Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

What's some good Outfitting glue? thanks for your help!!


Nathan

A non-expert opinion? It depends on the composition of the surfaces you want to mate. I used the NRS glue (H2glue) to put airbag tiedown loop pads in my poly Disco 169 and they have held for over a year so far. I did go to the trouble to do the recommended surface prep on both the hull and pads though. Poly is supposed to be notoriously hard to adhere to. I will add that I have not swamped or broached the canoe in the intervening time, so they have not had any great torture stress tests. But still there has been no peeling during repeated hot/cold, wet/dry cycles.

I note that Mike Yee uses Sta-Bond for Royalex hulls.

Michael

http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=1900" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

H2 glue is the best I've used, but expensive. I recently started using DAP contact cement and it has worked great so far and you can find it anywhere, even at wally world I think and it's a lot cheaper.

I was looking at NRS's (H2glue) but didnt know how good it was. thanks for the help!

It is worthwhile to take the extra time to do proper prep, no matter the glue or surfaces. I used Dragon Skin (actually 3M Sandblast paper) to rough both surfaces, cleaned both twice with solvent (denatured alcohol since I hate toulene), then marked the spot on the hull with pencil and carefully applied an even, full coat of glue to both surfaces. After allowing them to flash, I mated them and rolled with a wall paper edging roller to remove any air bubbles. Then 24 hours to dry before adding outfitting straps. Good luck!

Michael

I used Vynabond on my Royalex boat. Still strong after a year. Time will tell I guess, but I can pick up the boat with either D ring no problemo.

Deuce wrote:I used Vynabond on my Royalex boat. Still strong after a year. Time will tell I guess, but I can pick up the boat with either D ring no problemo.

I build, service and repair swimming pools and Vynabond is the glue I use to do vinyl liner patches. It requires that the plastic be subject to solvents for adhesion. Polyethelyne evidently does not "melt" as well as ABS and vinyl. Thus it only takes a mechanical bond, not a chemical bond. Only a guess mind you. I do know that many of the "whitegood" plastics on pools are this way. On PVC, I use a solvent (primer) before the actual glue. Royalex is a vinyl/ABS composite.

I believe Heather outfitted a WW canoe last fall. Might ask her what she used and how it went. I'll be watching this as I have a WW boat I'll be outfitting soon. Pretty stoked about it actually.

No matter what glue you use,
Prep is the answer. It can't be said
enough to slow down and clean, scuff
clean again and re read the instructions.

Amen, to what Paddle Dog posted.

Also, if the glue sez wait X length of time to dry before doing the next coat or final dry before
attaching the patch or Dee Ring or what ever - WAIT. Took me a long time to figure this out, but
it is true. Also the little rollers work well to get rid of air bubbles.

I use that DAP Contact cement quite often to glue in foam outfitting or to glue extra closed cell foam
to the top of coolers. Works great for me. And, you can get it at ACE hardware, WalMart, Lowes and where ever
building supply is sold. Once the can is opened, my experience has been it goes bad faster than expected. So, buy what you need for a project or will use in a few days.

For Royalex canoes, I use Weldwood Redcan for foam (saddles, ankle blocks, and knee pads), and I actually prefer West Systems G-Flex for other outfitting like Vinyl D-rings and thigh strap anchors. Vynabond will fail eventually, whether the surface prep is good or not.

Shep

Oh, and the advantage of keeping some G-Flex on hand is that, with proper surface prep, it can also be used on polyethylene (WW kayaks, and the newer, shorter canoes). The surface prep for that is a little weird (flame it, but if you can see a change in the surface, then you've melted it too much), but it is a very flexible adhesive with regards to the materials you can use it with.

Shep

1). All glues will eventually fail on a boat, so keep that in mind when gluing. It's just a matter of time, weather, changing temperatures, sand contact, and general abuse.

2). With the above in mind, DAP is awesome. Been using it for 8+ years with no problems. It's cheap too and you can buy it literally anywhere. Glues foam, plastic, wood, etc...

If you're just putting some 'comfort foam' in your boat, go for the Dap. I did my knee blocks and heel 'bumps' in my Burn + built the hip hooks for that Wavesport and countless other installs with that stuff.