no carpet

['75 Miller]

Astrong dislike for carpet compelled me to gelcoat the interior surfaces of my Miller. Sprayed it w/ an inexpensive hvlp from Fibreglast in Ohio. Has a 2.5 tip. I mixed 10 parts white to 1 part blue pigment & got fairly close to the boat's primary color. Used a diferent gun with a 1.8 tip to spray the Duratec hi gloss topcoat.
I've got the last of the clear sprayed, waiting for it to cure enough to wetsand & polish.
Here's some pics before, during, and after spraying clear.

[JAY4SPEED]

Looks good! The color is real close. I got the same gun from Fiberglast but have yet to use it, the one with the 2.5mm tip. Why did you switch to the smaller tip when spraying the Duratec? Is it because its thinner and it will run? Also, I thought you could have mixed the Duratec with the gelcoat 1:1 and sprayed it at the same time. Is there anything that you would have done different now that its done? The reason I'm asking is I will be undergoing the same project very soon. Thanks for posting up the pics, good job!
Jay

['75 Miller]

I chose to use the Duratec Topcoat because I wanted to shoot several layers of gel first basically as a primer/ sanding coat. To sand out minor imperfections and such. Also I wanted to shoot enough coats of Duratec on top of the gel to hopefully be able to sand out any future scratches without getting into the color.

['75 Miller]

I used the 2.5 gun on the 1st coat of Duratec and it seemed to put out a lot of material, even with the air adjusted way down. With the other gun on hand I gave it a shot & it worked. Honestly though, it's possible that with a little more adjusting of the gun that I could have had better results.
The Duratec is considerably thinner than the pigmented gel that I used. I thinned the gel with 5% styrene.
Anything different? Yeah, I'd be a helluva lot more careful when removing my masking. I did the stringers last and had a bunch of small black spots to sand off.

[77 Hawaiian]

That's pretty damn good looking. Not to mention the wood is even better sealed against the elements.

[n8dawg]

I'm inspired!!!!!! Looks good!

[JAY4SPEED]

Anything different? Yeah, I'd be a helluva lot more careful when removing my masking. I did the stringers last and had a bunch of small black spots to sand off.
Being that I have never gel coated before I take it that you remove the masking while the gel is still wet thats why you got the black spots on the blue?
Thanks for the advice!
Jay

['75 Miller]

Definitely pull your tape before the gel cures! The rear of my boat is stuffed against the wall of my garage. When I patched up the thru-transom exhaust holes I gelled it to match. Like a spaz I forgot to pull the tape for 8+ hours. Out of sight, out of mind I guess. Give the gel enough time (30-45 min.) to dry to where it's still tacky but no longer wet. When I gelled the stringers I pulled the tape about 45 minute after spraying. The black spots are from my blackened fingers touching the blue areas.

[bergen]

nice job, the floor in my sanger is polished, but i want to put carpet back in, the floor is to slipery when wet. just my .002 -bergen

[TRG]

Definitely pull your tape before the gel cures! The rear of my boat is stuffed against the wall of my garage. When I patched up the thru-transom exhaust holes I gelled it to match. Like a spaz I forgot to pull the tape for 8+ hours. Out of sight, out of mind I guess. Give the gel enough time (30-45 min.) to dry to where it's still tacky but no longer wet. When I gelled the stringers I pulled the tape about 45 minute after spraying. The black spots are from my blackened fingers touching the blue areas.
'75 miller
Not to be difficult, but, i usualy pull my tape after ive cleaned out my set-up, if you wait too long you will notice your edges tend to get real hard and almost pull too hard to hold a smooth line, if you pull sooner, you'll find that the dura-tec will flow much nicer as you w/sand for a finish!... never the less, you acomplished one hell of a job there, looks great!
Todd

[TRG]

Definitely pull your tape before the gel cures! The rear of my boat is stuffed against the wall of my garage. When I patched up the thru-transom exhaust holes I gelled it to match. Like a spaz I forgot to pull the tape for 8+ hours. Out of sight, out of mind I guess. Give the gel enough time (30-45 min.) to dry to where it's still tacky but no longer wet. When I gelled the stringers I pulled the tape about 45 minute after spraying. The black spots are from my blackened fingers touching the blue areas.
'75 miller
Not to be difficult, but, i usualy pull my tape after ive cleaned out my set-up, if you wait too long you will notice your edges tend to get real hard and almost pull too hard to hold a smooth line, if you pull sooner, you'll find that the dura-tec will flow much nicer as you w/sand for a finish!... never the less, you acomplished one hell of a job there, looks great!
Todd

['75 Miller]

Jay if Toddnjuzz says pull it sooner I'd do it his way. From what I've read he's a professional at this. I'm just a rookie that got ambitious in the garage!
Todd, thanks for the tip & the compliment. I drew on advice you'd given another guy in a thread I found while researching, so thanks for that too!
How do you usually finish Duratec'd floors? To what grit do you sand before polishing, and what do you use to polish it?
Matt

[JAY4SPEED]

Todd and Matt, Thanks for the info, been wondering about how to tape off a multi color gel job for a while now. Now I know what to do :cool:
Todd, keep the wisdom coming, I'm soaking this stuff up like a sponge.
Jay

[lbzboyhb]

i just finished the inside gel on my boat and wet sanded it with 600 good traction not alot of shine but i wanted it that way, also made a carpet runner on snaps so i can remove it spray out the inside run a vacume or hose over the carpet and install..

[TRG]

Guys! the last thing i would ever want to do is step on anyones toes but as we all know there are more that one way to skin a kitty (i usually start with the bra! LOL) and ive foung that this way works for me!
If you have any questions reguarding this type of work, i dont have a problem with a phone call (626-991-9031) sometimes its easier to explain verbaly rather than typing! lol
Todd

[lbzboyhb]

i also got a 50lbs bag of 60 grit sand from the place i bought my suplies to lay on top of the gel when wet let dry sweep off and shoot a nother coat over it to create a non slip surface like in the newer boats. i did not go that route yet the 600 seem to provide enough traction..

['75 Miller]

Yeah I thought about using sand to create a non-slip surface. Though I know it's gonna be slippery, I just love the highly polished look. I boat with other adults, hopefully they'll listen to me when I explain that the floor is slick!
So far I have all areas that will be visible wetsanded to 600 grit. 800,1200,1500,2000, then I'll start polishing. Does that sound right? Am I taking it too far?
Matt

[TRG]

i also got a 50lbs bag of 60 grit sand from the place i bought my suplies to lay on top of the gel when wet let dry sweep off and shoot a nother coat over it to create a non slip surface like in the newer boats. i did not go that route yet the 600 seem to provide enough traction..
If that is the route you are thinking of going down, you might want to go to Home Depot and talk with a paint guy, they sell a glass bead additive that you can add to the surface of patio decks that is pretty killer, at least that way you wont cloud the surface with sand but, clear glass beads! just a thought!
Todd

[TRG]

Yeah I thought about using sand to create a non-slip surface. Though I know it's gonna be slippery, I just love the highly polished look. I boat with other adults, hopefully they'll listen to me when I explain that the floor is slick!
So far I have all areas that will be visible wetsanded to 600 grit. 800,1200,1500,2000, then I'll start polishing. Does that sound right? Am I taking it too far?
Matt
Again, im skinning this cat this way!lol 320,1000, then 1500!

[JAY4SPEED]

Todd,
Would you recomend using a poly based primer before spraying gel? My factory gel is pretty much shot, its too thin in spots to sand and polish to bring back the color. My plan is to regel the outside of the boat white and bring it to a local custom painter to have graphics painted on later with automotive paint. I purchased some Duratec poly primer and wanted to ask if there will be any issues to primering first with the poly primer then going gel over that. How thick should I lay the primer and gel?
Thanks bro!
Jay

[TRG]

call me tomorrow!
626-991-9031
Todd