[BarryK]

I corrected "my opinion" ....2k primer then epoxy/base/clear for most flex, you want "polyester" products till you get to paint with gelcoat

good luck on the project[/QUOTE]

????????????????????????
Why would this be?
I think I'm confused at what your saying?

[red65mustang]

Barry, my logic is the epoxy/base/clear "stronger membrane" together over the whole car can help distribute stresses and flex more evenly, (act as a "damper spring"?)...rather than on the gel under the more ridgid 2k and featherfill areas

the thought came to me when we were reassembling the 54' body and I could see the flex stress points move (ex: the area behind the seats where the spring loaded combo hinges for the trunk and convert top cover mount).....yow! it needs "dampening" , I figure the epoxy will help extend the life of the paint in an area like that

go ahead call me crazy...

[BarryK]

OK, I see what you meant now!

[badazz55]

Red65Mustang and BarryK, I especially appreciate your input. I think we got it figured out. I guess you could say I am a do it yourselfer, but this is my 3rd "frame off", and I am pretty good with a paint gun so I think I can get the gel on there ok. Heres a pic of my '55 that I did and the current Vette project I'm working on. The Vette is an original 427 390HP, but I have a correct '66 427 425hp thats going in it. Also a pic of my '50 Cad Convert that I started, but got sidetracked with the Vette. As you can see, I have plenty to do.

[powderbill]

Here's a possible explanation for confusion over when to apply gel coat and when not to.

Most manufacturers literature for gel coats will discuss repair procedures with the ASSUMPTION that you are spraying gel coat into a female mold then laminating on top of it. In this instance, most repairs to the gel coat surface, whether its pinholes, craters, alligatoring, or pre-release, will correctly involve re-spraying gel coat onto the mold surface as a part of the repair.

I think very likely some people (such as the part manufacturers spoken of earlier in this thread) have read this information and passed it along, not being careful to differentiate between an in-mold repair and coating a finished part outside of the mold.

In my experience, the thixotropy characteristics of the gel coat plus the air inhibition make the gel coat the LEAST attractive alternative as a coating for the finished part. Sure you can do it, just like you can drive a nail with a screwdriver, but its not the best tool for the job.

In my opinion, either an epoxy primer, or an unsaturated polyester primer is a better all around choice than a gel coat for coating a finished part out of the mold. (IMHO, I'd even use a urethane primer before I'd use a gel coat for this purpose!) I think this was the general consenus of some earlier replies on this thread, but I hope my explanation above might provide a plausible reason for the apparent confusion or mis-advice on use of gel coats.

[chrislana]

gel coat is very hard to sand and is very hard does not scratch easy at least here

[baddbob]

chrislana, it appears you work in a Batcave

[chrislana]

The stair way that goes under the car is not what you think it goes way down into a dungen LOL

[pmeisel]

I live in a town where fiberglass work is either the employment or main hobby of a whole bunch of folks, and I have done a lot myself. A few folks do use gel coat, but generally only when they want to match the factory surface. Epoxy primers, 2K topcoats like Awlgrip, and sometimes Imron are the most common choices. And -- there are more often problems with gel coat than with paint, not that you can't screw up either one.....

[MARTINSR]

Ok chrislana, you have my attention, what in the hello are you doing?

Brian

[chrislana]

Ok im building a 1966 Batmobile using a 1979 Lincoln chassie the car is known as the Dragster you see George Barris made 4 cars for the TV show number 4 is known as the dragster he used a Ford 427 and the car toured the Drag tracks in the 60's so im using some of the same parts like a 66 Mustang shifter seats and a big Lincoln eng so sanding the gel coat this guy used is very hard to sand as in some of the passed posts im learning a lot more about sanding gel coat

[red61vet]

I was looking for the same info and reassurance. I did my 61 in 1994 with a epoxy primer that i wish i had kept the name of (Write Every Thing Down). Aside the stone chips of 12 years and 5 Power Tour Long Hauls it has been excellent and receives compliments. I did see some of what looks like the cloth weave in one spot on very cold days it must shrink differently or something. The get coat method was not mentioned at the time and i want to do this right if there is a better way available now. I will say that with the epoxy primer none of the paint cracking you see on older vets has shone up yet in fact many don't believe its a 12 year old paint job. Its covered with base coat clear coat 93 olds brite red.
But i committed the sin of moving the car with the floor jack and the tires off. Yes i dropped it and now am repairing from the coves forward.
John

[roger1]

I would go with the epoxy primer versus the spray gel coat. I've used the spray gel coat and it is a PITA to work with.

You might want to try the epoxy primer from Southern Polyurethanes (SPI).
I've used it and it's good stuff and a favorite to many members of this bulletin board.

[badazz55]

Most of the concensus here seems to say epoxy primer instead of gel coat. I would guess that either will work fine, but epoxy is easier. Thanks guys.