Question about spraying gel coat and rub rail seals

[th365thli]

Hello all,

I've done the bulk of my restoring on my 375v Ranger and now I want to fix some gelcoat chips and scratches. I've determined that some of these will require spraying some gel coat. I've sourced the metal flakes from Ranger and I will be getting my gelcoat supplies from US composites. The last piece of the puzzle is the spray gun setup. I know I can use those cheap disposable preval sprayers but I was wondering if a proper air compressor / spray gun is worth it. Because I'm only repairing nicks and scratches I'd think I wouldn't need a large compressor? Would I be able to get away with an 8-10 gallon compressor assuming it satisfies the gun cfm requirements?

Second question is about sealing rub rails. I took off my rub rail and sealed the gap between the cap and hull, only from the console to the back of the boat on each side though. Then I put the rubrail on and sealed the underside all the way around. Is it necessary to seal the top of the rub rail? Will significant water get through? I don't believe it was sealed originally.

[crank68]

A small compressor will prolly work for very small areas but that would be all. Get your gun and spray thinner or some sort of liquid through it as if you were spraying spot repairs. See how it acts. Also you need to have a nice multi filtering system to keep the water out. ..I wouldn’t worry about sealing the rubrail from the top.

[th365thli]

A small compressor will prolly work for very small areas but that would be all. Get your gun and spray thinner or some sort of liquid through it as if you were spraying spot repairs. See how it acts. Also you need to have a nice multi filtering system to keep the water out. ..I wouldn’t worry about sealing the rubrail from the top.

Thanks, I may just get those cheap preval sprayers or even just not worry about it until later. The damages are just cosmetic and I'm not selling the boat. Probably will use that money for black friday lol

[indy390v]

Preval won't spray the flake or the gel as it is too thick. Both require a gun with at least a 2.0mm nozzle. You can find cheap ones on ebay that will work for what you are doing. Shoot the base color first, then mix the flake into the clear and shoot it. Then you will need to cover that with straight clear. Sand and buff. Big job to do it right. Matching the flake pattern will be hardest part.
For just nicks and deep scratches you may be able to just use a small brush. Still lots of sanding and buffing.

[Whistler]

Preval won't spray the flake or the gel as it is too thick. Both require a gun with at least a 2.0mm nozzle. You can find cheap ones on ebay that will work for what you are doing. Shoot the base color first, then mix the flake into the clear and shoot it. Then you will need to cover that with straight clear. Sand and buff. Big job to do it right. Matching the flake pattern will be hardest part.
For just nicks and deep scratches you may be able to just use a small brush. Still lots of sanding and buffing.

You can spray gel with a preval sprayer but you won't be able to spray metal flake with it. You can spray gel only with the preval but you need to thin it with styrene to shoot it through the preval.

Check out the videos that Russell Marine Products has on YouTube. He has done great videos on spraying gel with the preval and on spraying metal flake with a spray gun. He recommends a cheap one from harbor freight.

Here is a link to one of those videos

[Blackwoodz]

Saw the vid where for small repairs of flake areas. Preval with diluted clear.
Spray the clear....then pour a small amount of flake in to your palm of your hand and then blow it out by mouth on repair area....let tack then spray clear.

[paulrodbender]

https://www.lbifiberglass.com/produc...oat-spray-gun/

I used this gun for my flake and it worked fine.

[mtatum]

Shoot the base color first, then mix the flake into the clear and shoot it. Then you will need to cover that with straight clear.

Would you have to deal with orange peel on the base color or does the next layer of clear resolve the orange peel? Say for a boat that doesn't have a full flaked surface. The base is the main color with light flake as an accent. Maybe a 50% see through? I've been curious about that.

[CastingCall]

Would you have to deal with orange peel on the base color or does the next layer of clear resolve the orange peel? Say for a boat that doesn't have a full flaked surface. The base is the main color with light flake as an accent. Maybe a 50% see through? I've been curious about that.

Orange peel is not an issue with gelcoat, as you wet sand and polish the surface until it's a glass-smooth finish.

[mtatum]

So apply solid base, wet sand and polish then clear and flake?