Gary Mc Kirdy's somewhat intemperate remarks about the Europa Factory
Gelcoat finish cut no ice with me. He certainly produces a very fine finish
(but see Graham S's remarks on the subject), but I have no reason to believe
that the factory's description of their finish as 'gelcoat' is in any way
misleading.
My experience of gelcoats is with boats, where the structural resin is
usually polyurethane not epoxy, but the gelcoat is a different material and
is applied to the mould first in whatever colour or finish (ie high gloss or
matt depending on how the mould is finished) the manufacturer chooses. The
gelcoat remains in a sticky gel form until air is excluded by the
application of the glass and resin and I have always assumed that that is
why it is called 'gelcoat'. If you wish to repair it with more gelcoat you
have to cover the repair with film to exclude air until it is hard. I
believe that what Europa use is 'gelcoat' not filler, and while I don't know
what McKirdy uses I believe it has the same inherent disadvantage in that it
is slightly porous. The Europa gelcoat finish is intended to have a
permanent waterproof paint finish put on top of it, which is, of course, why
it is matt..
Frank Mycroft
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary McKirdy" <garymckirdy@gloverb.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Finishing XS Wings
> Gelcoat eh?
>
> In case any of you are still in belief of the so called "Factory Gelcoat
> Finish", I can enlighten you as to how it came about.
> Ivan invited me to display a real gelcoat finish of a Europa wing at
> Cranfield 1997 next to the Europa Stand. The grass around my demo wing was
> better worn than that around the main stand and next came the factory
> gelcoated parts! Never miss the buzz word marketing opportunity.
>
> In the big scheme of marketing this had to be one of the longest nose
claims
> ever made since those of you in the know, i.e. glider pilot Europa owners
> (please note self included) know that a gelcoat glider finish is a)White
> b)Mirror finished and polished c)Totally devoid of optical defects and d)
> very scratch resistant (i.e. not a yellow sandable filler). You may also
> notice the word FINISH suggests some kind of END, not just the start of
the
> beginning.
>
> Go ahead and flame me out for pointing this out what do I know after all ?
I
> just got out of nappies in what there is to learn e.g. trained in
> re-inforced plastics as recently as 1984, consultant to Seawind, Cirrus,
and
> the Express in America, now Quickie dealer, I've just bought a Rutan
Defiant
> in Cyprus and flown it back , finished gliders for members of the British
> team, composite insurance repair specialist who also flies (1700 hours all
> on composite aircraft including cross country gliding) and if I needed to
> advertise you might even of heard of me.
>
> If you are still reading then here is the point, I spent hours selflessly
> detailing how to finish your own Europa Classic which I am assured is
still
> in the archive. I lectured at a couple of Europa seminars I have just
> finished FINISHING the 8th Europa for a friend who understood the reasons
> and justification for the 10K price tag and all that I said in the article
> is still valid. I even read it myself sometimes to remind me of what I
have
> forgotten.
>
> Gary McKirdy
> Now Kudos Composites
> Enstone
> Tel 01295 788526
>
>
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