I see a lot of people are using clear gel coat for a shinny and uv resistant finish over carbon fiber. How well does clear gel coat hold up over a long time? Would you say vinyl ester resin and polyester gel coat are highly compatible and will not delaminate from each other, and will actually form a chemical bond to each other?
What products are recomended for cleaning and waxing cured gel coat to protect the finish from nature?
When making cosmetic parts there is no real need to use anything other than poly resin systems, which are cheaper than commonly available alternatives, and present no problems in regard to UV resistance.
I can totally understand what you are saying Classic, it’s just nice to have more options.
I did find this Waterborne 2K clear coat from AquaPrim. It’s their #503 product. At .58 VOC /gallon that is very cool and friendly on the environment compared to normal clear coats that are sprayed on with a spray gun. Most 2K clear coats are anywhere from 2.1VOC to 4.0 VOC/gallon. I’m hoping less solvent content will mean this product can be sprayed over composites epoxy and not yellow or do other unwanted things to the finished part.
I emailed the company to find out more information and pricing.
Most water based paint systems need to be cured in a proper paint oven, so home use may be problematic.
However if you have found a water based product that doesnt require oven cure, sounds just the thing for clear coating epoxy resin.
I have a clipping of a West Systems bulletin that mentions using a high quality marine grade varnish over their epoxy. Anyone use varnish with good results?
Yeah, this one company i found makes a waterborne clear coat. It’s not waterbase for say, it still has some solvent content, just much less than the normal clear coats do. They say it is an air dry coating. If i can get my hands on some and test spray it, i will definately post my results. I would also put a sample outdoors in our desert climate for one or two years to test it.
I read an article that varnish over epoxy works great outdoors, but the author of the article stated it was a wooden chair he used epoxy, then varnished on top of. He tested the chair outdoors in Maine’s winter and summer.
Varnish and water based products would both probably work fine, but surely in terms of cost and reduced production times, it would be far easier to use UV resistant epoxy in the first place?
Poly and Vinyl will form a great chemical bond if layed up when eitehr is in its “B” stage. Otherwise epoxy applied over a dry sanded surface will bond better to both than they will to themselves.
The hardest, most heat resistant surface coat you will find is Vinyl. Not saying its the most durable in terms of UV protection though.
You can use “Simple Green” to clean you finished products. And any carnuba wax will work for protecting them. Even mold release wax (with carnuba) like #88 will work great.
Classic: Was more curious about the varnish thing than anything else. Figured since West Systems wrote about it might be worth looking into. Your right though. UV Poly like “Duratec Clear” or any UV resistant epoxy like Adtech 820 would work perfect.
Edited:
Ok I read a little about the Duratec clear polyester coating. It says it can be sprayed on. Will it form a good bond to the cured polyester resin made part?
Is it orange peely like gel coat is when sprayed ?
Also which brands of epoxy are UV resistant?
Thanks.
I talked to an automotive paint chemist, he said waterborne automotive clear coats aren’t that good for outdoor use. lol i guess even though they have some UV protection it is not the same protection that solvent-borne automotive clears have.
Bummer because it’s the solvents that seem be what attacks the cured epoxy resin, turning it golden yellow and/or clouding up the finish.
Thank you for the mold cleaning and maintaining tips 