Carbon Fibre Gel Coat?

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Carbon Fibre Gel Coat?

Author	Message
Dravis	Dravis posted 9 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 592, Visits: 1.9K	I do not seem to have all that much of a problem with the "Gel Coat Cup Gun" from EC ... The real trich is to run it at a lower pressure than a "normal" compressor delivers.. I bought a reduction valve from my local supplier, an have set that to 4 bar (= 58 psi) That makes the "cup Gun" much easier to use. But the dripping is something that you will have to live with. Generally I only spray outside under an open roof. I really do not want styrene based droplets all over my workshop .. This of course means only spraying in nice weather ... Since I'm not trying to make a living out of this, it's not really a problem. "Sapere Aude"... Dare to KNOW! The written word is the only truly efficient vehicle for transmitting a complex concept from mind to mind... 103% of all people do not understand statistics... Do not adjust our mind, theres a fault in reality :-)
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Hanaldo	Hanaldo posted 9 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 28K	They are fantastic if you are doing large moulds. Nothing like spraying 5kg of gelcoat in 30 seconds.
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TomDesign	TomDesign posted 9 Years Ago Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 454, Visits: 2.5K	ye only i bought it for 130pounds.. now i regret that as i could buy simply spray gun for painting with wider needle.
	Reply Like 1
Hanaldo	Hanaldo posted 9 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 28K	Nothing needs fixing, that's how it works. The gelcoat gun doesn't have a needle to stop fluid flow, it's designed to have very little parts so it's quick and easy to clean, and all it needs to do is get the gelcoat out as quickly as possible, hence 'dump gun'. So while you've got the gelcoat loaded into the gun you need to keep the thing pointed in the air. Start spraying with it pointing up and then quickly come down onto your surface. If you don't use all your gelcoat, make sure you point it upright again before releasing the trigger. It's part of the reason I'm not a huge fan of the gelcoat gun. It works great and it certainly applies the gelcoat better than a brush does, but it makes a hell of a mess doing it. At 80psi, the overspray is utterly ridiculous, if you are doing it somewhere where you need to keep things clean make sure you mask off a good 3 metres around you. And I would advise wearing disposable shoes if possible, otherwise you step in the overspray on the ground and track it everywhere... Edited 9 Years Ago by Hanaldo
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TomDesign	TomDesign posted 9 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 454, Visits: 2.5K	why i bought that new from you i lay gelcoat i want to spray and it drips on a floor not work like good gun? but do errors. how to fix or what to do?
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AdamHutchin	AdamHutchin posted 9 Years Ago Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 8, Visits: 53	Thanks Warren, Yes I saw that cup gun and was tempted but I don't think I'll use it enough to warrant £130 at the moment, that's why I was looking for a spraygun which I could use for both paint and gelcoats etc. I'll have a think about it though. I might try some experiments with a brush and see how it goes, if the results are unsatisfactory then I'll have to consider the cup gun.
	Reply Like 1
Warren (Staff)	Warren (Staff) posted 9 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Administrators Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 8K	We would recommend the use of a gelcoat cup gun such as our Gelcoat Spraying Cup Gun As standard it comes with a 4.8mm nozzle which we find is fine for spraying GC50 and other similar viscosity gelcoats. It does take a bit of practice to get the technique right so we would recommend spraying on a scrap panel to start with as you may well need to adjust the compressor. The Gelcoat Spraying Cup Gun should be used with an air feed pressure of between 60 and 100 psi. The gun will use around 5.8cfm at a typical 80 pressure of psi. Warren Penalver Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
	Reply Like 6
AdamHutchin	AdamHutchin posted 9 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 8, Visits: 53	Thanks Warren, I actually intended to vac bag the item after laying it up so it sounds like I need to consider spraying. I don't really paint enough, or lay up enough stuff to justify buying a spraygun for either application, I contacted a spraygun supplier to see if they have an entry level spraygun suitable for the application of both normal paint and gel coats like GC50, if such a thing exists then I'd probably get enough use out of it to warrant buying one. The spray gun manufacturer emailed me back asking for "a TDS that guides to correct fluid tip choice?". I looked at the TDS available for GC50, and unless I'm missing something, I couldn't see any guidance on this. Perhaps you could advise? Thanks again
	Reply Like 5
Warren (Staff)	Warren (Staff) posted 9 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Administrators Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 8K	GC50 can be brush applied for wet lay applications. We don't recommend brush application where vacuum bagging or resin infusion is being caused as the fabric is pressed tightly against the brush marks on the gel distorting the weave pattern slightly. On wet lay this isn't a problem as the fabric floats ontop of the initial layer of resin and as such is not pressed into the brush marks and hence does not have the same distortion. Warren Penalver Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
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AdamHutchin	AdamHutchin posted 9 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 8, Visits: 53	Unfortunately I don't have the facility to spray the GC50 at present and I can't really justify the additional expense of a spray gun at the moment. OK, I'll give your recommendations regarding the release agents a go. Thanks for all your advice.
	Reply Like 6