Trying my hand at gel coat

BOWTECH.JUSTICE

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So does that mean it's cured as much as it will get? If so then that area might be as good as it will get then or should I still try to scuff it some and go over it?
 

Woodonglass

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Re-Gelcoating can be done successfully but it is a bit quirky IMHO. After all my research and investigation, I decided to Paint. Others have went the GC way and have had different levels of success. In your case you can scuff and shoot another coat and then PVA the final coat to get a good hard surface and hope for a good bond. Time will tell. If you have issues you could then sand and Paint. If it holds up then you're good to go for several years. It's your call. I guess since you're into it this far I'd prolly go ahead and try to salvage what you have. I'm NOT a GC expert by any stretch of the imagination. We've had some here on the forum but they're no longer active. I'm just passing on what I've gleaned from them over the years and from other research. undone seems to have some hands on experience and I KNOW GeorgeSalmon does as well. You might want to PM them for some more experienced advice.
 

BOWTECH.JUSTICE

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That thread is vary informative Rick. This site is awesome and full of great info.
I'm thinking the carpet is the way to go. Might be some drag but covers alot of flaws.
 

Rickmerrill

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Ok, this idea is really out there, a lot of work and as usual I could be completely wrong but here goes. I was reading the "gelcoat repair" thread and Ondarvr replied that you could put gelcoat on a little thicker and once it hardens you could remove the gummy surface with acetone leaving cured gelcoat. So thinking of your predicament I asked him what the window was to do this and he said anytime. He also said it makes a big mess if the area is very big. So, I don't know how much gelcoat you sprayed, we were talking about a small repair but it looks like it would work. Now it's going to take a lot of clean rags and a fair amount of acetone and a bunch of elbow grease and time but it might be something to think about. You'll have to wipe in one direction with a clean side of the rag each time so I'm not kidding about a lot of rags and it would be tedious work. So there it is, now I'm going to go hide!
 

K-2

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How many coats of gelcoat are you doing? Is it still soft the next day, can you scrape it off with your finger nails? Or is it just sticky?
Add wax to the gelcoat for the last coat, after it kicks it should be dry and not sticky. Gel coat with out wax is supposed to be sticky.
I would never re gelcoat a whole cabin or hull, Sterling or Awl Grip is easier and won't fade, oxidize as fast as gelcoat. High end fiberglass boats come new with a "paint" over the gelcoat, when you see a extremely shiny fiberglass hull most of the time that is not gelcoat. Delta Yachts in Seattle is one example .
 

BOWTECH.JUSTICE

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Hey guys, thanks for all your input. I apologize for no responses. I don't know what's going on but I keep getting logged out in the middle of getting a response typed up. Not the same computer either. Anybody else have this problem?
 

Rickmerrill

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I haven't had any problems here. You sayin this is happening on two different computers?
 

BOWTECH.JUSTICE

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Yes. 2 different computers at 2 different places. It's happened 4 times now. Each time I would hit post reply it says not authorized to post, and invalid server. I do log in so I don't know what happens.
 

BOWTECH.JUSTICE

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Ok, where I stand as of now is I sanded and scuffed with 60 grit this weekend. Some gumminess but overall didn't go all that bad. Next I will start to clean it up and wipe it off and will see what happens with that. So if I have it scuffed up really well, that should help with the bonding, correct?
The amount I've sprayed is maybe 40 sq ft. Not a lot but enough to make it interesting.
 

Rickmerrill

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I have seen that error a couple of times on the desktop I don't know what's up with that. I have started copying my posts before hitting post especially when it's a long post. So I just logged back in, pasted, posted and it worked on the second try.
 

Rickmerrill

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Yeah you need a good abraded surface to get a mechanical bond. Not sure what you mean exactly by "clean it up and wipe it up" but I think you have two options. You can wipe it with acetone to remove any contamination and go with that or you can try my crazy idea of trying to get all of the gummy off. I'm not trying to convince you that is the way to go and 40 square feet is a whole lot of gummy to remove and then I'd sand after that. Just for kicks I tested a 4 square foot area that has csm on it. It took about an hour to get all of the gummy off and plenty of rags and elbow grease. When all of the tacky was gone I sanded and the sandpaper didn't gum up at all, it was a dry hard surface. So I think the proof of concept seems legit but I have no idea which surface would give the better bond. Hopefully someone with some experience will weigh in with the right next step.
 

BOWTECH.JUSTICE

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Ya, by cleaning it up I mean wiping with Acetone. I can't say I know what I'm talking about but I think your idea makes sense. It seems as that would be like starting on the original surface and scuffing it to get a bond. I guess I will find out more once I start putting the Acetone to it what kind of mess I will have. I know I won't be spraying tomorrow as the wind chill will be 5 below here. This is November right?
Again I want to say how nice it is to have you guys on here that can be so helpful for the DIYers like myself. Greatly appreciated.
 

Rickmerrill

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Ok, again please keep us updated, a lot of us are interested in all things gelcoat.
 

BOWTECH.JUSTICE

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The last couple days I've been wiping it down with Acetone. It's not a total mess but it does get sticky when I wipe with another rag. So as I prepare to spray again, is it not a good idea to spray over the gummy spots? Will it not bond to those areas?
 

Trooper82

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I would wipe it down rihht before you spray....I have done that and the bind seems good to me, but I am no pro...
 

BOWTECH.JUSTICE

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It happened again. I typed a long post explain what all I did this weekend and when I went to post it, the system logged me off and I lost it all.
 

BOWTECH.JUSTICE

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I sprayed the whole bottom this weekend. Was a long process and a lot of work but I learned a lot.
Here's a list of what I used:
2mm gravity feed spray gun-- Not the best for a big job.
1 gallon of gel-- Not quite enough material for my boat, and I knew that but my intention was to get by with that amount
Thinned with Styrene-- I read that it's better if you don't thin gel but with this spray gun I had no choice. I thinned it at 10%.
15% sprayed a whole lot better but I stuck with 10%. At 10% I could only mix up 6oz of gel at a time and not
worry about it kicking before I finished in 15 minutes of spray time. Was a lot of work to do alone with all the mixing and
cleaning.
 
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