Straight Gel or Duratec additive

**DanUmbarger** · 01-17-2017, 12:59 AM

Can anyone give me the pros and cons of using Duratec. I'm getting close to regelcoating the deck and hull of my restore project and am trying to get a handle on which way to go. I've heard that using Duratec gives less orangepeel and less sanding before buffing but can be pain to spray. I will be spraying solid white on the center part of the hull and .025 flake on the deck, sides of the hull and the transom. I will be spraying a backround coat before the flake and was wondering the sequence and time tables for spraying would be with or without Duratec. I can't imagine spraying it all at one time because of the total thickness of the many coats. Just trying to get a handle on what I'm my options are before I start buying the materials. For those of you that have done this before looking at a pic of my type of boat can you give me an estimate of the amount of clear gelcoat,flake and Duratec would be needed to do this boat.

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**outasite** · 01-17-2017, 06:18 AM

Dan,some say that the Duratec has left the top coat coat cloudy.I had good luck and it worked well for me.As for spraying I put on four heavy coats,one after the other.By the time you flush the gun and mix, your last coat will have gelled.Product wise,I think your looking at around six quarts of color,less if your going to clear.plus Duratec.Here is a pic of a finish,the morning after spraying.Not sure if Duratec would be a good choice for clear top coat,if it got cloudy your screwed.

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**DanUmbarger** · 01-17-2017, 11:43 AM

That shot of your hull looks great....very little orangepeel. From what I've read the cloudy finish is thought to be from moisture in the air lines. Did you use Duratec in all 4 coats or just the last one? I will be shooting flake then clear over that. Not sure of the order of events...the curing between coats, etc.The company I have been buying product from has been a wealth of info but then again he is selling it. I want to get thoughts from the people that have actually been using it too. What type of spray gun and tip size did you use? Some have used a dump gun....others HVLP. I'm trying to get a consensus of which way to go with everything.

Originally Posted by outasite

Dan,some say that the Duratec has left the top coat coat cloudy.I had good luck and it worked well for me.As for spraying I put on four heavy coats,one after the other.By the time you flush the gun and mix, your last coat will have gelled.Product wise,I think your looking at around six quarts of color,less if your going to clear.plus Duratec.Here is a pic of a finish,the morning after spraying.Not sure if Duratec would be a good choice for clear top coat,if it got cloudy your screwed.

**NICE PAIR** · 01-17-2017, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by DanUmbarger

That shot of your hull looks great....very little orangepeel. From what I've read the cloudy finish is thought to be from moisture in the air lines. Did you use Duratec in all 4 coats or just the last one? I will be shooting flake then clear over that. Not sure of the order of events...the curing between coats, etc.The company I have been buying product from has been a wealth of info but then again he is selling it. I want to get thoughts from the people that have actually been using it too. What type of spray gun and tip size did you use? Some have used a dump gun....others HVLP. I'm trying to get a consensus of which way to go with everything.

These work! http://www.tcpglobal.com/DEV-130502_...w#.WH5MiJL6pPp

Don't have a clue about flake, shot gell with Duratec thru 1.8 tip, shot continuous, 3 gallons of material.

Bought a lot of my products here > http://www.fibreglast.com/product/Du...shield/Duratec

Great tech department, you can call and talk to real people. Don't be afraid to use considerably less Duratec than 50/50 and still get nice flow characteristics. If this is your first go-round, waste some material and practice on your friends boat. ;-) (or some scraps)

Attachment 364924

**outasite** · 01-17-2017, 06:19 PM

I like a 20oz cup and 2.5mm tip,but I'm old and set in my ways.Only thing I will tell ya is don't mix any more product than you will shoot in 5-6 minutes,and flush the gun every two or three loads.I was lax in that and the product gelled in the gun!VERY BAD

**XstreamVking** · 01-17-2017, 06:35 PM

Some imron or awlcraft paint would give better results than gell.....Shoot a color base and then lay in the flake with some clear. Come back the next day and cover with more clear. Cut and buff....Way more UV resistance than gell and more dependable results.....Will cost more $ tho....

**DanUmbarger** · 01-17-2017, 06:54 PM

That's what kind of info I'm looking for. I have a Harbor Freight 1.4 tip then bought another one when they were on sale for 8.99 just for the extra tip which I drilled out to approx 2.0....but after much reading and posts like yours I'm going to buy another gun with a 2.5 tip.Did you catch the question about putting Duratec in all 4 coats or just the last one? I also have to figure out how to spray all the various coats I will need. I am going to spray 1-2 coats of light blue gel for a backround color...then 1-2 coats of sky blue flake mixed in clear...then several coats of clear...probably using Duratec in the last coat of clear. I have more questions about where and when to use Duratec and whether or not sanding is needed between any of the coats. Hopefully the answers will come at some point. This group has been awesome so far...thanks to everyone that has chimed in.

Originally Posted by outasite

I like a 20oz cup and 2.5mm tip,but I'm old and set in my ways.Only thing I will tell ya is don't mix any more product than you will shoot in 5-6 minutes,and flush the gun every two or three loads.I was lax in that and the product gelled in the gun!VERY BAD

**DanUmbarger** · 01-17-2017, 07:03 PM

I hesitate painting this boat for a couple of reasons...first off this boat at one point in it's life has had a new transom,floor and stringers put in( a horrible job at that) then someone metal flake painted the deck and hull and it peeled away in many places. In sanding all the paint off I sanded thru the flake then some grey primer and then what looked like some sort of green high build primer. Not sure how it was prepped which could have been the whole problem with the peeling. Secondly with as much labor as I am putting into this project I decided to bring it back to original...gelcoat and all. This whole project is more for my dad...he designed and built the molds and started our company with this boat so theres sentimental reasons for my decisions.I want to take him for a ride in this boat while he's still around.

Originally Posted by XstreamVking

Some imron or awlcraft paint would give better results than gell.....Shoot a color base and then lay in the flake with some clear. Come back the next day and cover with more clear. Cut and buff....Way more UV resistance than gell and more dependable results.....Will cost more $ tho....

**outasite** · 01-17-2017, 07:34 PM

I used DTec in all coats.Once you got orange peel,you will play hell trying to cover it to a smooth finish.Be carefull in that you can get your finish to thick and cracking is a danger.I think I would use a cover coat of DTec primer,then a couple color coats,followed with flake then clear Untill your flake is safely buried. Try a sample panel,before you go all out! You could also do two or three heavy color coats without DTec then sand smooth and go from there with DTec

**XstreamVking** · 01-17-2017, 07:49 PM

Be very wary of any moisture getting into the clear gell. If it does it will be cloudy. Then you have to start all over by sanding it all off. Def do a transom panel job first to be sure.
.

**DanUmbarger** · 01-17-2017, 11:51 PM

Thanks for the thickness warning...I was wondering about that very thing....you want it thick enough to be able to sand and not go thru to the flake but not too thick. I understand what your saying about Dtec on all coats to keep the orangepeel down. But what about putting it in the flake mix...have you heard of anybody doing that? I know the flake itself will make a rough surface but would Dtec/gell smooth the flake out some? I've never dealt with Dtec before so I'm pretty new with that. Sounds like you and XstreamVKing and Nice Pair have done your share of gelcoating so I might lean on you guys for more answers if you don't mind.

Originally Posted by outasite

I used DTec in all coats.Once you got orange peel,you will play hell trying to cover it to a smooth finish.Be carefull in that you can get your finish to thick and cracking is a danger.I think I would use a cover coat of DTec primer,then a couple color coats,followed with flake then clear Untill your flake is safely buried. Try a sample panel,before you go all out! You could also do two or three heavy color coats without DTec then sand smooth and go from there with DTec

**DanUmbarger** · 01-17-2017, 11:56 PM

I intend on buying a good desiccant system to help keep my air as dry as I can make it.Thanks for the tip.

Originally Posted by XstreamVking

Be very wary of any moisture getting into the clear gell. If it does it will be cloudy. Then you have to start all over by sanding it all off. Def do a transom panel job first to be sure.
.

**outasite** · 01-18-2017, 05:39 AM

I have never done flake.I have refinished a couple.I do know that you don't want to sand the flake to knock it down,that will show through the clear.

**XstreamVking** · 01-18-2017, 05:53 AM

I have done flake with gell and it is a good vehicle for the flake. But care must be taken every step of the way. Out of maybe 10 flake/gell jobs I had trouble with a couple. I wouldn't even try it unless you have lower than 50% humidity. The lower the better....

**NICE PAIR** · 01-18-2017, 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by outasite

I have never done flake.I have refinished a couple.I do know that you don't want to sand the flake to knock it down,that will show through the clear.

Originally Posted by XstreamVking

I have done flake with gell and it is a good vehicle for the flake. But care must be taken every step of the way. Out of maybe 10 flake/gell jobs I had trouble with a couple. I wouldn't even try it unless you have lower than 50% humidity. The lower the better....

I bough to the pro's, that was my first gel job, these guys were great help.