Hi Everyone,
On Oct 26, 7:27pm, david joyce wrote:
> Have you considered a gel coat finish? It seems to be universal in gliders
> with 20 years or more experience to judge on. It gives a beautiful, long
> lasting finish that can be restored once in a while with hard wax, . It
Be carefull here. As a sailplane pilot I can attest that a good gelcoat
finish looks wonderfull. The problem is it's *very* labour intensive to
refinish a gelcoated glider.
For example, A 20 year old ASW-20 tends to sell for something around
$22,000 to $27000 (in the united states) if it's in original reasonable
condition gelcoat. The ads for the same aircraft with a recent refinish
---From a well known shop usually drives the prices up into the mid 30's to
low 40's. Ie. A refinsh can cost the owner almost as much as the
aircraft is worth. Gelcoat condition is a key point in the selling price
of a sailplane. I imagine only damage history makes a bigger impact.
fyi, the original gelcoat a glider or airplane has is applied to the
fiberglass mold after whatever mold release is used. So a major part
of the finishing is done as soon as the part is popped out of the mold.
I imagine this is a lot cheaper than a fill, sand, prime, sand then paint
job.
Also keep in mind that almost no one (outside the desert southwest) ties
down a fiberglass glider outside even overnight. They either go back in
their trailer or into a hangar so they spend much less time in the sun
than a typical GA aircraft. This is much easier on any kind of finish.
All of the negatives aside it's my understanding that the gelcoat on the
currently built gliders is heads and shoulders above what was produced
even 10 years ago. You probably want to talk this idea over with a
glider refinisher with a very good reputation. Just make sure he
understands how you intend to use the aircraft (ie tied down, hangared,
covered trailered, open trailered, high altitude aerobatic research :),
whatever).
> doesnt need an undercoat nor any UV protection coat and is very durable as
> the many glider pilots who have landed with their wheels up can testify!
Yes, but, the gelcoat itself degrades from UV. I believe there are now
specialized polishes or waxes that claim to UV protect the gelcoat.
This is another thing to ask the experts about I don't know if this is
fact or marketing hype.
c'ya,
Mike Pererira
mjp@fpk.hp.com
disclaimer: I'm not a glider refinisher, this could all be wrong :).
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