Re: Off trailer repairs
The main reason I recommend painting over re-gel coating is there are more steps that need to be done correctly when gel coating and if you make a mistake it can be more costly. <br /><br />1. The surface needs to be prepped better for gel coat, it does not bond as well as good 2 part paints will.<br /><br />2.gel coats are not designed or formulated for post coat applications, it does happen to work most of the time, but they formulated for in mold use.<br /><br />3. Gel coat needs to be catalyzed correctly, 1.5 to 2% for best results. If its hot out, people tend to under catalyze and the cure is not as good as it could be. this will effect the gloss, hardness and weatherability of the finish.<br /><br />4. It can be more difficult to spray, resulting in porosity, thin areas, heavy orange peel, and thick areas that can lead to cracking. plus the loss of your equipment if it sets up in the gun.<br /><br />5. At times, even with wax (it will do the same thing with PVA) added it won't cure completely on the back side, then you need to acetone wash it<br />to remove the sticky surface before sanding. When this happens, sometimes the cure is incomplete, the surface will be soft and you can't get a good gloss, or if you do, it will dull fairly fast.<br /><br />6. Dark colors can be even more difficult to work with and will show more of the mistakes<br /><br />7. Most people don't want to sand and buff as much as may be needed to eliminate the orange peel and scratches.<br /><br />8. When one of these problems happens, it's more difficult to fix, you need to sand off most, or all of what you have already done and start over.<br /><br />9.Gel coat does not weather as well as 2 part paints. It will lose it's gloss and fade sooner.<br /><br />It does work and if someone wants to restore a boat then it's worth it, but if you just want it to look good and you want to spend your time boating and fishing not sanding and buffing then I recommend paint.<br /><br />I sell gel coat and I paint my boats.
