Re gelling question

I posted this before but only got one responce,I guess everyone was off for the holidays. I'm in the process of regelling my console so the color matches my deck. These parts were repainted over the original gellcoat at one time, but by using the correct paint remover it's all off now and sanded. When I did the glove box lid I used regular remover and it attacked the original gell but has now sanded out very well.I'm also in the process of filling the gauge holes in the dash piece having tapered the holes and planning to fill with matt. My main question is does any one think that I need to remove any of the original gellcoat? It is in great shape and has scuffed up very well. I have ordered a gell gun but hasn't showed up yet,and some Dura Tec Clear hi gloss additive.

Yes Bruce this one was painted over the gell also, it wasn't even taken apart when it was done so it was even easier to tell when it was taken apart.You can even see it in the second picture and in the third one it's removed

Gary,   No, I would not remove the rest of the gel.
Scuff w/80 gt.
And you could save yourself alot of extra work by masking the gauge holes from the front and glassing them in from the backside.

Gary S wrote: Whats wrong with my quotes Pete? The only thing I thought I have trouble with is picture size,I have not been able to find the automatic sizing on photobucket.

tough crowd on here...

john

mountaineerminer wrote: Gary, What is the correct paint stripper to use that does not remove the original gel?

Interlux 299E

Well I tried my hand at gel coating today and for my 1st try it didn't come out too bad.It will need some hand sanding but I'll know more after it dries. I didn't get to use the Duratec high gloss additive because it says not to inhibit the cure by adding wax surfacing agents and my gel already had it added.I might just try it on something not important just to see what happens.

I was actually looking on ebay Greg for a gun.Found this guy on there and then found his web site.Gun was cheaper on his site than on the bay due to no fees. Here's the link

Gary,
Looks great. Yes, now comes the hard part with sanding out the orange peel and buffing!!

Greg I have a great compressor but I would not buy one again.It's a Sears oilless 6hp 60 gallon.15 cfm @ 40lbs and 11.5 @ 90 The problem is it's direct drive high rpm and loud.It does everything I ask even runs my blast cabinet.But with an attached garage I have to be careful if you know what I mean

for what it is worth i found a company that gel coats and finishes if anyone is intrested

BTW, Gary I am very very interested in hearing how it comes out with the additive even if it won’t be the definitive test

TRBenj wrote: Wow, that looks great, Gary. That orange peel should sand out pretty easily... much nicer than my brush job! I assume you catalyze the gel before loading it? Then just shoot what you want and clean it up before it kicks? What kind of compressor are you using with it?

Sorry I missed your post Tim. You are correct on the catayzing.I was worried that it would kick before I got a chance to clean but it being cool here now I think helped.I also tried brushing to see how it looked before the gun arrived.This method is easier and it will help when I get more pratice.Not many parts to the gun,it cleans up easily.
I started sanding tonight and I'm happy with my first attempt.I have what looks like a couple of fish eyes in the glove box cover and a couple of thin spots in the old gauge panel,I'll do some more sanding and shoot another coat.I also tried mixing up a small batch of gel coat with the Duratec additive,it's mixed 50/50,and it set up so I'm going to use that too. Here's a couple of pictures.

JoeinNY wrote: kelly mac - we are only interested if they do a good job at a reasonable price-- actually some would be interested if they do a good job at an unreasonable price-- good work is hard to find This project is looking good.. I didnt see the original post first time it came up but in general the only reason for removing all the gelcote before respraying is to avoid having a very thick (relatively) total cross section of gel. The down side to that would be that as it is not glass filled it is more likely to crack if it gets too thick. In this case because of the part and it's use I wouldnt have worried about it either. But for general knowledge if it was on the hull or deck best case is down to the glass before Gel.. which is very painful..

WOW why would you assume that id recomend anything less but nice tower