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Renewing Gelcoat Finish
scootz - 1/9/13 at 09:45 AM

I have a scuttle that could do with being painted. It has a gelcoat finish and I can't get an exact paint match.

I can get hold of some of the coloured gelcoat though, so is it simply a case of rubbing down the surface, brushing / rollering it on and then rubbing down / polishing to finish???

Smoking Frog - 1/9/13 at 10:16 AM

I don't think the gelcoat will harden while exposed to the air. It's usually first in the mould and covered with resin, fibreglass etc. I've heard of covering the gelcoat with cling film to enable it to harden but never tried it.

twybrow - 1/9/13 at 10:18 AM

You would need to add some liquid wax to the gelcoat. The wax sits on the surface if the gelcoat, and allows it to cure properly.

minitici - 1/9/13 at 12:13 PM

quote:
Originally posted by twybrow
You would need to add some liquid wax to the gelcoat. The wax sits on the surface if the gelcoat, and allows it to cure properly.


But it will be a real mess and a pain to flat - easier to mould a new panel!

scootz - 1/9/13 at 12:32 PM

Cheers guys... I'll be going for a slightly different shade of paint then!

twybrow - 1/9/13 at 03:42 PM

Scootz - you can spray gelcoat. You would need to thin it with some acetone or preferably styrene, and also add the wax (the wax is dissolved in styrene, so you might get away with just adding wax mix)... Obviously you need to work quickly to avoid the catalysed gelcoat going off in your spray gun, but you can get a great finish this way.

If you can get hold of some gelcoat, buy some liquid wax online, and have a go at spraying something that isn't your scuttle. Play with the amount of solvent you add until you find a mix that works with your gelcoat (it can take upto 50% by volume).

You can't build up a really thick layer, as it will just run, so you need to be thinking about multiple layers to give the desired finish.... If you can spray normal paints, you shouldn't have any issues with spraying gelcoat.

snakebelly - 2/9/13 at 05:55 AM

surely if you take the scuttle or a sample of the bodywork to your local paint supplier they should be able to match it for you?