Spraying Gelcoat on a Boat - How to spray gelcoat with a cheap spray gun- 

Great and informative video, thanks. The nozzle on the gun is in fact not a nozzle, it is an air cap. The nozzle is screwed onto the gun before the air cap is installed last. This could be very confusing to someone that is not familiar with spray guns. Just wanted to clarify.

watching these to brainstorm through making a DIY Fiberglass pool. Great channel. Appreciate the video quality too!

Great video! I've got a few guns like this i picked up for free. Most need a good cleaning before i could even attempt to use these on my boat projects.

I recognize the intro right away! That was a great show back in the 80’s when those folks like me only had 4 Channels on TV! It came on channel 13 PBS. And I had my own black and white TV! Kids today would never understand that??? I’m very interested in spraying and repairing gelcoat. I just need to get some and try it. I do a little spraying from time to time. I wet sand and buff gelcoat on boats already. It’s the color matching that scares me the most! Thanks for the video.

Best boat video I've seen in ages

Omg loved the introduction!!! Memories of 1981 just flashed through my mind!!!

Haven’t seen that 3-2-1 Contact since the 70’s. Thanks for the great vid!

80s intros were just as good as the shows back then awesome.

Great info and hope your eye recovered fully and quickly

Good info. Thanks for the video. I'm getting ready to spray, and I would've made a big mistake. Thanks for straightening me out on that filter.

Did you know, the MEKP dispenser you have, just like all of them, can be moved up or down to allow for metering and finer adjustments. say you want to do 5CC or 5 ML of MEKP, you can pull the top cup up until you are close to 5CC then make micro adjustments, then when you squeeze, you will only get 5CC of hardener and then the rest will get sucked back into the bottle. I have been doing this for 15 years and I cant tell you how many people in this industry don't know the dispenser works that way. Also, why use xylene to clean? Xylene leaves a residue, and acetone is cheaper anyways. I get 55 gallon drums of acetone for around $9 bucks a gallon. it was up like 250% a few months ago but thank god I didn't need to order any during that time. Also, if you do this a lot, you should look into the 3M accuspray Pro gun. The one with the turn to lock tip. I spray gelcoat at least 3 times a week from mine, and I use a 2.0MM tip for the laminating coats, then once I am ready to spray my topcoat, I use the 1.8mm tip because the gelcoat is much thinner with 50/50 duratech high gloss additive. I have never used a better gun (other than an external mix gun that catalyzes the gelcoat as it comes out of the gun, but that was when I worked for a boat builder, those guns are like $10k) and the best part is it takes SECONDS to clean. and, if I mess up and the gelcoat kicks in my gun, I don't have any parts of the gun that are ruined, I just need to clean it off of my needle, and I can move on with life. It's versatile as well, I can use it with a 1.2 tip for spraying awlcraft and then spray gelcoat in the same gun, lays down gelcoat and awlgrip/awlcraft like a mirror, downside is the tips are pricy, but, you can clean them after each use and I use them about 10 to 15 times then throw them out and its a very versatile gun. Anyhow, good video, might just add the ability to use either Duratech or PVA rather than waxed gelcoat, as 1 waxed gelcoat is more for the DIY as it costs more just to have wax added, which you can do for a fraction of the cost they charge to do it for you, and 2 you will have WAY less sanding if you use a patch aid like duratech or Spectrum Fast Patch and it will look so much better as there is UV and Gloss properties added into the patch aids. Anyhow, good video man loving the 80's intro and ending, reading rainbow song brought back memories.

Great video! I've just bought all the gear to do this, even think I've got the same sprayer. Thanks

LOVE YOUR INTRO TO THIS VIDEO!!!!!!! Brought back memories!!!!!!

You gotta be a 70s baby to understand allbthe references. 😂great vid. Thank you

Thanks

I love your videos, lots of great info. I’m getting ready to tackle applying fresh gel coat to a 1975 Boston Whaler. You said using this method will require a lot of sanding, would rolling and tipping be the better call?

🎉yes, good job good info and a dose of good internet.

Man, you kill me! I had to watch it twice cause we were laughing so much I missed yer pearls of wisdom! Every time ta said retro we skulled a shot Tequila... Cheers Bri, TopHat 25'

@1:31 Reading rainbow lol noticed it right away. Cool editing on your video!

Good advise.

I haven’t seen that 321 contact intro since elementary school…. And I’m 50! Good stuff!

I love the intro brother good job

Educational appreciate it. Love learning things. But on the other side I want to thank you for your business. Since I work for a funeral home. Keep it up and I'll see you soon. I'm well known for giving the last person their last ride just like Uber.

Good information

Nice nostalgia, good info too.😀

The surprise in the video is, you can still get Xylene . I use to use it when doing laminate to clean up the project . Nasty stuff but,it works real great.

Great work! Thanks

Great video! Do have a question on gel coat. How do you get a shinny finish after doing the finish coat with wax?

I know this video is two years old, but I hope you see this comment. I bought a bayliner speedboat last year, and the previous owner had spray painted regular paint on to the hull. I would like to remove the crappy paint job and bring it back down to the base gel coat. Is there any way I can remove the paint without totally destroying the underlying gel coat?

Why my white gel coat looks blue after I sand down my patch work?

Forgot how thick should the gelcoat be . I'm refinishing a shower pan . Has some small cracks in the gelcoat .

I would try a chipcoat gun

Just looking at painting with spray gun for first time.. this is a great video to help! Love your charismatic personality but listen, you’ll still be “cool” even while using safety gear (goggles, respirator) plus.. your body will thank you! 😁👍 Thx again! Terri M

Do you have a video on finishing to a smooth polished finish? sand 600 then 1000 and buff?

Xylene may look much like water, visene, or saline; jts nkt recommended for use as optical lubrication

Both of your videos were very helpful. I'm thinking of spraying a boot stripe on a 43 ft sailboat. I've never worked with gelcoat other than in very small repair areas. How long did you wait between coats? Thanks!

Great video. Thanks for the information… can/should you thin the gel coat with styrene or something else? Does it have to cure fully before applying your second coat.. ? Thanks

I’ve redone a few boats, engines, upholstery, carpet, electrical, but never done more than buffing for gel coating. I’m looking at picking up an old boat in bad shape, I’ll be redoing the stringers and transom as well as floor, full upholstery replacement, new Bimini ( sure cuts cost when you can do all the sewing yourself) , a complete rebuild of the outboard, but I want to do the whole boat in a deep blue with large metal flake like a 70’s or 80’s bass boat, can you tint gel coat or do you have to get it pretinted? And can that gun spray metal flake?

So I cant find any where what the time in between coats 20 min, seems to be all I can find. Or when it is tacky to the touch but does not come off on your finger. So does that apply for the final coat of gelcoat with wax?

Will........have you ever attempted to shoot bottom paint with a dump gun? I have searched everywhere about this and can't find a thing online.

Hello, I have a question, are you able to thin gel coat without wax, and if so what is the best product to use. Also is it exceptable to mist a coat of pva over top of the final coat? Any input would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

dont have a very big compressor would a 6 gallon compresor work?

Can I spray say 5 coats without wax then the final coat with wax and they will all harden? I’m restoring a 1957 Lone Star Meteor that’s in real bad shape.

Why would you not specify the CFM requirements of the compressor?

How do you know that you have the viscosity of the gelcoat right? I'm trying to spray a neutral gelcoat (adding pigment) and it is very thick compared to the white gelcoat I've used in the past. I've tried thinning with straight MEK but still can't seem to get things dialed in. BTW: I'm using the exact same gun you are using in the video.

What’s your recommendations on respecting a whole boat? What grit to sand to and how much product needed

Im wanting to use that 3" thick packing cardboard for a core for a surfboard but want to spray polyurethane resin to soak into the "Honeycomb" paper grid to strengthen. These same steps would work for spraying poly and my application dont need to be pretty or as even But mix resin n mekP then thin it out with mek. Or should mosy cheap box store poly be thin enough And thanks for the awesome fiberglass tips

You dont say (or at least i didnt get it) how long or how tacky do you leave first coat of non wax before you spray the next and how long you leave those before you spray the last wax coat. and if you had to spray two wax coats how long between ?

Not sure. I liked the intro, but everything else has a thumb up

Can you spray 2 coats of gel coat with wax

So I’m spraying the back of my boat where the fuel tanks go and I’m wondering if you thinned the gel coat or if you just used the gel coat and hardener

Dude. Nice intro

i love it

Trying to gelcoat my boat. What compressor do i need to effectively spray gelcoat? I have a porter cable 6 gallon 150 PSi pancake compressor. Not sure if this will be adequate enough to do the job.

What do you clean the gun with after use and can you keep adding gel coat for large projects in between cleaning

Will the gel coat actually dry without the wax? I thought that without wax it would remain tacky. I didn't know that you could build up gelcoat and sand before applying a coat with wax to seal. Very interested in learning more about this. More video's please!

What do you sand it with?

Thanks so much for this video. I have a very important question :) how do you clean your spray gun? Obviously you don't buy them for every new project :)

Do you spray the Gel coat as is with catalyst, or do you thin it out ?

Yeah, I’m a bit confused with the gun adjustments 🫣.. Don’t know to use a roller or spray gun..🫤 I’m just trying to repair spider crack here & there along with transom.. 😑

So I should not use gel coat with wax man more mo et I gotta spend money is tight real tight so tight I hv to order a quart of fairing putty every two weeks so this build is taking forever lol. So I use gel coat no wax for 3 layers and sand between each coat, then shoot gel coat with wax 4th coat? What do I sans down each coat with maybe 320 paper of orbital sander?

What type of Goggles do you wear when spraying gelcoat ? I was hoping I could find some that wont get ruined when I clean the overspray off .

Is this gel-coal good to use on an RV? Will it stick to aluminum?

hi can you apply gelcoat on a urethane painted surface? thanks

I want to spray the mold for a kayak I'm building. Would any of the El Cheapo electric spray guns work for small-scale projects such as a kayak? Wagner, Harbor Freight Etc? I've had decent results rolling gelcoat but would like to go to the next level.

What size compressor were you using.thank you

I think you have to use thinners?

So…only one question…how’s the eye?

I’m about to re-gelcoat a hobie cat. First time spraying gel coat, but have done paint. How much overspray can I expect? I’ve had paint atomize and float in the air only to settle on everything I haven’t covered in my garage. Does gel coat atomize like paint? Do I need to cover everything? If If I put heavy paper on the floor can I reduce foreign debris enough to get a nice job? I don’t have a “clean room”.

How many coats of Gel coat do you spray to have enough thickness ,??

how well does it stick to fiberglass?

i thought you had to do 1 thick layer of gelcoat and thats it, I was told that a few layers can crack the gel coat. can you elaborate your opinions on this? (new painter by the way)

For how many PSI is the water and oil separator? Thanks.

How many pennies am I holding in my right hand, and what is the total value of the coins left in my pocket?

What kind of regulator did you use

What can you get volume to area ratio down to? How thin without windows for mould application?

Nice Retro Intro.

Don’t sweat it. I had oven cleaner on my hand once and took a leak. Scared me to death. Looked like a molting snake for a while. Not nearly as difficult though as explaining it to the wife.

First

Don't use a sweaping arc. Incorrect

Very odd 🤣🤣 you must be from up northeast 100 %

Your not supposed to get it in your eye only the thing you are painting is supposed to get hit next time remember that you will get a better finished product

Didn’t enjoy the intro, video was great!

WAX ! What is wax ? Can`t be like candle wax !

Two things- 1- I hope that your eye is OK. 2 - I know you were just being funny, but I would rather you not make videos for other people's "entertainment", than take care of your health and longevity. Everyone gets to make that choice for themselves, but isn't it the responsibility of the teacher to role-model the ideal? Styrene in your bloodstream, Xylene in your mucous membranes? Those of us who work with these materials will inevitably be exposed to this toxic (long term absolutely debilitating and deadly) chemicals, so the more people do to protect themselves from them the better they can get at doing this stuff. This is the first time that I've watched your channel. I'm not sure I'll watch any more, and I absolutely would not recommend it or share it with my students. Best of luck to you. Live Long and Prosper.

So lame

I'm yet to try this task but can imagine in my future at some point. subscribing brother. check out my channel if you get a minute. thanks, Chuck

Thanks

Why my white gel coat looks blue after I sand down my patch work?