Getting ready to gelcoat the deck and in some research, its sounding like a I have a couple options and I wanted to maybe get some feedback.
I wan't to try to get the gelcoat to level out as much as possible to minimize brush/roller marks... I know it will never be perfect, even sprayed gel will orange peel.
I'm thinking my options are the following:
1. Roll/brush as is from the can, trying to wait for slightly higher temps to help reduce the viscosity and let it flow out as much as it can.
2. Thin with 5-10% acetone or styrene - I know this has the downside of reducing the strength of the gelcoat but 5-10% seems to be an acceptable level... This seems to be done typically for spraying reasons, but I imagine a thinned gel would also flow out better.
3. Buy a gelcoat additive like sea hawk patchaid or duratec hi gloss additive. These seem to have the benefit of lowering the viscosity of the gel, as well as providing a tack free cure without wax (not sure this is desireable because I will be doing more than 1 coat.). I've also read, they can tend to cause yellowing of the gelcoat prematurely.
I could just suck it up and do option 1 but with all the time I spent fairing the deck, I'd like to get the gelcoat to look as good as possible.
I also don't want to go the paint option, because I already bough 2 gallons of gelcoat and the pigments so I'm kinda invested at this point... I could always repaint the deck down the road if the gelcoat ever chips/gets damaged and it needs major repairs.