rgano
Guru
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2007
- Messages
- 5,001
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- FROLIC
- Vessel Make
- Mainship 30 Pilot II since 2015. GB-42 1986-2015. Former Unlimited Tonnage Master
Man, do I suck at this. Coming from a wooden trawler which I Awlgripped myself to a fiberglass boat with an Awlcraft painted hull and a gelcoated topside, I figured that someday I'd want to learn the art of gelcoating. As an introduction to this art, I attempted to gelcoat and small polyester resin coated box I made to cover the fist-sized air compressor for my new air horn (replacing the anemic sounding electric OEM). I used a two-year old can of UNOPENED waxed gelcoat and mixed in the exact amount of catalyst for 1.5% mix (73-degree F, about the temperature yesterday), and, at the behest of a friend, I spryed on PVA to help the hardening process. Today I found the whole box covered in a sticky mess and just rubbed it all off with acetone for a fresh start.
I called the company I bought the gelcoat from, and they said the shelf life of their product is six months. But it was never opened. Anybody buy that excuse?
A true expert is coming by in a couple of weeks to experiment on touching up some Hurricane Michael scars on the hull, and I intend to turn this box and the gelcoat (which he thinks should have been ok on the shelf unopened for two years) over to him. He mentioned some other chemical which he would use to enhance the process, but I cannot remember it. He did a superb job making a couple of vanity sinks out of fiberglass/gelcoat on the trawler; so I am just gonna wash my hands of this one. At least I got the box made and fiberglassed with polyester and ready for the gelcoat.
I called the company I bought the gelcoat from, and they said the shelf life of their product is six months. But it was never opened. Anybody buy that excuse?
A true expert is coming by in a couple of weeks to experiment on touching up some Hurricane Michael scars on the hull, and I intend to turn this box and the gelcoat (which he thinks should have been ok on the shelf unopened for two years) over to him. He mentioned some other chemical which he would use to enhance the process, but I cannot remember it. He did a superb job making a couple of vanity sinks out of fiberglass/gelcoat on the trawler; so I am just gonna wash my hands of this one. At least I got the box made and fiberglassed with polyester and ready for the gelcoat.