• Welcome to the Checkmate Community Forums forums.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions, articles and access to our other FREE features.
    By joining our free community you will be able to:

    » Interact with over 10,000 Checkmate Fanatics from around the world!
    » Post topics and messages
    » Post and view photos
    » Communicate privately with other members
    » Access our extensive gallery of old Checkmate brochures located in our Media Gallery
    » Browse the various pictures in our Checkmate photo gallery

    Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact support by clicking here or by using the"contact us" link at the bottom of the page.

Automotive paint with Clear Gel Coat?

C

checkmatemaz

Member
Was just thinking today.... I want to repaint my boat either next year or the year after... Would preping the present gel coat surface then painting with an automotive paint and then re gel coating with a clear gel coat work??

Just want to do this so that i can put stripes in the paint job and throw some deep flake in the gel coat?
 
Im not an expert by any means, but the playing with automotive paint and gel coat, that many switching "layers" I would worry about adhesion or delamination issues, I painted over my gel coat with interlux then went automotive paint for some striping, even though I made sure I stayed in the high solids urathane base paints it was tough, I wouldnt do it again.. but hopefully some more experienced painters will chime in....
 
high quality acrylic urethane clear coat will stick fine to gelcoat if you rough it up with say 320, gelcoat probably won't stick worth spit to urethane... if you to the auto paint, shoot the whole thing in high quality auto clear...
 
ok thanks for the responses.... so since i really want the durability of gel coat what can i do to get an interesting pattern and some flake in it? would i spray multiple coats of gel , a couple with the colours i wanted and then a final coat with the flake? how would the factory have done this type of paint sceme back in the 70's with gel coat?

P6180011.jpg
 
you've got it right, just buy clear gelcoat and pigment it how you like with color, pearl, flake, both, whatever...

The factory is a different situation, they build the boat from the outside in... the gel is sprayed into the mold etc... different situation.

If you're most familiar with auto paint, I would seriously consider just doing it in auto paint. modern clears chosen for hardness and uv stability are really very tough. I went that route and laid the clear on heavy (ppg 2021). it is much tougher / scratch resistant than it could be, it's easy to wetsand and buff scratches out if / when they occur, AND if there is some damage that occurs in the future, I'm comfortable repairing and blending / burning in paint down the road.

I would go with what you're familiar with. if you do a bunch of layers, would be sure to really thoroughly prep - oxidized gel holds waxes, crap, solvents, etc... much more readily than a car body. Finally, I would put the max recommended hardener in your intercoats and base coats as well.

Just my two cents... based on the advice of others combined with my own (somewhat limited) experience. Good luck with it!
 
since fibreglass flexes... I was wondering if the automotive style clear will flex with it without cracking? I would really like to paint the boat black on the bottom, with the stripe under the rub rail a red, and put silver flake all over under the rub rail. then above the rub rail paint it a sterling grey and throw some red flake into it with red upholstery on the seats.

Just worried with the auto clear for durability from flexing and scratches and other factors from a marine environment? can the imron or other brand of boat paints be tinted easily?

I just want the best possible scenario for another 15 to 20 years of looking good after i paint.
 
Ever seen a big dent in a car? Paint didn't crack right! Todays paints are flexible. Just use auto paint and clear and trick it out as much as you want!

P.S. Thats a botm pic.
 
checkmatemaz said:
since fibreglass flexes... I was wondering if the automotive style clear will flex with it without cracking? I would really like to paint the boat black on the bottom, with the stripe under the rub rail a red, and put silver flake all over under the rub rail. then above the rub rail paint it a sterling grey and throw some red flake into it with red upholstery on the seats.

Just worried with the auto clear for durability from flexing and scratches and other factors from a marine environment? can the imron or other brand of boat paints be tinted easily?

I just want the best possible scenario for another 15 to 20 years of looking good after i paint.
Click to expand...

Urethane paint is flexible. I use Imron made by Dupont, and believe it to be the bast and most flexible. I have used it on my boat and others, some boat manufacturers use it on there boats. It has the look and feel of gel coat, especially when clearcoated, however it is very expensive. If you do a search on Imron, clearcoats, and urethane paint on this sight you will find loads of info on this subject. Here is a link to my Imron paint job, and it is old school:

http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14018

Good luck and keep us updated, this sight loves pictures.
 
I have been reading a little about Interlux paint... Is this stuff gonna be durable to small scratches and everyday boating, or will i have to be super careful, moreso than now with the gel coat? If i want to do different colours, how will i make the two colours blend so there is now felt or seen transition? Lastly I don't think this will be posible with this system but how if possible can i get flake into the mix?

thanks for the help so far and keep it coming, I'm learning.
 
checkmatemaz said:
I have been reading a little about Interlux paint... Is this stuff gonna be durable to small scratches and everyday boating, or will i have to be super careful, moreso than now with the gel coat? If i want to do different colours, how will i make the two colours blend so there is now felt or seen transition? Lastly I don't think this will be posible with this system but how if possible can i get flake into the mix?

thanks for the help so far and keep it coming, I'm learning.
Click to expand...

Metal-flake, as far as I know, usually is sprayed on by someone who has the skill to apply the flake in an even pattern. This is why brushed on paint or tip and role methods are solid colors.
 
Oh I see.... Yea flake may not be the easiest to apply. I was doing more reading last night on different products and I have kind of come to the conclusion on what I really want to use, even though this will be done in a year or 2, so the products may change.

I plan on re- gel coating everything under the rub rail black, and then taping off and sanding and preping for a metallic red stripe done with the Awlcraft SE base - clear product. And above the rub rail using the same Awlcraft SE for some metallic red which fades into a dark grey (maybe metallic aswell).

The reason i want to do the gel-coat on the bottom is for durability on loading and un-loading, because the boat never stays in the water, and the Awlcraft SE because the clear should give it some durability up top.

Thanks for the help and comments so far.
 
Well, hopefully I can give you some more info this winter when I get to painting my resto... I too am looking to do a bunch of flake. I've found a few different products that have gotten good words and have talked to the suppliers. I plan on buying a little 2 oz cup of it and doing a test before the whole boat, but I will be using a .004" flake that is added into the clear coat. Simply clear over the colors you painted with whatever flake you want and then add a few more coats of clear over the top, wetsand/buff, waalaaa, sparkly n pretty. Hopefully it is as simple as that! It will be a more labor intensive paint/flake job, but hopefully it's worth it in the end!

Here is one site I've talked to and am considering using their product. http://www.paintwithpearl.com/metal-flake.htm
 
If you can set your paint gun up correctly metal flake isn't too hard to spray, I did my Camaro with medium sized flake in a HVLP gun and it came out an 9.5 out of ten, the flake was pretty much perfectly distributed.

I was told as long as you keep stirring the cup to keep the flake from settling it will come out fine, thats what I did and it came out pretty good. It was also my first major paint job like that.
 
Tx91z28 said:
If you can set your paint gun up correctly metal flake isn't too hard to spray, I did my Camaro with medium sized flake in a HVLP gun and it came out an 9.5 out of ten, the flake was pretty much perfectly distributed.

I was told as long as you keep stirring the cup to keep the flake from settling it will come out fine, thats what I did and it came out pretty good. It was also my first major paint job like that.
Click to expand...


:thumb: That's exactly what all the companies have been saying as well. Standard 1.5 needle and make sure you keep swishing the clear to keep the flake suspended after each sweep and it turns out very good.

Post a pic of the camaro/flake job!
 
Just looked through my pics and there isn't a great pic of the flake, its very subtle (small gold flake in dark red paint) I sprayed it in the base coat because I didn't want the first impression when you see the car to be WOW LOOK FLAKE, it does give the car and orange/gold look in the sun though. I still need to cut/buff the clear to get rid of the orange peel but here's some "in progress" shot:

09.jpg

2010.jpg
 
BADBK said:
Well, hopefully I can give you some more info this winter when I get to painting my resto... I too am looking to do a bunch of flake. I've found a few different products that have gotten good words and have talked to the suppliers. I plan on buying a little 2 oz cup of it and doing a test before the whole boat, but I will be using a .004" flake that is added into the clear coat. Simply clear over the colors you painted with whatever flake you want and then add a few more coats of clear over the top, wetsand/buff, waalaaa, sparkly n pretty. Hopefully it is as simple as that! It will be a more labor intensive paint/flake job, but hopefully it's worth it in the end!

Here is one site I've talked to and am considering using their product. http://www.paintwithpearl.com/metal-flake.htm
Click to expand...

That is a good way to add flake, nonmetallic color first, add some dry flake to your clear coat ( make it look a little heavier than one of those snowball toys you shake up with the water inside and the snow flakes swirl around). You can put a coat of straight clear on after that. It will protect the metal flake stage if you wet sand and buff.

You can buy dry flake in all different colors and size. It is actually easier to get the metal flake even doing it that way and the effect looks better. Don't get huge flake for a standard spray gun. :bigthumb:
 
Nobody makes a bottom paint to put flake in. Gelcoat is the way to go. If the urethane flexes, it will peel off in sheets if the proper prep work isn't done
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top