Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

[Billythepokerkid]

I have searched the forum and I have not been able to find the exact answers to the questions I am looking for. I have the gelcoat already, so using another product is not a possibility. I am definitely rolling the deck, to get a non-slip finish. But the sides, gunwales, etc have a lot of corners, that a roller is not going to get into, plus I don't want the roller finish on those areas. I have experimented with a roller and a brush and I just don't like the way the finish is coming out, so the other option is spraying. I don't have the money in the budget for a gel goat gun, so I am looking at cheaper gravity fed paint guns. The problem with spraying is everywhere I read I see horror stories of orange peel finishes and having to spend hours upon hours of sanding to get the finish right. I don't have the time for that much sanding and as stated before there are a lot of corners, turns, nooks, and crannies that I will not be able to adequately sand. Just looking for advice from those who have sprayed or rolled and what the final outcome was. This project has taken far too long and cost far to much for me to spend much more money or time on. I appreciate any help anyone can provide!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

Yep, This ^^^ B True. Gelcoat does not flow out like paint. The finish you had came from a mold not from spraying it on. Also rolling it on your deck will aid in the anti skid but it will still be fairly slick when wet unless you add some antiskid agent to it.

 

[Billythepokerkid]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

I am thinkin about adding some sand in the first coat on the deck. Guess I am going to be doing a lot of sanding then. Wish the gunwales were flat. Most definitely the last boat project I will be doing.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

Why not Paint em. You can Paint em with Valspar Acrylic Enamel and Hardener for $30 bucks. It will be hard as nails and as Glossy as you want.

 

[Billythepokerkid]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

I already spent over $150 on gel coat from US Composites that is not returnable. Plus i have bare fiberglass that I would like to have a layer of gel over.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

Well, I understand the outlay of cash for the Gelcoat. However there is no issue at all with priming and painting bare fiberglass. That's what I did with my boat as well as many others here on the forum. Heck thats what Corvettes are!!!! I'm just concerned that you will not be satisfied with the results of trying to gelcoat and sand out the little nooks and crannys on the interior. You could always try Craigslist. You might be surprised at how many people are restoring boats in your area and would be looking to purchase some gelcoat and save on the shipping.

 

[Billythepokerkid]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

Yea. I could try that and just use the gel coat on the deck where most of the bare glass is anyways and sell off what I have left on CL. What did you sand with to prep for the enamel? Where did you get the enamel and what kind is it exactly? Did you spray it, if so what kind of a sprayer? What kind of primer? Sorry for the 20 questions. If you look at the pics of my boat in the other thread, you will see the nooks and crannies I am talking about, they are everywhere.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

You should probably run some tests with a small amount of the gel coat on a few test pieces. . .

The trouble with gel coat is that in order to get it to spray as a top coat, you have to thin it out quite a bit, if you use standard spray equipment. You might want to try thinning it out as much as recommended and then use a roller. You will still have to do some sanding with 2000 grit to get a real good finish.

I did a top coat of white gel coat when I built my fiberglass dinghy. I used a roller, but did not care if it came out a bit crummy. It is only a dinghy. My nieghbor re-finished his Pursuit 22 footer and sprayed a top coat of white Awlgrip . . . then sanded for 3 days with 2000 grit. It came out perfect.

 

[oops!]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

becaus the gellcoat is a very thick substance, no matter what you do to it, it will require sanding, unless you are using a mold.

adding thinners to gellcoat is not recommended over 10%.....
so at 100 mils of gellcoat......well lets see,...get the calculator,,,,hmm....carry the 4......that works out to be a drop !!!!!

spraying gellcoat is easy,,,,even a cheap harbour freight gun will do....,you just need to find the biggest tip you can get....

i use a 3.5.

the sanding is not too bad.....it goes faster than you think.....and the finish is spectacular.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

I've seen the pics of your boat. Check the link in my signature below about painting your boat, it has all the info you need. You can get a HVLP gun from Harbor Freight for $15.99.
http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-high-volume-low-pressure-gravity-feed-spray-gun-47016.html

 

[Billythepokerkid]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

Did you buy the gun and use it? It says you can use a 1-3HP compressor, but it also says you need 8 CFM at 40 PSI, there is absolutely no way you are getting a 8 CFM out of a 1-3HP compressor.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

Did you buy the gun and use it? It says you can use a 1-3HP compressor, but it also says you need 8 CFM at 40 PSI, there is absolutely no way you are getting a 8 CFM out of a 1-3HP compressor.

Aww..sure you can Billy. Its just gonna cost ya about 3500.00 bucks !!

As far as gelcoat application..well thats just the nature of the beast man. I use a 2 qt pressure pot gun to spray full gel jobs. It requires minimal reduction after additives ( mostly to increase pot life ). But you still have a lot of sanding to do.

Gelcoat is not hard to apply. Its a Pain to finish if your not used to sanding for a living.

Paint is the best quick and dirty finish you can use. Your prep is going to be reflected in the finish just to let you know. More prep..better finish.

YD.

 

[Billythepokerkid]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

I was thinking about sanding everything down with 220, wipe down, spraying a coat of primer, going back and filling, sanding and wipe down again, another coat of primer, then paint, probably 3 coats. There's no way I will be able to see the imperfections in the sanded gel coat/fiberglass until it has a coat of something on it. I just hope I can unload the $100 worth of gel coat I have.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

Do you know what Paint product your going to use ?

Imron, Awlgrip, PPG, SW, Rusto ?

I posted in another thread about trying to keep the Product the same throughout the prime/paint process.

Some primers want 120/180 grit.

When you say spraying one coat of primer..do you mean one primer 'stage' ( meaning 3 coats of primer in one application ) ?

For instance .. Lets say I am ready to prime. I will spray 3 coats of 2 part epoxy primer ( waiting about 30 min to 45 min between coats ). I will sand/prep that with 320-400. I will 'touch up prime' anywhere that sanded through the primer. Block out the spot primes, Fill pin holes etc. Then I will do the proper prep and procedure for the application of Paint.

I will agree with you that it is very hard to see imperfections until you have a uniformed coating on .

YD.

 

[Billythepokerkid]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

I was planning on using the paint recommended by Woody, so Tractor/Implement Enamel from Tractor supply and the primer to go with that. You think it's going to need 3 coats of primer? That's like 6 or 7 total coats including the paint.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

Well .. I would ask Woody for that info. If your going to do the Tractor/Enamel coatings then follow those directions ..

Yes.. 3 coats of primer at one Application is what I do .. but Woody might be a better member to ask on your particular application or primer.

Warning .. it might be .. prime.. paint/prep/paint/prep/paint/prep etc...

I dont do that

I Prep..Prime..prep ... Paint .. DONE.

Just like your car man.. there is no prep after coatings of paint..its prep/prime/prep/paint .. roll it out the door done.

YD.

 

[Billythepokerkid]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

I probably won't be able to get rid of the gel coat I have, so I will most likely be using it as opposed to another type of paint. I simply don't have another $100 to **** away on this boat. With that said, I will be rolling and sanding it appears. I know for next time if there is one.

 

[Billythepokerkid]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

I just realized I forgot to add wax to my final layer of resin/csm. I am assuming that this isn't that big of a deal since I will be gel coating and it will be sealed and able to cure at that point. Sound about right?

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

I probably won't be able to get rid of the gel coat I have, so I will most likely be using it as opposed to another type of paint. I simply don't have another $100 to **** away on this boat. With that said, I will be rolling and sanding it appears. I know for next time if there is one.

Just the deck or the whole shabang ?

I would not roll and sand finished areas .. just to warn ya.

As far as your deck and forgot the wax. Welp thats up to you. I would acetone wipe then reprep it ( unless the resin clogs up your sandpaper too much ).

YD.

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: Spraying or rolling gelcoat?!

I just realized I forgot to add wax to my final layer of resin/csm. I am assuming that this isn't that big of a deal since I will be gel coating and it will be sealed and able to cure at that point. Sound about right?

Yep, you don't want any wax on the surface if you're going to spray gelcoat over it, the wax would just have to be sanded off before applying the gelcoat.

You'll need to apply the gelcoat thick, to give you sanding room, you want to have around 15 to 20 mills thickness AFTER sanding and buffing. My experience is you'll sand off a good 10 mills or so getting the orange peel out and back down the the shine you're after. So a good 30 to 35 mill thickness is good. I've actually sanded through 20 mills in spots somtimes.

CW