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Goad
02-08-2007, 01:09 PM
I am going to be doing a gelcoat job on a boat that entirely metalflake.
How do you guys suggest i do this? Should i lay down flake (how?) then clear gelcoat over it?
That seems right, but how should I lay down the first layer of flake?
Also, I was told to seal the current metal flake to prevent future contamination of the new gel....since its the reason its currently flaking.
This is going to be my first gelcoat job.
Thanks!
http://www.socaljetboats.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10002/Picture_001.jpg

Goad
02-08-2007, 01:33 PM
also, where can I find a good selection of metal/glitter flake?

Sangster
02-08-2007, 02:01 PM
http://www.fibreglast.com/

Goad
02-08-2007, 02:10 PM
http://www.fibreglast.com/
yeah, I just found that link too....good info about glitterflake and how to apply it.
Any suggestions on where I can find a good selection of glitterflake? FibreGlast has a couple of basic colors, but nothing that will match what I am trying to do.
Thanks for the link!

BILLY.B
02-10-2007, 07:26 AM
I am going to be doing a gelcoat job on a boat that entirely metalflake.
How do you guys suggest i do this? Should i lay down flake (how?) then clear gelcoat over it?
That seems right, but how should I lay down the first layer of flake?
Also, I was told to seal the current metal flake to prevent future contamination of the new gel....since its the reason its currently flaking.
This is going to be my first gelcoat job.
Thanks!
http://www.socaljetboats.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10002/Picture_001.jpgGood luck. I've been doing V-Drive Video's flatty and it's a job an a half. Full flake job that will have candy graphic's all over it. Once the boat was preped we went through 7 jars of silver flake (including the bottom), and several gallons of urethane clear. The reason for your flaking problem is that it was cleared at sometime (not from the factory) and thats whats flaking off. Gel won't flake like that. Your going to have to sand that all off, fix any imperfections, primer, sand, seal, and start you painting process. You can find flake thru "House of Kolor". Ck with your local autobody/ paint store of choice and they should be able to help you out.

victorfb
02-11-2007, 11:04 AM
OSF old school flake has a very large variety of flake sizes and colors. including pearls. check your local paint supply house. mine in temecula calif didnt have what i needed and refered me to another guy in murietta. not sure if he was the maunfacturer or not, but he carried everything in bulk. he even came to my house to deliver some before because he was in the area. even offered to help with the project if i needed. and this was gel work, not paint.

Xlration Marine
02-13-2007, 01:39 PM
Might want to get a sledge hammer and hit yourself in the head with it. Metal flake is a bitch. You should see my friends bass boat. Left it in the sun. Metal flake= metal, well the metal would expand and contrack and over a couple of years it felt like 40 grit sand paper. A ranger bass boat, brand new. Now it needs a bunch of work. It came up through the clear, what a mess. Try pearl power, looks more up to date than metal flake. Besides you can stack the colors and get some bitchin looks from it.

Goad
02-20-2007, 07:48 AM
Might want to get a sledge hammer and hit yourself in the head with it. Metal flake is a bitch. You should see my friends bass boat. Left it in the sun. Metal flake= metal, well the metal would expand and contrack and over a couple of years it felt like 40 grit sand paper. A ranger bass boat, brand new. Now it needs a bunch of work. It came up through the clear, what a mess. Try pearl power, looks more up to date than metal flake. Besides you can stack the colors and get some bitchin looks from it.
I think you had problems with your application process....if the problem you had held true to every metal flaked boat, then wouldnt they all turn out to be as you described?

DUECE'SDAD
02-21-2007, 06:30 AM
Lots and lots and lots of clear And sanding !!!! Shoot some tacky clear first to get the flake to stick

TRG
02-25-2007, 03:44 PM
I've been getting more and more into the metal flake, and have found that the 2.5 tip works out ok, but the old school way of laying down flake (i cannot remember the name of it but it acts like a hopper)works much better, and makes blending rep's much easier you might want to lay down a nice tack cote before using the dry flake, oh! one more thing, you will be sweeping up the wasted flake for months to come! LOL
Todd

Goad
05-24-2007, 12:56 PM
bump this back to the top.
The project is at its gelcoating stage and I need to begin gelcoat ASAP since we now have a deadline for the beginning of July.
I found this site, but they arent local and it seems to just be a reseller with no solid way to contact them.
http://www.tcpglobal.com/kustomshop/ksflake.aspx
I need a local paint shop i can go to for samples to match size and color of metalflake. Also, somewhere I can get gelcoat at a decent price. I am located in the Orange County area.
If anyone has any additional information or time on their hands to give us a hand, it would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Picture of the belly!
http://www.socaljetboats.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10002/IMG_1361.JPG

Goad
05-29-2007, 10:20 AM
I've been getting more and more into the metal flake, and have found that the 2.5 tip works out ok, but the old school way of laying down flake (i cannot remember the name of it but it acts like a hopper)works much better, and makes blending rep's much easier you might want to lay down a nice tack cote before using the dry flake, oh! one more thing, you will be sweeping up the wasted flake for months to come! LOL
Todd
I wont be doing any blending, so what do you suggest I use to spread the flake? ...spread it by hand? but what did you use for a tack?

BILLY.B
05-30-2007, 10:14 PM
This is fun reading. Unless you have the right gun your in for a real treat. I bought a gun from the guy who sells the old school flake and I sent it back. Way to small for doing a complete boat. I didn't lay down a tack coat and the job turned out great. I used a slow reducer which kept it wet. Now the gun I used has a spinner on the bottom of the pot thats air activated to keep the flake aggatated. Big ass tip to allow the flake to come out. Now i'm not saying it was easy, tons of clear and lots of sanding to get flat so I could apply the candy over the top of it. As far as saying that the other gentleman had an application problem and thats why the flake job turned to crap. Any flake job that has been left out in the sun unprotected will do this. Clear has no pigment to hold it together, especially gel clear..... Once it goes away the metalflake is left unprotected and the problem begins.

Goad
05-31-2007, 07:57 AM
i am still confused.......
Do I:
A) lay down a tack coat and spread dry flake over it, then clear gel over that?
or
B) mix the flake in with clear gel and spray a layer down, then several layers of plain clear?
Billly: what gun did you use? do you have a make/model?
As you can tell by the VERY basic questions i am asking here, im new to this game so i need a little more detail in these instructions. Thanks!

Goad
06-05-2007, 02:05 PM
after doing some research and lots of reading, there doesnt seem to be a right or wrong way to lay the flake (lay it dry on tack or mix it with clear)
I read this article (http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/techarticles/0604rc_metalflake_paint/) which they use this Flake Buster (http://www.oldschoolflake.com/flakebuster.html). Its a $200 gun which i assume helps a TON when youre an amature (like myself) trying to evenly lay dry flake.
I am swinging by a paint shop called The Paint Store in Laguna Niguel in a bit. They have some Old School Flake (http://www.oldschoolflake.com) in stock.
Also, Since I am doing this in my apartment garage, I have read about some odor suppressors that I am planning on using to keep the complaints from the neighbors down.
At this point, I plan on laying down a pigment paint color to cover up the repairs that we have made. The lay down a coat of clear paint and immediately apply the flake as described in the above article. Then at that point I will proceed to lay down several layers of clear gel....then sand for days, buff for days.
Does it sound like i am on the right track?

RealityBoatCo
06-05-2007, 03:55 PM
i am still confused.......
Do I:
A) lay down a tack coat and spread dry flake over it, then clear gel over that?
or
B) mix the flake in with clear gel and spray a layer down, then several layers of plain clear?
Billly: what gun did you use? do you have a make/model?
As you can tell by the VERY basic questions i am asking here, im new to this game so i need a little more detail in these instructions. Thanks!B!!! Mix the flake in with clear gel and spray a layer down, then spray plain clear over top of it.
When they build the boat, they spray straight clear first, then then spray clear mixed with the flake, then they spray a back up color. Because you can see between the flakes. So if you want red flake, use red as a base color, you will use less flake that way.

Nucking futs
06-05-2007, 04:01 PM
you cant gell over paint,but you can paint over gell.you need to gell a base,do your flake,then gell over that. I was reading your post above and it said you were going to paint over your repaired spots,thats why I said what i said above.
Oh, and good luck....:D
your garage will never be the same and good luck with trying to hide your gell odor,won't happen. You are however allowed to spray up to 1 gallon without the aqmd getting involved.Everytime we spray something here fire rolls up to try and put the stop to us spraying, but they let us finish what we are doing when they see what we are spaying.

RealityBoatCo
06-05-2007, 04:05 PM
There won't be any hiding of the gel odor, but to me it smells waaayy better than paint.

RealityBoatCo
06-05-2007, 04:09 PM
I would also skip the "Metal" flake and go with "Poly" flake. Metal flake will pick up a static charge and stand up on end. Making your finish even rougher, and when you sand it if you hit any metal flakes, it removes the color and it turns silver. You won't have this problem with Poly Flake.