Spraying gelcoat in high humidity????

Anybody got any tips for spraying gelcoat in high humidity, possible rain. I'm in a tented enclosure, but was wondering if there is anything I need to do to the ratios of hardener or surfacing wax? Gun(gravity feed 2.0 nozzle) pressures etc.?
Thanks.

Add Duratec Clear Additive at around 40% +or- depending on your needs (temp, type of gun, etc). Do that and forgo the wax. Let it flash for a bit, then PVA. If you need to thin more use lacquer thinner. Use a water filter on your air line, and if It's really wet, use an inline one on the gun as well.
Like this:

Hey J,
Thanks.
Duratec won't be an option due to ordering and time constraints. I'll give you a call. Any other advice sans the duratec? Should I still do PVA instead of wax additive/Modifier C ?

PVA or Wax? PVA is good if you forget to put wax in the mix, but I would just let the wax do its thing. If mixed in the proper ratios the wax alone will work fine.

Once you spray with the Duratec you'll never look back. It solves so many common gelcoat problems: fisheye, orange peel, pinair, makes the surface less porous, etc. Its great stuff.

Hope that helps!

Nice, informative video

I've had opacity problems when using the duratec though...it's clear and it dilutes the solids in the gelcoat....although I do admit I've never had a curing issue when using it.

It does thin the color. I've found if you have bare glass spots use you favorite thickener and drag some gel putty over the discolored areas or bare glass before spraying. I make that just thick enough to keep from falling off the spreader when held upside down, or the first coat I'll spray on without the duratec until I get coverage.

Another way I've done it is to use 25% Duratec for the first couple coats and then go to 50%. I use the wax with the duratec in the last coat and I've had great results. Don't be afraid of adding a little extra wax, I've never had a problem doing it this way. I've been told you don't have to use wax with duratec but my experience says use the wax.

PVA is fine for small repairs but you don't need to deal with that if your doing larger areas.

Duratec makes a thinner. It's not cheap but it works great. I've never used lacquer thinner with gelcoat and I wouldn't myself. I've used styrene or patch booster to thin also with fine results.

Just my .02.

That's how I do darker colors, works great. Laquer Thinner helps the gel to flow a little better without adding any additional styrene, which may gel to yellow more quickly down the line.

OK - this will probably make some folks choke. I've used Pledge instead of wax additive or PVA on patch repairs I also thin with about 20% acetone to reduce orange peel (using a Preval sprayer). These ghetto techniques are just for small patching on hulls or foils.

Chris.

+1 - for small repairs to "Materhorn White" (N20 mast color) and "Cool white" (best approximation for N20 white hull color after a few years) ding touch-ups

I wished I had the Preval sprayer for my bullet hole (mental note - make future trips to Miami in daylight) repair on the car. The roll & tip looks pretty weak, but I was too lazy to go out and get another sprayer can...