I am about to repair some areas of the gelcoat skin of my fiberglass
boat. I am supposed to use something called "styrene" to be brushed on
the old gelcoat in order re-activate the gelcoat for a better bonding
between the old and the new gelcoat. And I am also supposed to use it
as a thinner to thin the gelcoat before spraying it using a Preval
spray gun. But I cannot find it in Home Depot or local marine supply
stores (such as BoaterWorld). Does it go by a different name? Where
can I find it? Can I use acetone instead?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jay Chan

You can sand the old gelcoat as prep. Make sure it is free of any waxes
first. I'm not sure what to recomend as a thinner. I do know that acetone
is really dangerous and I would not use it for a thinner.

wrote in message
ups.com...
I am about to repair some areas of the gelcoat skin of my fiberglass
boat. I am supposed to use something called "styrene" to be brushed on
the old gelcoat in order re-activate the gelcoat for a better bonding
between the old and the new gelcoat. And I am also supposed to use it
as a thinner to thin the gelcoat before spraying it using a Preval
spray gun. But I cannot find it in Home Depot or local marine supply
stores (such as BoaterWorld). Does it go by a different name? Where
can I find it? Can I use acetone instead?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jay Chan

Thanks for suggesting using sanding as a way to provide a mechanical
bonding between the old and the new gelcoat. Actually, I know about
this. The fiberglass repair book suggested us to brush styrene on the
old gelcoat after sanding in order to provide not only a mechanical
bonding, but also a slight chemical bonding between the old and the new
getcoat. This only provides a very slight improve on bonding anyway.
Therefore, I can live without it.

Thanks for the warning of using acetone as a thinner. I have come
across another product that can thin the gelcoat and doesn't alter the
gelcoat color and is supposed to provide a better way to bend in the
color of the old and the new gelcoat. It is called Duratec Clear and
there are similar products from other companies. I guess this means I
really don't need to use styrene afterall. I will see how it works
when I need to apply the gelcoat using the Preval spray gun.

Jay Chan


James wrote:
You can sand the old gelcoat as prep. Make sure it is free of any waxes
first. I'm not sure what to recomend as a thinner. I do know that acetone
is really dangerous and I would not use it for a thinner.

wrote in message
ups.com...
I am about to repair some areas of the gelcoat skin of my fiberglass
boat. I am supposed to use something called "styrene" to be brushed on
the old gelcoat in order re-activate the gelcoat for a better bonding
between the old and the new gelcoat. And I am also supposed to use it
as a thinner to thin the gelcoat before spraying it using a Preval
spray gun. But I cannot find it in Home Depot or local marine supply
stores (such as BoaterWorld). Does it go by a different name? Where
can I find it? Can I use acetone instead?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jay Chan