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Thread: Spraying CLEAR COAT

  1. #11
    jimslade
    I think you've made a wise choice.
    But just for informations sake, if someone wants to spray clear gelcoat, I use Valspar's TX-2 Marine Clear at my shop, but it takes a combination of chemical, and Afro-American engineering degrees to get it to dry properly outside of a mold. For someone without the much experience, I would recommend spraying clear Duratec. The key to adhesion with any product is prep. I wouldn't spray any gelcoat type product over anything finer than 220 grit, and I have sprayed solid colors over 80 grit scratches. I
    PS to all, I have trying to avoid confrontations lately by refraining from posting advice, but feel free to PM or email me if you need help.
    What He said!
    urethane clear and poly resin don't mix well. The gel is full of wax, and hard to remove completly.

  2. #12
    chestnut812
    Clearcoat isnt a problem on gel coat if you use a clear gel coat and not automotive. It will give you the long term gloss you are looking for and prep is the key. Sand the suface some with 600 grit enough to try and take off any oxidation, then wipe with acetone. BE SURE you have good ventilation...!!
    Duratec clear is a good choice and the only thing I use.
    Your goal is a total of 4 to 5 medium wet coats because you want to have enough on there to sand and buff if need be.
    By the time you finish your first coat the first part you sprayed first should have had enough time to flash. If not wait 10 to 15 minutes and be sure to work fast after you catalyse your clear. Depending on temp you may only have 10 to 20 min at most to spray and clean your gun (with acetone) or it will set up your gun and your done for the day.
    After you finish you last coat wait 30 minutes and then spray the entire thing with p.v.a.(poly vinyl alcohol) to reduce tackiness in your final coat.
    Wait 24 hours and then you can sand and buff any defects if you want to.
    The p.v.a. washes off with soap and water...
    Hope that helps. Its quite a pain to work with gel and pretty messy. be sure and have at least a gallon of acetone on hand and dont forget to catalyse your clear at about 2%
    If you need any more info let me know if I can help and GOOD LUCK!

  3. #13
    Beer-30
    Our old Tahiti, when I was early teens, had the old "Bass Boat" heavy metallic flake gel. It was a beautiful 20.5' open bow with a 175hp BlackMax outboard. Anyway, it got a little dull, so we took off all the hardware and had a local paint shop shoot clear on it. It was beautiful for two seasons and then yellowed. The season after that, it started cracking.
    Auto clear can't handle the movement of fiberglass. It WILL crack after a few years from all of the expansion/contraction.
    All of these tips above are correct. Stick with the stock gel -- or -- get some clear gel and shoot it over the top. It will be a lot more work, but worth it if you plan to keep the boat for several years.

  4. #14
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Northern Illinois
    Posts
    1,090
    Duratec, or Prestec clears can be shot over gel, and is every bit as durable as the original gel. Another plus is that gel is porous, the duratec, and prestec is not, thus sealing the gelcoat, and proviing UV protection.

  5. #15
    derek1
    I'm not a big fan of clear coats over gelcoat. I'm also not ready to spend 1000 or more to have someone clearcoat my boat. I did however try a product called Poliglow,there on the web it is basically a vinly floor wax with a uv protectant in it. I tried it on my 1984 26 ft nordic which is red /black/white /grey/yellow and can't belive the finish. I only spent i think with shipping 85.00 and a day doing the job. They give you a gel coat cleaner in the kit, a application pad, a bottle of sealer. I wet sanded the boat first to remove all the heave oxidization first then started applying coats of the sealer, i put on 5 coats and its not perfect under florencent light but at the river it looks like a fresh new gelcoated boat. Boater cant believe its the original gel coat with a sealer i would definetly try that first. good luck

  6. #16
    Beer-30
    I'm not a big fan of clear coats over gelcoat.
    Where clear comes in handy is for years of polishing. When you buff with a machine, the oxidized material tends to swirl around with the compound. When you cross over colors - let's use red and white - the red material gets in the pores of the white and vice-versa. So, when buffing clear, it is all the same, even when you cross over. Makes for a nicer finished product.
    It also adds depth, giving a shiny layer on top of the color. Same as on your automobile(s).

  7. #17
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Panama
    Posts
    11

    Spraying CLEAR COAT

    My rudimentary concepts of paint and coatings is that, without proper skills and preparation, the spraying of any coating over an existing surface leads to very disappointing results. Having said that I cant imagine how your decal would hold up without the clear coat if was torn with clear coat on. For the price of a second decal maybe you could try it without and see how it works out?

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