FAQ

There are two common methods for gelcoat repair:

• Filler repair: Suitable for deep defects such as cracks or holes. A polyester filler can be tinted with a small amount of gelcoat to better match the original color.
• Spray gelcoat repair: Ideal for superficial defects such as stains, or to cover any halos left by previous filler applications.

• Use only the recommended hardener and respect the mixing ratio by weight or volume.
• Adjust spray equipment parameters according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.
• Apply in approximately three passes. Start with a first layer of about 200 µm, reaching a total thickness of 700–800 µm.
• Keep the spray gun perpendicular to the mould surface, moving it lengthwise and crosswise at a distance of about 0.5 m.

To repair a chipped gelcoat area on a boat:

• Sand the edges of the damaged zone to smooth the transition.
• Apply an epoxy filler to rebuild the surface.
• Once cured and sanded, apply a matching gelcoat finish for optimal appearance and protection.

Repairing spider cracks typically involves:

• Removing the cracked gelcoat.
• Inspecting and reinforcing the underlying fiberglass if needed.
• Applying new gelcoat to restore the finish and protection.

Gelcoat, once mixed with the appropriate catalyst according to the specified ratio, can be applied by brush, roller, or spray, depending on the application and finish required.

Gelcoat is not a paint, but a pigmented polyester resin used to create a smooth, durable, and cosmetically appealing finish on composite materials. It also provides a protective barrier.

Lamination is the process of bonding layers of material together using heat, pressure, and/or a resin to form a single, stronger composite. It’s used in many industries in production fiberglass and carbon fiber composites.
Basic Principle of Lamination:
At its core, lamination involves:

• Stacking multiple layers of material (like fabrics, papers, films, or mats).
• Applying a bonding agent (like resin, adhesive, or glue).
• Curing or pressing the layers until they bond into a solid structure.

Lamination in Composites (e.g., Fiberglass or Carbon Fiber)
In fiberglass lamination (often called wet layup or laminate layup):
1. Layering

• You place fiberglass cloth or mat layer-by-layer onto a mold.
• Between each layer, you apply resin (epoxy or polyester).
• The resin impregnates the fibers.

2. Wetting Out

• You wet out the fabric by saturating it with resin.
• This step ensures adhesion and that the fabric conforms to the mold shape.

3. Consolidation

• You use a roller or brush to remove air bubbles and force the resin into the fibers.
• This step helps prevent voids and weak spots.

4. Curing

• After all layers are applied, the resin hardens (cures) over time or with heat.
• The result is a solid, strong, laminated composite part.

Composite tooling refers to molds and plugs made using composite materials (like resin and fibers) instead of traditional materials like metal or wood. These tools are used to manufacture composite parts—especially in industries where strength, precision, and lightweight properties matter (marine, aerospace, automotive etc.).
What Exactly Is Composite Tooling?

• It’s not the final product, but the tooling used to shape or support that product.
• It’s typically made from reinforced composite materials for durability and dimensional stability.

what are the composite materials?
Composite materials are engineered materials made by combining two or more different materials to create a new material with improved properties that neither component could achieve alone.
Basic Structure of a Composite:
A composite typically has:

• Matrix (binder) – polyester or VE resin:
  • Holds everything together
  • Transfers loads between fibers
• Reinforcement (filler):
  • Provides strength, stiffness, or other enhanced properties
  • Often fibers, particles, or fabrics

On boats, gelcoat acts as a protective coating, shielding the underlying fiberglass from water, UV rays, and environmental exposure. It also delivers a smooth, glossy finish.

During the plugs production, using tooling pastes milled with CNC machine, what is the most important are the quality of the surface after milling and plug stability.
Intec’s tooling pastes enable to achieve best quality results, dimensional accuracy, smooth surface, resistant to moulding process and plugs transportation with the lowest preparation costs, time and machines investment: simple machine for application, easy process, fast training.

Intec has a long experience in producing tooling pastes with a wide range of customers around the world which enables us to provide materials which meet customers’ needs in the most reasonable organization and cost demands.

During the plugs production, using tooling pastes milled with CNC machine, what is the most important are the quality of the surface after milling and plug stability.
Intec’s tooling pastes enable to achieve best quality results, dimensional accuracy, smooth surface, resistant to moulding process and plugs transportation. The preparation to the production process of plugs is as well most reasonable: simple machine for application, easy process, fast training.

Features comparisation of polyester and epoxy tooling paste:

Choosing the right tooling paste depends on several key factors related to Your project’s material needs, environment (low or no styrene tooling pastes), performance requirements. You need to answer questions: if this will be one time plug to produce a mould in a standard way, if You want to produce direct mould for several demouldings, which temperature resistance is needed etc. Intec’s wide range of tooling pastes enables to find best solution to customer’s needs.

Advantages of our filled resins RS2030 or RS2040 are their dimensional stability, almost zero shrinkage, low styrene content and curing process. Those resin are not a low profile resins so they do not contain any thermoplastics inside. Due to that fact they do not need external energy (coming from minimal specific thickness and temperature) to cure well. They can cure even in 1 layer up to several layers at one shot (higher thickness obtained at one shot needs adjustment of the hardener and its percentage. Once the resin is cured it is very stable and does not change the shape during the production and coming heat (no thermoplastics). The resins as well contain almost 50% less of styrene than standard market resins, which leads to environment protection as well as more friendly working place and less smell.

Yes, we stock a wide range of vinylester fillers, each formulated for specific requirements – please see the products on our website.

Intec has two types of VE tooling pastes in the offer, with following HDT data:

• PV10E – HDT of 90 +- 2 ℃
• PV10HT – HDT of 120 +- 2 ℃

Yes, all Intec’s tooling resins have almost zero or no shrinkage: high performance, filled tooling resins RS2030 and RS2040 as well as low profile tooling resin RS6060LP and RS6065LP.

Yes, in Intec’s offer there are several products used to join core materials: polyester light bonding paste B10, polyester extra light bonding paste B07 and vinylester bonding paste BV10.

Yes, Intec’s Intec BV10 vinylester bonding paste (and its “R” – Rapid and “S” – Slow versions) and well as PE9050 acrylic urethane structural adhesive have Rina certification.

Composite molds offer several key advantages over metal moulds, especially in industries like marine, automotive, aerospace, and prototyping. While both have their place, composite molds often provide a better balance of cost, speed, and ease of use—particularly for short- to mid-volume production.

Advantages of Composite Molds vs. Metal Molds

Other Composite Mould Advantages

• No Rusting or Corrosion
  Composites don’t corrode like steel or aluminum, reducing maintenance in humid or marine environments.
• Tailored Surface Properties

  Gelcoat finishes can be applied to the mould surface for gloss, texture, or release performance.
• Flexibility in Complex Shapes
  Composite molds can more easily form organic or aerodynamic shapes without precision CNC.
• Lower Thermal Expansion

  Epoxy-based composite moulds are more dimensionally stable than aluminum in fluctuating temperatures.