BenKeith
09-10-2002, 06:57 PM
Ok,
Spraying clear gel
Here's what I've found out about the stuff and Duratec
Minimum gun: 2.3mm gravity feed. Sharpe only recommends 2.3 gun with a pressure pot set at 5 - 8 pounds. But who wants to clean a pressure pot every 10 minutes. YOU WILL HAVE TO CLEAN GUN EVERY 8 MINUTES OR SO I'm told you can thin a little more than the 5% and use the gravity feed. You can find the sharpe Cobalt 2.3 HVLP gravity feeds for $109 at Tool Paradise.com. Harbor Freight has a $69 1.4 HVLP gravity feed gun on sale for $49 and you can order a 2.2 tip kit for $20. I'm using the Shapre, since I found one I can use for free.
Thin with 5% - 15% with MEK solvent. Supposedly styrene and others makes the finish hard and brittle.
Spray coats of gel coat with catalyst and let it sit for one hour between each coat.
For final coat mix Duratec high gloss additive and clear 50:50
After spraying it, wait 24 hours and sand orange peel out with 400 grit. Let it outgas another 24 hours and then start working up to your 1000 grit or what ever you sand to. It can be buffed out at this point but would be better to wait another 24 hours.
Using the wax additive in clear (if you don't use Duratec) is not recommended, It can cause the clear to cloud. Use PVA over the final coat of clear. Still go the the same process as above to sand out.
Make sure you have a very dry, very large air supply, the gun will use about 13 - 14 cfm. If any moisture gets in the clear it will make a milky spot. This can usually be worked out with a heat gun if you get it immediatly. You might want to look into a toilet paper filter and change it a couple of times.
Plan on doing lots of sanding. Seems all the pro's say you're gonna be sanding until your fingers bleed.
I have also found there are world of differences in the quality of clear gels. The cheaper don't last long before they start to yellow and haze over, So do your homework. I just hope mine's not one of those. I had already ordered it before learning all this good stuff.
Hope this helps
Keith Jones
Spraying clear gel
Here's what I've found out about the stuff and Duratec
Minimum gun: 2.3mm gravity feed. Sharpe only recommends 2.3 gun with a pressure pot set at 5 - 8 pounds. But who wants to clean a pressure pot every 10 minutes. YOU WILL HAVE TO CLEAN GUN EVERY 8 MINUTES OR SO I'm told you can thin a little more than the 5% and use the gravity feed. You can find the sharpe Cobalt 2.3 HVLP gravity feeds for $109 at Tool Paradise.com. Harbor Freight has a $69 1.4 HVLP gravity feed gun on sale for $49 and you can order a 2.2 tip kit for $20. I'm using the Shapre, since I found one I can use for free.
Thin with 5% - 15% with MEK solvent. Supposedly styrene and others makes the finish hard and brittle.
Spray coats of gel coat with catalyst and let it sit for one hour between each coat.
For final coat mix Duratec high gloss additive and clear 50:50
After spraying it, wait 24 hours and sand orange peel out with 400 grit. Let it outgas another 24 hours and then start working up to your 1000 grit or what ever you sand to. It can be buffed out at this point but would be better to wait another 24 hours.
Using the wax additive in clear (if you don't use Duratec) is not recommended, It can cause the clear to cloud. Use PVA over the final coat of clear. Still go the the same process as above to sand out.
Make sure you have a very dry, very large air supply, the gun will use about 13 - 14 cfm. If any moisture gets in the clear it will make a milky spot. This can usually be worked out with a heat gun if you get it immediatly. You might want to look into a toilet paper filter and change it a couple of times.
Plan on doing lots of sanding. Seems all the pro's say you're gonna be sanding until your fingers bleed.
I have also found there are world of differences in the quality of clear gels. The cheaper don't last long before they start to yellow and haze over, So do your homework. I just hope mine's not one of those. I had already ordered it before learning all this good stuff.
Hope this helps
Keith Jones