Repainting metal flake question

[Rat_L_Trap]

Looking for information on re-metal flaking a fiberglass bass boat, do I put the flakes in a clear gel coat and spray it over the existing gel coat? or do I just mix the flakes into a clear coat and spray it overtop of the gel coat/old flakes? is there a difference in gel coat and clear coat? I asked a local mechanic shop which paints cars and the guy told me to spray car paint over the boat then spray the flakes in a clear coat that I shouldn't use gel coat and that gel coat would cost about $500 a gallon, so what should I do?

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Repainting metal flake question

To post apply a metal flake gel coat finish is a multi step skill intensive project. There are many things that can go wrong at every turn.

It can be done, but without experience the job gets much more difficult.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Repainting metal flake question

Welcome to iBoats!
What's your experience with Gelcoat and or Paint? What is the current condition of the Bass Boat Metalflake? What year is it? What is your budget? What are your expectations?

 

[Rat_L_Trap]

Re: Repainting metal flake question

Welcome to iBoats!
What's your experience with Gelcoat and or Paint? What is the current condition of the Bass Boat Metalflake? What year is it? What is your budget? What are your expectations?

It is a 1989, and the flakes are all silver they should be blue, I tried polishing etc but it wouldn't come back, I would like to do the job for as cheap as I can, i'm actually trying to get into restoring boats etc so I know it is hard without experience but that's what i'm trying to achieve here EXPERIENCE lol and actually learn how to do it.

I have experience with paint but none with GelCoat, I'm just basically wanting to know if the flakes HAVE to be in the gelcoat on a boat? I assumed there was a layer of gelcoat with color pigment then a layer of gelcoat overtop with the flakes mixed in then 6-7 layers of clearcoat over that, but this guy told me to just paint prime coat with car paint then spray flakes with clear

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Repainting metal flake question

The Guy is steering you right, IMHO. MetalFlake whether it's Gelcoat or Paint is NOT easy to shoot. It consists of laying down a base color coat and then putting the flake in the clear coat and applying it. The trick is getting the flake to be uniform and consistent throughout the mix. Easier said than done. Takes a lot of practice and experience. You can go for it if you want but you may not get the results you wish. Then again, you may find you have a Knack for it and produce great end results. Imron would be my choice of product if you're gunna paint it. Sand all the Gel off, shoot on the Imron Primer and then the Color Base coat and then make her Sparkly!!!!

 

[Rat_L_Trap]

Re: Repainting metal flake question

The Guy is steering you right, IMHO. MetalFlake whether it's Gelcoat or Paint is NOT easy to shoot. It consists of laying down a base color coat and then putting the flake in the clear coat and applying it. The trick is getting the flake to be uniform and consistent throughout the mix. Easier said than done. Takes a lot of practice and experience. You can go for it if you want but you may not get the results you wish. Then again, you may find you have a Knack for it and produce great end results. Imron would be my choice of product if you're gunna paint it. Sand all the Gel off, shoot on the Imron Primer and then the Color Base coat and then make her Sparkly!!!!

So I don't need to use gel coat? I can mix the flake in the clear and shoot it on? I thought the flake was in the gel coat

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Repainting metal flake question

When the boat is originally built, what you see as the bright, sparkly, shiny finish is actually the first thing that they apply to mold...generally it is a coat of clear gel coat, then one or two coats of clear with the glitter mixed in, then finally the base colors of gel coat...then they begin adding layers of either cloth or using a chopper gun, begin building up the basic thickness of the hull skin...
After they add in all the structure, etc, they pop it out of the mold and that is what you get...
Your best option, if you know what you are doing, is to repaint using a good primer/sealer, then a quality base color, then you can apply the glitter in a base of clear, and finally top it all off with a coat or three of just clear coat to protect it...
Make sure you use one particular brand for all of your color coats to insure compatibility...
PS- The kind of quality paints you are going to be looking at can easily run into the $500 - $1000.00 range [2-300 for the clear coat kit, 2-300 for the base coat kit, 2-300 for a good quality epoxy primer/sealer kit, plus the glitter additive] so you really don't want to be "learning" with that kind of bank roll...
Last time I checked, Imron boat paint, with all the required additives [reducer, catalyst] was running about 3-500 dollars per kit, wholesale, which yields approximately 2-2.5 gallons of product...and it all needs to be sprayed in an automotive type spray booth with the proper personal protection gear...otherwise the finish will be crappy at best and you could poison yourself...
Inexpensive paint will hold up well, may not give you the original look as well and may not even be available in the colors you want...
When it comes to paints, you can go inexpensive and fairly plain jane with solid colors that will hold up well similar to Rustoleum, or you can go whole hog and spend a small fortune...
There are inexpensive automotive paints on the market that run about 1-200 per kit, but they may not hold up too well to the marine environment and the selection is somewhat limited...one of the brands that come to mind is "Nason"
Best of luck and let us know what you end up doing and how it turns out...
GT1M

 

[gm280]

Re: Repainting metal flake question

Depending on the actual size of the flakes you are wanting to spray, will determine the nozzle size for the spray gun you will have to use. You can use a 1.5mm - 2.0mm tip for the primer coats, but you will need a special mm size to allow the flake to pass through the gun tip. Then after you achieve the proper flake pattern you want, you will need to clear coat or even tinted clear coat the finish using a 1.0mm - 1.4mm tipped gun. I'd talk to a lot of paint experts around your area first before you buy anything... Good quality HVLP paint guns are not cheap. But you can get some mid-price guns that will give you a very nice finish. But the tip sizes will have to complement the flake size you want...