Re: West System
Hammer,
Polyester resin is most used in boat hulls due to cost and epoxy is a much tougher and much more expensive polymer. It is not generally used for boat hulls for cost reasons. The only problem with epoxy other than cost is that UV rays cause it to deteriorate if not coated with paint gel coat or some other UV blocking coating.
I have not tried using gel coat over epoxy, but I don't see why if the epoxy is properly cured, cleaned, sanded and primed that gel coat wouldn't adhere to the epoxy. I would go for polyurethane paint because I think paint is much easier to match in color and definitely easier to apply. Most gel coat that I have seen is sprayed into the boat mold and then covered with resin and glass and will not cure properly in open air. I think that you would have to cover the gel coat with non-stick plastic to keep out the air in order to cure. Maybe there is a gel coat that cures in open air. I haven't heard of it. Just my $.02!!
Ed G.
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Doylestown, PA - Cape May County NJ, and all of the fishin\' holes known and unknown in the Delaware Bay and offshore!!!
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