G
Guest
Guest
Up early and messing with the motor canoe. While I had some wait time I screwed around with using the gel coat on three and a half inch carbon fiber circles, cut from DougD scrap with a hole saw. Cutting those carbon fiber disks with a hole saw was a black dust messy job.
I measured out two tablespoons of water in a disposable plastic shot glass and marked that level for one ounce of gel coat. My initial plan was to test using the four different recommended concentrations of catalyst, so I marked four shot glasses.
Yoikes, the first ounce of gel coat I mixed went a long ways. It was enough to cover all six carbon fiber disks on the non shiny side, and a 6 x 6 inch square of gel coat brush wasted on scrap wood. I was running out of 1 inch chip brushes anyway.
There is a pie are squared math challenge for someone. How may square inches of gel coat coverage from a single ounce covered those 6 disks and the leftover square? Do not trust me to do math. You will see why.
We (Joel) mixed original gel coat with only half as much catalyst as actually called for, even for the lowest concentration mix. We made two ounces of gel coat, and only added 13 drops of catalyst. It never set up.
This time the mix was screwed up (Mike) in the other direction. Do not ask me how, I was sober and had had some coffee, but I managed to add 26 drop of catalyst, thinking that I was making the same two ounce batch of gel coat. I even wrote the number of drops down on the newspaper covering the bench in bold Sharpie for an easy reference reminder. 26 DROPS.
No, not 26 drops dummy. I was only mixing one ounce of gel coat this time. 13 drops of catalyst. Maybe I did that to make Joel feel better. Yeah, thats why.
The results in any case. With the shop at 66F and slowly rising, the over catalyst gel coat was slightly tacky but unmarked by a stout tap with a mixing stick in one hour, untacky in two hours, and seemingly completely dry and firm in three hours.
With no experience in spreading gel coat I may have painted it on thick. It mostly self leveled, and completely hid any trace of the dull black on the unfinished side of the carbon fiber.
I may have finally broken my gel coat cherry. If I had a white gel coated hull bottom in need of crack and chip attention I would not hesitate to try it again. And maybe, finally, get the catalyst ratio right for the first time.
I measured out two tablespoons of water in a disposable plastic shot glass and marked that level for one ounce of gel coat. My initial plan was to test using the four different recommended concentrations of catalyst, so I marked four shot glasses.
Yoikes, the first ounce of gel coat I mixed went a long ways. It was enough to cover all six carbon fiber disks on the non shiny side, and a 6 x 6 inch square of gel coat brush wasted on scrap wood. I was running out of 1 inch chip brushes anyway.
There is a pie are squared math challenge for someone. How may square inches of gel coat coverage from a single ounce covered those 6 disks and the leftover square? Do not trust me to do math. You will see why.
We (Joel) mixed original gel coat with only half as much catalyst as actually called for, even for the lowest concentration mix. We made two ounces of gel coat, and only added 13 drops of catalyst. It never set up.
This time the mix was screwed up (Mike) in the other direction. Do not ask me how, I was sober and had had some coffee, but I managed to add 26 drop of catalyst, thinking that I was making the same two ounce batch of gel coat. I even wrote the number of drops down on the newspaper covering the bench in bold Sharpie for an easy reference reminder. 26 DROPS.
No, not 26 drops dummy. I was only mixing one ounce of gel coat this time. 13 drops of catalyst. Maybe I did that to make Joel feel better. Yeah, thats why.
The results in any case. With the shop at 66F and slowly rising, the over catalyst gel coat was slightly tacky but unmarked by a stout tap with a mixing stick in one hour, untacky in two hours, and seemingly completely dry and firm in three hours.
With no experience in spreading gel coat I may have painted it on thick. It mostly self leveled, and completely hid any trace of the dull black on the unfinished side of the carbon fiber.
I may have finally broken my gel coat cherry. If I had a white gel coated hull bottom in need of crack and chip attention I would not hesitate to try it again. And maybe, finally, get the catalyst ratio right for the first time.
