Spray on gel coat
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Spray on gel coat
I am trying to restore a 73 Corvette out in the middle of Africa, as we live in a desert the heat hasn't been to kind to the Fibreglass. Saw on overhaulin a spray gel to seal the body before painting, I can't get it out here...can anyone tell me what is available in the States. Is there such a thing as a spray-on-gel coat?
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 3,637
Likes: 27
From: Norwalk Ct
C3's never had a gel coat and to be honest that is "old technology"
Get yourself a good epoxy primer, it will seal the old fiberglass and any repairs, doesnt shrink and will make a good base for the rest of your paint job once hardened.
Nick
Get yourself a good epoxy primer, it will seal the old fiberglass and any repairs, doesnt shrink and will make a good base for the rest of your paint job once hardened.
Nick
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
Who makes a good epoxy primer?
Racer
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 424
Likes: 2
I went over the entire body on my '68 back in 1983, removed any bondo and fixed everything with glass. When I was finished I sprayed the whole thing with Gel Coat to seal everything up. It may be old technology, but Eklers still sells it. It does not replace primer, just neatly finishes off the fiberglass. It orange peals baddly, and needs to be sanded smooth, lightly spray it with black laquer and block sand it untill the paint is gone. Next time I will do the same thing.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 192
Likes: 0
From: Fort Lauderdale FL
PPG DPLF, and SPI (Southern Pollyeurathe Inc) make excellent epoxy primer/sealers. I chose the SPI stuff based on better sandability and better price, equal to PPG DPLF in quality if not better.
The stuff will seal and encapsulate your body preventing a host of future problems. If you are going to do a body off resto, then I would recommend shooting both sides inside and out with the epoxy sealer to truely encapsulate the body.
As for material usage I used 2 quarts of epoxy with 2 quarts of hardener, this gave me 2 wet coats of the exterior body and door jams, I would suggest double the quantity if you will be doing the body shell complete for 2-3 coats. Can be sprayed with 1.4 mm fluid tip and lays 1.5 mils per coat.
Great stuff and any body work or future paint coats will stick to it like nobody's business.
Good luck
The stuff will seal and encapsulate your body preventing a host of future problems. If you are going to do a body off resto, then I would recommend shooting both sides inside and out with the epoxy sealer to truely encapsulate the body.
As for material usage I used 2 quarts of epoxy with 2 quarts of hardener, this gave me 2 wet coats of the exterior body and door jams, I would suggest double the quantity if you will be doing the body shell complete for 2-3 coats. Can be sprayed with 1.4 mm fluid tip and lays 1.5 mils per coat.
Great stuff and any body work or future paint coats will stick to it like nobody's business.
Good luck
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
What is this NASON stuff you use? Do you spray it straight onto the fibreglass as a sealer coat or undercoat? Have you got a the correct name for other than "stuff"?
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
NASON is just a brand that Dupont makes. You can get all it's products apparently. Sealer, primer, base coat, and clear coat. Stop by a paint booth or an Oreilly that has a paint department and they'll walk you through everything. NASON is just great stuff...very high quality.
Pro
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 511
Likes: 0
From: St. Louis MO
I don't know if they will ship overseas, but http://www.angelfire.com/biz/fapco/ this place is local to me here in Missouri and they are probably one of the most knowledgable paint stores when it comes to Dupont painting systems like NASON (middle of the road product) or ChromaBase (Almost top of the line product).
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
I don't know if they will ship overseas, but http://www.angelfire.com/biz/fapco/ this place is local to me here in Missouri and they are probably one of the most knowledgable paint stores when it comes to Dupont painting systems like NASON (middle of the road product) or ChromaBase (Almost top of the line product).
Good call. The Toyota I painted was all Chroma and I was very impressed. Good suggestion.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 435
Likes: 7
From: Wake Forest NC
I'm looking into the paint info, too. The local DuPont shop informed me that if you're shooting single stage (no clearcoat) metallic, NASON is the preferred (DuPont) brand by most shops; base/clear, go Chroma.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
Just a tip...stay away from single stage paints. I just don't think you get the finish you want. It's designed for cheap paint jobs, and what you get, IS, a cheap paint job. Just my opinion.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 192
Likes: 0
From: Fort Lauderdale FL
Personally, unless your body is absolutely mint prior to the epoxy coat, I would use the epoxy as a sealer and then top with a traditional 2k primer to fill in the inperfections, all of the epoxy primers will shrink considerably when hardening so the slightest blemish will show, easier to deal with a 2K filler coat than trying to sand the epoxy super smooth. Just my $0.02
Last edited by 75coupered; Jan 3, 2007 at 10:22 AM.
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Thanks to all you guys out there in the forum. Your information is priceless, will be looking into product available locally and see if there is a spec match. Will keep you all posted on findings.
Phuduhudu
Phuduhudu
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
If you have the time...it's always a good idea to let a stage sit for a week or so before applying the next stage. For instance...seal it. Week. Prime it. Week. Base coat it. Week. Clear. Week. Then, wet sand and buff. Turns out VERY nice.
