Gelcoat + Metal Flake

[Goad]

bump this back to the top.
The project is at its gelcoating stage and I need to begin gelcoat ASAP since we now have a deadline for the beginning of July.
I found this site, but they arent local and it seems to just be a reseller with no solid way to contact them.
http://www.tcpglobal.com/kustomshop/ksflake.aspx
I need a local paint shop i can go to for samples to match size and color of metalflake. Also, somewhere I can get gelcoat at a decent price. I am located in the Orange County area.
If anyone has any additional information or time on their hands to give us a hand, it would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Picture of the belly!
http://www.socaljetboats.com/cpg/alb...2/IMG_1361.JPG

[Goad]

I've been getting more and more into the metal flake, and have found that the 2.5 tip works out ok, but the old school way of laying down flake (i cannot remember the name of it but it acts like a hopper)works much better, and makes blending rep's much easier you might want to lay down a nice tack cote before using the dry flake, oh! one more thing, you will be sweeping up the wasted flake for months to come! LOL
Todd
I wont be doing any blending, so what do you suggest I use to spread the flake? ...spread it by hand? but what did you use for a tack?

[BILLY.B]

This is fun reading. Unless you have the right gun your in for a real treat. I bought a gun from the guy who sells the old school flake and I sent it back. Way to small for doing a complete boat. I didn't lay down a tack coat and the job turned out great. I used a slow reducer which kept it wet. Now the gun I used has a spinner on the bottom of the pot thats air activated to keep the flake aggatated. Big ass tip to allow the flake to come out. Now i'm not saying it was easy, tons of clear and lots of sanding to get flat so I could apply the candy over the top of it. As far as saying that the other gentleman had an application problem and thats why the flake job turned to crap. Any flake job that has been left out in the sun unprotected will do this. Clear has no pigment to hold it together, especially gel clear..... Once it goes away the metalflake is left unprotected and the problem begins.

[Goad]

i am still confused.......
Do I:
A) lay down a tack coat and spread dry flake over it, then clear gel over that?
or
B) mix the flake in with clear gel and spray a layer down, then several layers of plain clear?
Billly: what gun did you use? do you have a make/model?
As you can tell by the VERY basic questions i am asking here, im new to this game so i need a little more detail in these instructions. Thanks!

[Goad]

after doing some research and lots of reading, there doesnt seem to be a right or wrong way to lay the flake (lay it dry on tack or mix it with clear)
I read this article (http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/...alflake_paint/) which they use this Flake Buster (http://www.oldschoolflake.com/flakebuster.html). Its a $200 gun which i assume helps a TON when youre an amature (like myself) trying to evenly lay dry flake.
I am swinging by a paint shop called The Paint Store in Laguna Niguel in a bit. They have some Old School Flake (http://www.oldschoolflake.com) in stock.
Also, Since I am doing this in my apartment garage, I have read about some odor suppressors that I am planning on using to keep the complaints from the neighbors down.
At this point, I plan on laying down a pigment paint color to cover up the repairs that we have made. The lay down a coat of clear paint and immediately apply the flake as described in the above article. Then at that point I will proceed to lay down several layers of clear gel....then sand for days, buff for days.
Does it sound like i am on the right track?

[RealityBoatCo]

i am still confused.......
Do I:
A) lay down a tack coat and spread dry flake over it, then clear gel over that?
or
B) mix the flake in with clear gel and spray a layer down, then several layers of plain clear?
Billly: what gun did you use? do you have a make/model?
As you can tell by the VERY basic questions i am asking here, im new to this game so i need a little more detail in these instructions. Thanks!B!!! Mix the flake in with clear gel and spray a layer down, then spray plain clear over top of it.
When they build the boat, they spray straight clear first, then then spray clear mixed with the flake, then they spray a back up color. Because you can see between the flakes. So if you want red flake, use red as a base color, you will use less flake that way.

[Nucking futs]

you cant gell over paint,but you can paint over gell.you need to gell a base,do your flake,then gell over that. I was reading your post above and it said you were going to paint over your repaired spots,thats why I said what i said above.
Oh, and good luck....
your garage will never be the same and good luck with trying to hide your gell odor,won't happen. You are however allowed to spray up to 1 gallon without the aqmd getting involved.Everytime we spray something here fire rolls up to try and put the stop to us spraying, but they let us finish what we are doing when they see what we are spaying.

[RealityBoatCo]

There won't be any hiding of the gel odor, but to me it smells waaayy better than paint.

[RealityBoatCo]

I would also skip the "Metal" flake and go with "Poly" flake. Metal flake will pick up a static charge and stand up on end. Making your finish even rougher, and when you sand it if you hit any metal flakes, it removes the color and it turns silver. You won't have this problem with Poly Flake.