Best clear coating for moulded CFRP part?


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Leew
Leew
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Hi, about to make a CFRP part using a female mould and want to know the best coating to use for the part.
I see two diffrent gelcoats on the website which are sutible for an epoxy layup, the Epoxy gelcoat and the GC50. 
I read that the GC50 gelcoat is difficult to apply by brush and I do not have the means to spray it.
Is the regular expoxy gelcoat (https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/epoxy-bonding-polyester-gelcoat-clear) easier to apply by brush?
I read that the regular epoxy gelcoat is not as UV resistant as the GC50, the part I am making will be used outdoors but mostly stored indoors and only be outdoors for upto about 20 hours per week, will UV damage be a problem here if I was to use the epoxy gelcoat?
Are there other coatings available other than the epoxy gelcoat or GC50 which I could use or Is there anything available which I could spray into the mould without requiring a professinal spraybooth and air fed respirator (I only have a regular paint spraying gun and a cartridge respirator with A1 and P3 filters).
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ChrisR
ChrisR
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You can get a nearly pin hole free finish by using a longer working life resin, create a resin rich 1st layer and really work it in (and the bubbles out) then vac bag to compress, you could infuse but again you may get dry spots / pinholes etc depends on the layup, resin etc, or use an out of autoclave prepreg designed for the cosmetic layer.

Pinholes are pretty much a fact of life but with practice you can minimise them. Using a high build topcoat designed to fill the pinholes can help.

If you use a clear gelcoat, the pinholes can also show through and are on show for all to see Wink
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