gnipper 5,945 Posted January 13, 2021 Report Share Posted January 13, 2021 I'm in the middle of building a new ferret hutch at the minute and I'm going to fibreglass the floors inside and probably the roof too, is there any real need for the top coat or will it be ok without it? Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gaza 504 Posted January 20, 2021 Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 Yeah you need to topcoat if doing the roof but not the floor really because floor not going to be exposed to uv (well depends on how big hutch is, suppose if open sided court rather than hutch it will). Topcoats not just your colour aesthetic it provides uv protection to your laminate underneath. Otherwise your laminate will eventually perish as no uv stabilisers in polyester resin. But topcoating doesn’t provide any waterproofing. People with Grp roofs who have a leak and pin holing think it’s the top coat, it’s the original laminating/paddle rolling in your laminate, air entrapment/ dry glass etc. I’ve done my ferret hutch floor, top coated it just because really and the gear was free. Something to bear in mind down the line you can’t topcoat over topcoat doesn’t adhere to itself. So if you want to tart it up in the future if colour fade or applied too thinly in spots flaking you can’t just give it another coat. Need to sand right back and acetone then re-topcoat. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gnipper 5,945 Posted January 20, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 Thanks Gaz thats what I needed to know. How much gelcoat for a 7x3 ft area would you say? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gaza 504 Posted January 20, 2021 Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 1kg will just about do it mate. They say 500g per square metre and that’s about 2 metres square. In reality always goes a bit further than 500g a metre anyway so you’d have enough. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rabid 1,936 Posted January 20, 2021 Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 I glassed my hutch, 14 years ago, I never top coated and it still looks like the day I finished it. think you guys may be confusing top coat and gel coat, two totally different things, seriously no need to gel it out, if you want to protect the fibreglass then get a flo-coat paint. if you want to gel it don’t forget some is waxed and some is not depending on your use. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gnipper 5,945 Posted January 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 Cheers lads, if it ever stops raining I'll get it finished and get a picture of the finished thing on here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stealthy1 3,964 Posted January 21, 2021 Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 Why don't you just paint resin on the wooden floor, it adheres to wood really well if its dry. Try getting it off your stirrers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Denny essex 15 Posted January 24, 2021 Report Share Posted January 24, 2021 On 13/01/2021 at 19:32, gnipper said: I'm in the middle of building a new ferret hutch at the minute and I'm going to fibreglass the floors inside and probably the roof too, is there any real need for the top coat or will it be ok without it? Cheers You can give it a coat of resin after the glass application has hardened, it will help the matting to resist fibres being nail scrapped up and assist a little towards moisture resistant. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gnipper 5,945 Posted January 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 Topcoat to go on and obviously the mesh. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gnipper 5,945 Posted January 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2021 Top coat done, I'll get it moved into place and meshed next week and move the stinkers into it. 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SINDASOX 255 Posted February 1, 2021 Report Share Posted February 1, 2021 Looking great that is now, are you doing the floor's as well. SINDASOX Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gnipper 5,945 Posted February 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2021 Yes but not with the topcoat just the normal matting and resin. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Denny essex 15 Posted February 1, 2021 Report Share Posted February 1, 2021 Well done, pretty tidy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gnipper 5,945 Posted February 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2021 The ferts are enjoying the new residence. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gaza 504 Posted February 13, 2021 Report Share Posted February 13, 2021 Looks great mate Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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