I have got the resin infusion process down pretty good now but the parts aren't finished until they have a nice protective gloss to them. Clearcoating direct carbon is hit or miss due to pinholes so I would like to spray a clear gel coat to create the gloss right out of the mould.




Question is:




Is it possible to spray down the clear gel coat, wait for it to tack, THEN lay down the carbon, bag it and infuse?




Thank You

simple answer, yes , you can actually use the tack of the gel to stick the first layer down to the mould for a more cosmetic finish

That's awesome, thank you! Now my question is how to apply gelcoat? Brush or spray. I prefer brush if I can get away with that for odor reasons.

Have to add my two cents.
Make sure the gelcoat and infusion resin are compatible. Infusing  an epoxy resin over a tacky standard polyester gelcoat will give you headaches. Make a small sample part first to find out whether it works or not.

I'm building epoxy parts with resin infusion.  Can anyone suggest a clear gel coat with great UV properties that doesn't yellow over time?  As ChrisR suggested, I'd like to spray it in, wait for it to tac up and then start pressing my cloth into the mold.  Any recommendations?

To be honest, I'd forget the idea of using the gelcoat as a surface tack. As brainfart mentioned, applying epoxy to an undercured polyester gelcoat is risky business, even if the gelcoat is formulated to work with epoxy. Normal practice is to allow the gelcoat to cure for 24 hours before infusing. Whilst it is possible to use the tack of the gelcoat to lay your fabrics and then allow it to cure fully before infusing, there actually isn't really a need. Spray adhesives applied lightly behind the gelcoat will not affect your surface finish, they will be invisible.