Clear epoxy gelcoat

General Composites Discussions Products Talk
#1

Hello everyone, ive been doing a lot of research on composites and carbon fiber and im about to start on a project to make some automotive body panels such as hood/doors/trunk on a racecar project.

Anyways i have tried to search but im still not sure. my question is; is there an epoxy compatible clear gelcoat that is uv resistant?
ive seen clear gelcoats available but they are all (im assuming) polyester and will delaminate from the carbon fiber/epoxy part, also people say it would turn yellow from the uv rays after time anyways.
basically the product im looking for is this:
http://www.easycomposites.co.uk/products/polyester-gelcoat/epoxy-bonding-polyester-gelcoat-clear.aspx
but from this continent, Canada would be better.

then i read something about spraying clear coat in the mould? is that a thing? im an automotive painter by trade so that wouldn’t be an issue i just want to make sure that would work before wasting a bunch of materials. Spray a couple coats of clear and wait for it to get tacky, then i can start the layup of resin/carbon fiber? would automotive urethane clear work?

or the option is just do the layup as normal then scuff up the part surface and clear them, however that just seems like more unnecessary work if theres an easier way.

i hope somebody could clarify, thanks a lot in advance!!

#2

I regularly use a marine two part polyurethane clear as an in-mould coating. With your skills this will be easy.

#3

If this is the first time you are working with carbon fiber and the finished product will be visible or clear, I would recommend laying everything up as usual and applying the clear after the part has been demolded. I use infusion resin as a clear, it can even be sprayed, and many infusion epoxy resins are highly UV resistant. There are epoxy clear coats and clear gel coats available, but they are difficult to spray with standard HVLP equipment. You would use what the industry calls a dump gun for applying a thin layer of the clear epoxy gel coat, let it setup or even oven cure for a short period, followed by layup.

The right type of infusion resin is thin enough to run through standard HVLP, so that may be your best bet if you decide not to post clear with standard automotive clear.

#4

Composite man – what is tis clear resin infususion resin you use in place of gelcoat?
I have done literally 1,000s of gelcoat jobs over past 42 years, many that were even 7 colors in the mold, california style. (too old for than now). And I am very familiar and done numerous infusion jobs, up to 26 foot boats.
Are you spraying resin in a mold like gel coat, letting it dry and then infusing on top of that?
Please share this process with me. and the Resin and manufacturer please. I hate to be ignorant about ANYTHING in my field of work.

#5

Try the In Mould Coating from German Advanced Composites, once you tried it you will love it.
I use the same here in Europe and it is better than all the other stuff I tested.

#6

South Carolina is not down the street from Germany.

#7

They are located in Forida and UPS makes it possible that it will come to you :sunglasses: