Spraying Gel Coat

[Roly]

Unless you have the original gel coat, isn't it going to be hard to get a colour match?
Especially if the original gelcoat was brushed (in my case) on the mold and your spray repair is either loaded with styrene or duratec.
Sorry bit of a hi-jack here, but still on the theme.

I have a new, white gelcoated (out of mold) deck & soon to PU'd topsides but have a custom open transom. It needs to be white like the deck. The question is whether it is easier to just PU it (with a PU to gelcoat break),
it or try and spray white gelcoat? Sounds like the gelcoat is tricky even with the right gear. I have a Sharp gravity 1.8mm which I couldn't get the brush gelcoat thru without additive.
Kinda like pushing water uphill with a rake, for the uninitiated.
Seems easier to use PU & make the transition on the sugarscoop edge and other 90deg. edges and fool the eye.
Doesn't help to repair gelcoat on a large no transition area tho.

[waikikin]

Originally Posted by Roly

Seems easier to use PU & make the transition on the sugarscoop edge and other 90deg. edges and fool the eye.

Roly, if thats what suits you, its your boat mate, I'd do it to(& have)

For spraying gelcoat into a contact mold for "small" production it's hard to beat a Polycon gun, mines got a 6-8 mm tip, cheap(@ 300$) & easy to clean, a bit high on waste as about 140 grams sits in the reusable cups per 1800 gram batch, see here http://www.granudan.dk/EN/Downloads/...20brochure.pdf

It shoots unthinned gelcoat easy & fast, simply wash the very short fluid passage 30mm/1 1/4" or so between batches in a small tin of acetone & pipe cleaner- like 30 seconds of effort.

If you dont have one, get one & get in the game, you'll love it once you get the hang of it, you have to hold it with the tip pointing up, as you pull the trigger valve bring it down & shoot the job in a sensible pattern- do a dry run imagining the surfaces in order, break up the area & tab/mark the perimeter to match your batch size etc, some times you will have to brush in areas that shadow from the spray.

AAAHHH the miasma of styrene............ smells like money

All the best from Jeff.