I hate gelcoat....

[Canotrouge]

Good fine people, I'm working on a few canoes that need works, and all of them have gelcoat, I know that poly ester or vinyl ester resins are not compatible with epoxy resins, you can put epoxy on top of vinyl ester but not the opposite, right?!? So is there epoxy resins gelcoat? Cause on these boat I will have to patch some areas, and I plan on using west system epoxy with S-Glass on the outside and Kevlar on the inside( inside is no problem since there isn't gelcoat in there)....

So My question is, can some one get epoxy gelcoat?

Thank you

 

[Peach Canoe]

If the substrate is properly cured, I would not hesitate to put polyester over epoxy or epoxy over polyester. Because the curing process is different, the only bond you can achieve is mechanical-- the surface must be prepared properly by cleaning and sanding.

Here's something from West System:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/polyester-over-epoxy/

 

[Canotrouge]

Thank you Peach, I've talked to Marlyn( and he was friendly and in a good mood lol) and he suggested against it.... I suggested to go with an enamel paint instead of gelcoat....
So I think that is what I will do...

It is a god read that link you provided!! Thank you

 

[dave0]

I'm looking at using Interlux paint which can be bought as an epoxy paint, some a two part, I believe from what I've read. I know a couple of folks who have used it with success. It is a bit pricey but if I can avoid using gel coat I will go this route. I think gel coat is gel coat, not epoxy based. I'm sure others will add to this.

 

[Peach Canoe]

I thought gelcoat was a polyester-based material, although wikipedia says it's either polyester or epoxy. Not sure.

Here's another good note:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...poxy-5794.html

 

[Canotrouge]

Most gelcoat are polyester or vinyl ester products... Maybe there is some that are epoxy based, I don't know. They suck.
I've used Interlux bright side with great success really good paint.

Cheers

 

[Peach Canoe]

It seems 'gelcoat' is an industry term that refers to any resin than is applied to a surface on its own-- without fabric. It is often thixotropic, coloured, and may be applied in any fashion. Therefore, a variety of coating and adhesive materials may be utilized as 'gelcoat'.

 

[JagDaddy]

I'm not sure I hate gelcoat, but I'm pretty good at removing it from my boat one trip at a time, by the way, that's what Nova Craft 'Tuff Stuff' looks like :- )

 

[Canotrouge]

No Title

So here is a bit of the work I've done so far on a Clipper WWII.... It will be painted so I doN't have to deal with gelcoat! The boat was warped on the trip and in pretty rough shape. To restore the caving hull I had to build some ribs....

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Wow, Jag! You're really giving that tuff stuff a workout!

You know what I hate about gel-coat? It's too pretty. It makes me think I have to be so careful with a canoe that it sucks some of the fun out of it. I know - it's all in my head.

Canotrouge - can't help you with the application question. Good luck.