Re: Gelcoat mix and match help
gonna be tough zach....its a long haul.....
matching gellcoat is a really lost art.....and im still lost....lol
im doing a deep deep yellow right now that is killer.
stirring the gook is the key......you will stirr for 3 mins and then see a full gob of the un stirred color you just added....really..........you will see what i mean bud.
the best is if you can go to a auto paint store and get thier gun.......it will tell you exactally what colors are in the color you want....that will help huge......if you cant do that....
ok....start with neutral gell......this is a greyish color.
add your red to get your base.......(i suspect you might need blue as well)
you really have to stare at the color to get the "tinge" of color that is in the red....is it blue? possibly brown? yellow????
then darken it with what ever tinge is behind the red.
dab it on the hull in an area you have cleaned with acetone. (lighter than the color you want)
when you get remotely close pour a little off......add your 3 drops of wax.....and mekp.....mix......take a piece of white paper....and paint a three inch spot.
hit it with the quartz light....and walk away.
when it cures.....(5 mins) .....hold that up to the hull....which way do you have to go?.....lighter?...then add the color in small bits.....and adjust other colors till you are very very close...each time painting on the paper and with mekp and wax and curing.....(this takes a whole lot of time) clear gell is a must.....but i dont think you will find it in your local store....they will tell you clear is neutral) but you will be able to get close.
remember that when you get the color it will look "flat" the depth of the color will come form polish.....but not much......the best you are going to get with out the proper gells and colors is a shade off......be prepaired to live with it......(just wear dark sunglasses bud....lol)......i still walk past whites i have matched and have to do the "bob" to see the match.
side note......if the base color is too dark.....you cannot go lighter with any thing.....the only thing you can do is add some green to nutralize the red....but looking at your pics, i dont think the red you have in your kit is darker than you red on your hull.
gell fades with time.......and to get it bang on is a dream......the best is that you cant tell unless you stare at it for a minit or two.
i have done hundreds of matching jobs now.....i have only truly "nailed it" about 5 times...
black is not black.....white is not white.....blue is not blue.....and red certainly is not red.
i have only done red a few times......YD may have tricks to match it.
