Questions for the Gel coat experts.

[mogfisher]

I'm getting ready to re gel the hull on my 18' bass boat. I have questions for the gel coaters.

1. How do you know how thick you are spraying?
2. I have a "dump gun" or "cup gun". Is this better or worse to use than an HVLP with a 2mm nozzle?
3. Can I spray some poly resin on a test piece and have it be close to what gel will spray like?
4. Is a guide coat a good way to know when to stop sanding on gel?

I see the cup guns are more expensive than the others so that means they must be better right!? I have a ES Manufacturing G100 gun shown below.

Seems rather crude but I know I'm going to be sanding for days anyway. Seems like this kind of gun might be better for applying into a mold and a regular spray gun might give a smoother finish. Is it worth buying a new gun for the difference? Luckily a lot of my hull is flat so I can DA a lot of it.

I was hoping that I can test spray with some poly to get a feel for how gel might spray out. Maybe they are not similar enough, I don't know.

Thanks for any input!

Adam

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Questions for the Gel coat experts.

For an actual example and explanation of spraying gel coat read the "hull extension" thread, it will give most of the info you need.

A dump gun works OK, the down side is the surface may be a little rougher with it though.