LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
I had not come across flowcoat till a recent thread here. Can it be applied direct onto new plywood or does it need some sort of undercoat?
Flowcoat on ply
- Thread starter LadyInBed
- Start date
Javelin
Well-Known Member
I cover this in either this issue or the previous issue of pbo.
Flowcoat is gel coat only it has wax mixed in which comes to the surface during the cure, so it sets without being tacky.
It depends on what you're trying to achieve.
You can coat directly onto ply but it won't take very well and will flake off.
Due to the wax in it you need to abrade the surface to get additional coats to take.
Just not a great idea, better off using damboline or similar frankly but it depends on what you're trying to do.
If you want to just coat plywood in a locker or something then I'd lay up a layer of chopped strand matt first and then apply a couple of coats of gel coat and finish with a layer or flow coat.
If you want a shiny, flat, waterproof surface then sheath with glass as above and then coat with at least three thin layers of gelcoat and one layer of flowcoat.
Sand flat and then compound.
Flowcoat is gel coat only it has wax mixed in which comes to the surface during the cure, so it sets without being tacky.
It depends on what you're trying to achieve.
You can coat directly onto ply but it won't take very well and will flake off.
Due to the wax in it you need to abrade the surface to get additional coats to take.
Just not a great idea, better off using damboline or similar frankly but it depends on what you're trying to do.
If you want to just coat plywood in a locker or something then I'd lay up a layer of chopped strand matt first and then apply a couple of coats of gel coat and finish with a layer or flow coat.
If you want a shiny, flat, waterproof surface then sheath with glass as above and then coat with at least three thin layers of gelcoat and one layer of flowcoat.
Sand flat and then compound.
LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
Thanks, very helpful.
neil1967
Well-Known Member
Presumably the gelcoat will not harden between coats and will remain tacky until the flowcoat is applied?
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
The wheelhouse roof of my motorsailer had polyester grp and a little flowcoat when I bought the boat. It soon became apparent that little of the resin had soaked into the wood and it peeled off very easily. I redid it with epoxy and woven glass, which seems to be well adhered.
