Brian, You can scuff and paint over gelcoat, but I would recommend using a good bonding epoxy primer as gelcoat does not seem to bond as readily as bare fiberglass.
**Warning. The following is only my opinion!** I am not a big fan of gelcoat finish on airplanes. Gelcoat is relatively heavy, tends to develop surface cracks over time, which will come right through to become cracks in your paint, and adds no structural integrity to the part. It's my opinion that you will get a longer lasting finish by wet sanding the gelcoat off the glass. However, that's also a lot of work. I'm sure there are some good paint and body guys on here that have more experience with gelcoat than me. Jeff Scott On Thu, 26 May 2005 22:46:44 -0400 "Brian Kraut" <brian.kr...@engalt.com> writes: > I am used to using UV Smooth Prime on all glass parts, but I have something > a little different on my Midget Mustang. The premolded parts come gel > coated. Does anyone know the recommended procedure for gel coated parts? > Just scuff sand, use whatever primer is recommended under the paint you are > putting on and paint? Or should I sand off the gel coat, Smooth Prime, then > paint? I don't know if the blue gel coat that is on there is UV > blocking or not. > > Oh, and how is this KR related? Simple, the Stang is half way painted and > near ready to go to the airport. As soon as that happens I can get back to > the KRs! > > Brian Kraut > Engineering Alternatives, Inc. > www.engalt.com
