I'm getting ready to redo the kitchen and 2 bathrooms at my house and one of the projects is to repair two one piece tubs with surrounds. I may change them from beige to white while I am in there too.

I'm wondering if I can shoot gel with a basic HVLP gun with a 2.5 or 3.0 fluid tip.

I can probably get an extra paint cup and have it preloaded with solvent in case the gel starts to kick before I am done.

Or I can look and see if Devilbiss makes a 3.0 tip for my semi professional gun which is a Finish Line HVLP. I have the throwaway paint cups system for it too. Does gel coat cause any metal deterioration in the passages?

I think I am leaning toward a cheapo so I can save my real gun for future projects.

The only gel I have shot was a few hard to see repairs below the waterline on my Formula. I did those 5 years ago with a Preval hand pump sprayer before I had a paint gun.

I'm going to do a little internet searching about some low cost guns and thought I'd throw it out here for discussion.

I have used Total Boat gel coat that I bought From Jamestown Distributors In Rhode Island and it worked out well. Plus they have some good DIY help for stiffs like me.

Roast me! Or point me the right way.

With the amount of surface prep and finish work needed, why not just put in new tubs/surrounds? They are not that expensive....(unless you have some kind of jacuzzi tubs with foofoo nut fluffer jets).....

Thats what I said......

Go to Harbor Freight and buy a $20 HVLP gun. It'll be a 1.4 tip. Drill it out to 2mm. Thin the gel coat with patch aid. You can go up to 50% if you want. It only holds 22 oz so kick it at 10 cc and you'll have plenty of time. I've done it hundreds of times.

love the $20 HF gun . I actually think they work so well in this application specifically because its a cheap not very well engineered gun that does not atomize all that good which is exactly what you want in a gelcoat gun. I drill them to 5/64" though as i have not converted my shop to the metric system yet

They call me "the gun guy" at my local HF because i buy them with the warranty and return them after three or four uses for new ones. (hey, they said no prob lol)

If you have a good surface, I've used rustoleum topsides paint and added hardner. I sprayed it with the same HF gun above and its held up great for the use that it sees. Make certain you use breathing protection

Had a buddy that would blow down thinned clear gel with the cheap hf guns , it would take 3 to do a mid size boat ,he had it down , when the gel would harden and clog the gun he would grab another one with a fresh mix and rock on

You can use 2.5mm HVLP gun for gelcoat. Just make sure you have a decent compressor that will not run out of air half way through. If you are concerned about the length of the hardening, use about 1.5% of hardener, it will give you at least 20 mins of work at the room temperature. Also use gelcoat thinner about 10% for the gel coat to spray fluidly.

Also before spraying gelcoat, spray a little of the cleaner as well as immediately after the spraying. I think you can use acetone, but I found a special cleaner in our Space Age Paint store.