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Plastic Epoxy

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 12:44 pm
by billcanoes
I used some stuff marketed as plastic epoxy to try to fix the nomad (two holes where the plastic expanded/bulged out and burst-) will this last at all or pop out as soon as the plastic is flexed-


Bill

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 4:02 pm
by wavewalk
If by "plastic" you mean polyethylene (PE) it might stick for a while but eventually it will separate itself from the hull, especially if that area is under mechanical stress (push, pull, twist etc.)
Polyethylene has a very low surface tension and doesn't really bond to anything.
Try welding?

Yoav

welding

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 5:07 pm
by billcanoes
Thanks Yoav,

It is holding now- but you confirmed my suspicions- I think it will work to fill in the old screw holes, on the cockpit rim, but the main damaged area looked like it would fail to me.

Bill

Nomad

Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 1:37 pm
by chuck naill
Bill, have you tried the material that you heat up and allowed it to drip into the hole. It comes in a stick form about the size of a drinking straw. 8)

Note: put some duct tape on the inside to catch the liguid material :wink:

CHuck

Plastic tip

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 2:14 pm
by billcanoes
Thanks Chuck,

I haven't tried it yet- I'm going to throw a saddle in and see how it does - If I like the Nomadand when the plastic epoxy fails I'll consider a more permanent solution. Do you need to melt the hull too, or used wire mesh, or does the plastic adhere to the hull by the liquidfied plastic heating the hull enough to form a boad?

I just need a boat to last about 8-10 months (hopefully less) Except for the rail digging into my knees- the GUS would fit this bill- I think my knee spread would be a inch wider without these rails. If anyone wants to try the GUS let me know soon- I'm going to put it back to a k1 and sell it- at least I'm pretty sure that is the plan.

Bill

don't melt the boat

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 6:40 pm
by chuck naill
Just melt the plastic tube and allow it to drip over the hole. Put some duct tape as a catch for the melted plastic. I think that this plastic stuff is to repair ski's or snow boards. We have used it to plug holes when converting kayaks to c boats.

Re the rails. If you don't want to convert it back to a kayak you can sand the rails with a Sure Form tool.

Chuck

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2005 11:18 am
by tgb
bill,

i saw this post a few days ago on that other site - interesting thread:

http://boatertalk.com/forum/BoaterTalk/850924

at least it was started by an oc'r :P . i haven't had time to research it yet, but i know a guy locally who canoes & is an electrician. he may be familiar with this material. if i can get some solid info from him, i'll post it.