What colour is grey Gelshield?

[Avocet]

Does anyone have a RAL code for grey Gelshield? Long story, but I'd like to paint a bit of wood to match it. Either that, or does anyone know how well it sticks to plywood? This isn't an underwater application, I hasten to add!

 

[Rigger Mortice]

It's an epoxy primer so I would expect it to stick pretty well to plywood. Certainly worth trying at least. Poor UV performance though.

 

[Avocet]

It's an epoxy primer so I would expect it to stick pretty well to plywood. Certainly worth trying at least. Poor UV performance though.

As luck would have it - UV is quite low on the list of things I'll be worrying about in Cumbria! It just so happens my cockpit is "Gelshield grey" and I was wondering about either painting the locker lids to match, or even trying Gelshield itself on them! (I just sanded them today prior to varnishing and they've had their chips - the sander went through the top veneer of the plywood from which they're made).

 

[Amulet]

As luck would have it - UV is quite low on the list of things I'll be worrying about in Cumbria! It just so happens my cockpit is "Gelshield grey" and I was wondering about either painting the locker lids to match, or even trying Gelshield itself on them! (I just sanded them today prior to varnishing and they've had their chips - the sander went through the top veneer of the plywood from which they're made).

I know nothing about this stuff, but if it is epoxy then it will suffer UV degradation even in Cumbria. Epoxy simply does not survive without a UV protecting covering coat of some kind.

 

[[2574]]

Does anyone have a RAL code for grey Gelshield? Long story, but I'd like to paint a bit of wood to match it. Either that, or does anyone know how well it sticks to plywood? This isn't an underwater application, I hasten to add!

I suspect that this might not be what you are after but it might help - here is a link to photos of grey (and the green) Gelshield being applied to our hull: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zcrycdcetfvdszx/-MJDTL4p8X

I believe that the colour is faithfully represented in the photos.

rob

 

[Rigger Mortice]

As luck would have it - UV is quite low on the list of things I'll be worrying about in Cumbria! It just so happens my cockpit is "Gelshield grey" and I was wondering about either painting the locker lids to match, or even trying Gelshield itself on them! (I just sanded them today prior to varnishing and they've had their chips - the sander went through the top veneer of the plywood from which they're made).

Does that mean your cockpit is a matt finish? Doesn't it pick up the dirt?
Just curious.

FWIW I've got a piece of ply (my solar panel is mounted on it). I painted it in epoxy primer several years ago meaning to put a topcoat on but never got round to doing so. The exposed primer has deterorated a bit but it is by no means paased it.

 

[Avocet]

Yes, it's a matt finish (I prefer the term "non-slip", actually...)!

That was taken in 2001 and it had already been on for a few years. The streaks are because I'd just hosed it down. They're just wet trails and soon dry. Avocet's cockpit was a bit of a mess, thanks to the previous owner's enthusiasm for drilling holes in it. I filled the holes and went over it carefully with a foam roller and a couple of coats of grey Gelshield. If you're careful with the roller, you get a reasonably homogenous texture (which really is (relatively) non-slip).

I'd heard about epoxy being bad under UV, but I think the relatively high solid pigment content of Gelshield makes it much more resistant than (say) neat, clear resin. It's cheap, very quick to do, and hard wearing. We didn't find that it attracted dirt, but some black-soled shoes will mark it (not permanently though). If you power wash it, you can leave a pale streak in it and then you have to wait for it to fade to the same colour as the surrounding stuff that has weathered. The boat has been in the garden (under trees) for the last 7 years and has attracted a bit less moss and green slime than the gelcoat - although it does still look really rough now. I'm tempted to give it another coat, and I might do those cockpit locker lids as well this time - it'll save varnishing them. I love nicely varnished wood, but right now, I have such a long list of things to do before it goes back in the water, and so little time, that I'm looking for a quick fix!

 

[Rigger Mortice]

We've probably got your answer then. Gelshield should stick to it, and you've already tested it for UV durability.
You may, however, want to test a bit to make sure the solvents don't react with any residual varnish. It would be a shame if you put it on and twenty minutes later it started lifting.

PS Your lines are nearly as untidy as mine.

 

[Avocet]

We've probably got your answer then. Gelshield should stick to it, and you've already tested it for UV durability.
You may, however, want to test a bit to make sure the solvents don't react with any residual varnish. It would be a shame if you put it on and twenty minutes later it started lifting.

PS Your lines are nearly as untidy as mine.

Been described as a "snakes' honeymoon" in the past...

...and clearly, snakes are polygamous!

Yes, I'm leaning towards painting the wooden locker lids in the same stuff. I was just wondering whether it would put up with the movement of the wood. I'd assumed the GRP would be more stable. Either way, it should last a season and I can always make some new wooden ones and varnish them to my heart's content next winter!