A question about Gel Coat products

JoeChiOhki wrote:
As I will be needing to patch and make some new fiberglass areas in the bathroom and on the roof of my Amerigo restoration, I've been looking at Gel Coat finishes to apply once the main fiberglass work is built.

The first product I came across Evercoat Gel-Kote Premium White, fortunately, a little reading has already educated me on the fact that one needs to cover this stuff with wax paper once its applied or it won't setup right.

I'm interested in if anyone here is familiar with some other gel coat products that I can use for when I start work on the new bathroom stall, which is being made from a combination of fiberglass reinforced panels and hand done glass work on the shower pan to make it all a solid piece.

I'm aiming for a polar white color, and most of the gel coats just say "White" which isn't super helpful in terms of what shade it is.

The Evercoat I found would probably work okay for where the roof is being done as its all horizontal, but I'm still learning about gel coat.

Thanks in advance :) on any advice.

there are two types of gelcoats, one was formulated to be used in molds, and the glass structure laid up over it.
The second is to be used in over coating (like your job) It contains a WAX that will act as a sealer required to Harden the gelcoat.
Your local boat supply company should have both.

I sprayed new gelcoat on my canoe. I am on the road now, so can't check the can, but I bought it at Tap Plastic. Work very well on canoe that I sprayed white over old green, but when I sprayed repairs on my camper, it cracks, so you need to do very solid repair before putting gelcoat.

Have metal shop make non slip diamond plate shower pan w/ welded corners? That's what I would do draw a diagram and talk it over with fabricators. Get a couple prices.

covered wagon wrote:
Have metal shop make non slip diamond plate shower pan w/ welded corners? That's what I would do draw a diagram and talk it over with fabricators. Get a couple prices.

I had thought about that, but the odd shape plus the sloping for the drain in the floor would be a nightmare for diagramming, where as I can can do the glass work in place myself. I mainly want am after gel coat for the bathroom the finished glass work on the roof I can finish with rustoleum topside, which is a marine epoxy paint, which I'm not sure would hold up in a wet bath.

Joe when I have a stainless sink made for integrated stainless countertop they do what is called a 'cross hatch' in the bottom for bottom slope drainage. Then you install as a shower pan and spray foam the underside for support.

Not sure it would work in your case.

The West Marine store near you

West Marine Portland
12085 N. Parker Ave
Portland, OR 97217
503-289-1154

has most of the products you will need and may or may not have a person in the store who knows about various fiber glassing techniques. They also carry pre-made fairing compunds or will sell you the fillers needed to make your own.

I would use epoxy based products, as they work well on panels made with either epoxy or vinyl ester.

If you are doing multiple lay ups with fiberglass, you might consider using MAS epoxy / hardeners as they are a "blushless" chemistry. West System epoxy has one specific hardener that is blushless as well (their normal hardeners all have an amine blush that you need to remove by washing or sanding).

As far as on-line source for materials and instruction videos - Jamestown Distributors has an extensive product line and more than 100 videos showing how to work with resins / fillers / fiberglass.

As far as gel coat, there is a commercial spray that you can apply afterwards to get it to cure hard vs remaining tacky (it is a single digit percentage polyvinyl alcohol solution in water).

bb_94401 wrote:
The West Marine store near you

West Marine Portland
12085 N. Parker Ave
Portland, OR 97217
503-289-1154

has most of the products you will need and may or may not have a person in the store who knows about various fiber glassing techniques. They also carry pre-made fairing compunds or will sell you the fillers needed to make your own.

I would use epoxy based products, as they work well on panels made with either epoxy or vinyl ester.

If you are doing multiple lay ups with fiberglass, you might consider using MAS epoxy / hardeners as they are a "blushless" chemistry. West System epoxy has one specific hardener that is blushless as well (their normal hardeners all have an amine blush that you need to remove by washing or sanding).

As far as on-line source for materials and instruction videos - Jamestown Distributors has an extensive product line and more than 100 videos showing how to work with resins / fillers / fiberglass.

As far as gel coat, there is a commercial spray that you can apply afterwards to get it to cure hard vs remaining tacky (it is a single digit percentage polyvinyl alcohol solution in water).

Thanks, the videos will help, already found guide on dealing with amine blush, it recommendeds washing the blush vs sanding, as trying to sand it off may actually make it worse.

covered wagon wrote:
Joe when I have a stainless sink made for integrated stainless countertop they do what is called a 'cross hatch' in the bottom for bottom slope drainage. Then you install as a shower pan and spray foam the underside for support.

Not sure it would work in your case.

Very unlikely, as I am reusing part of the original shower enclousre in the new one, which includes a raised base for the toilet flange.

The new bathroom is larger than the original, A 5/8 inch plywood deck is being laminated into the new raised bathroom floor (original sat right on the floor so it lacks the laminated deck, I'm drawing on the construction method that was used in the fiberglass bathroom in my kit, which had a plywood deck laminated into the fiberglass of the floor ).

HD and Loews sells a epoxy paint that can be applied with a brush and also a spray version. I used the brush version in a FG bath tub to cover small hairline cracks which stained the tub. It came out well. You can make structural repairs with any FG cloth and epoxy resin then paint or spray over the repair with this epoxy paint which is like a gel coat. Remember if you apply gel coat too thick it can crack over time it should be less than .020. Gel cote is pure resin which is very brittle, that is why you see cracks in FG boats or RV caps. The epoxy paint has additives that make it more ductile. If you decide to go with marine stuff there are many shades of white, they sell tints that can be added to the white gel cote that can closely match your original white. Also the floor needs to be well supported underneath to prevent flexing and cracking the gel coat.