and very little orange peel, dont use styrene as a thinner it will yellow in the sun and even though you have a good color match it will stick out like a sore thumb after a year or so, i use acetone but you have to let it flash off after each pass of the gun and the best thing about gel repairs is you can always sand it off and spray again ive done thousands of them and the first 100 looked like **** it takes time to get the hang of it

[ANGELMAT4]

just wanted to say thank you for all the help just finished the job and came out looking good could not have done it without all the advice

angelo

[HobieGuy]

This forum seems like the right place to ask a question towards spraying ten sail boats. I have bought gelcoat from a local supplier called FiberTek Gelcoat. Big Manufacturer here. I also bought gelcoat from the manufactured of the boats -Hobie Cat Company. Their gelcoat viscosity is different.
The FiberTek is very thick and hardly runs.
Question: How much Styrene or Acetone -max- would you add to thin out. I thought of warming up the gelcoat to 85degrees to make it run better in the gun. Your thoughts?
Also, my observation of the gelcoat feeding into the gun (HVLP Gravity Feed) is that the gelcoat is not running through the filter and ports because of this low Viscosity. Thanks in advance.

[Eagle Boats]

Do what Fiberglass Jack recommended. Use Duratec high gloss additive. It has worked well for me.

[ANGELMAT4]

i would not thin to much go to bigger tip on spray gun

[adamfocht]

Duratec clear is very nice stuff!

[buckknekkid]

Originally Posted by adamfocht

Duratec clear is very nice stuff!

Are you building Cats,, Adam???

[fiberglass jack]

hobbieguy dont heat your gel it will kick in the gun before you finsh shooting the fibertex gel is prodution brushing gel nice and thick , what you got from hobbie cat is prodution spraying gel, are you spraying into a mould or resprsaying a hull

[buckknekkid]

Originally Posted by fiberglass jack

ive done thousands of them and the first 100 looked like **** it takes time to get the hang of it

sounds like my love life

[fiberglass jack]

didnt think u could count that high alex signed for the new shop monday

[HobieGuy]

Fiberglass Jack - The gelcoat from Hobie Cat was not intended for molds. It is for touch-ups or a complete refinish of existing boats. I did not know there were two types of gelcoat. Is this true?
The guy at FiberTek said I would have no problem spraying waxed gelcoat on all three passes. Very different than your forum recommendation of non-waxed on first two passes, then waxed for the finish. Should I give him the rassberry?
Also, by heating the gelcoat before spraying, I was thinking of 85-90 degrees only. This would hopefully make it run better from the cup to nozzle.
My nozzle is a 2.0mm as suggested in a previous forum. Should I go to 2.4mm or have anyone tried this wth poor results.
Finally, it is odd that no one has come out with a hard number (max and recommended) for styrene thinner in gelcoat. Comments?