Help spraying gel coat.

I am coming up on doing some delam repairs on my older boat, Its already old, on top of the injections I would like to spray it with gelcoat, or interlux if I have too. My question is this:

Will my Wagner spray gun ($50 Home Depot) work, or do I need a high end gravity fed sprayer? If I do, what PSI do they run at? I have a compressor so I dont want to have to start all over. Is it possible to use these? Do I need to thin the gelcoat, or Interlux?

Anyone used these kind of things?

Thanks,
Luke

There's an article about spraying gel coat in the current issue of the Hobie HOTLINE magazine. It covers additives, catalyzing, and different sprayers which can do the job. If you join the Hobie Class Association you can receive the magazine 6 times a year. It's something to consider..here's their link https://www.hcanamembers.com/PayDues.aspx

I read the article,

If its not a HVLP sprayer, i.e. a wagner home sprayer which isnt listed as a HVLP sprayer will it still work? The Preval system seems too small to do an entire boat with several coats.

How is painting over a colored Gelcoat with white? My hulls are 1970's yellow, I'm over the yellow, and would like to go white, but will the yellow show through and will scratches show it?

Thanks,
Luke

I would think a Wagner sprayer would be able to do the job. Gel coat in my mind is better than paint, but will be more work before the job is done. If you paint, or re-gel to a different color than the original you take the chance (and it will happen) of chips, scrapes or gouges showing the original color. If I were to re-gel an entire hull I'd probably remove the hull from the frame and lay it on it's side, re-coating one side at a time (less chance for runs or sags) and getting a thicker finish. If you shoot paint I'd recommend an LP / Imron type. Be very careful with the hi-tech paints, some have isocyanates (sp?) which can get thru a filter mask and mess up your brain. If you plan to race the boat in HCA events you need to make sure the re-coating doesn't remove the non-skid from the deck. It needs to remain on the deck where the factory put it...you can add to, but not take away.

I'd like to get my hulls re-sprayed also. I'd like to find a shop to do it for me. (I'd make too much of a mess in my garage) Does anyone know a shop in So Cal that can do this?
Thanks

Go talk to a local car repair shop. Most of them have spray booths, and although car paint may be alittle different, it would do the trick. Since these boats don't stay in the water I dont think car paint would be a problem. When you think about it, a car is subject to the same elements as a hull (sun, rain, cold winters, hot summers). I dont know how being used in salt water would effect the paint. Maybe you could do the prep to save some money and have them do the mixing and spraying. When it comes to painting, the expression "you get what you pay for" holds true.

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Sail.fast

470, 08 Getaway

If you're going to do it, go get yourself a cheap (I've seen them for $13.00 at Kragen) gravity HVLP gun. Don't get the suction type. Gel coat is so forgiving you don't need anything special. I've never used a Wagoner type sprayer, so I can't comment on that. I bought a case of the cheap HVLP guns last time they were on sale and have only used 1 per year for the past 2 years, and I spray a lot of Gel.

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Sail Revolution
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ABOVE is your answer, Don't use a wagner, the gravity feed like the one above is the best. Better still , you now know who has sprayed lots of gel coat. I would go and see surf city catamarans. That would be a wise move i would say, at least your going to get the right answers. CHEERS....pepsi

That Wagner gun won't atomize worth anything. It pumps out pretty large droplets. Okay for spraying a fence.

The main thing is to thin with styrene, for whatever you spray it in.

I've used old Binks standard spray guns (they were new in the early '70's) because I always worried about it kicking in a good gun, and those old guns have leather washers that Styrene won't dissolve. They do a good job, and through many uses with gelcoat, they're still good to go. They create a lot of overspray though.

The Harbor Freight gun should do okay. The trouble is, with any gun, you need dry air. Water droplets, or even moisture, don't mix well with gelcoat. You'll get pinholes. I'm fortunate to have found a refrigerated air dryer on Craigslist, so I can spray gelcoat that needs no sanding, but only a buffing out.

In short, there is no way to do a good spray job, with about any kind of material, with cheap equipment. If you can avoid pinholes, it's easy to wetsand, and buff. If you clean the hulls with Acetone, make absolutely sure you wait long enough for it to evaporate Completely, or you will get another kind of pinholes.

No way would I run gelcoat through my airless rig.