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Old 10-01-2009, 08:16   #1
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3M 5200 (IMHO)

I'd love to see how we all feel about this; I believe 3M 5200 simply sucks. I have heard and read that it's a flexible, tenacious adhesive sealer, but have seen more than enough instances of failure. I have layed a bead along side something, much like sealing a bathtub, and found it cracked from extremely light flexing weeks later. I have seen times when it just didn't stick as advertised after careful preparation. Other times its stuck to the point of not being removable without damaging the substrate. So tell me, WHY do we want this stuff on our boat? Thanks, Chris
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Old 10-01-2009, 08:34   #2
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3m 5200 aka: Death paste. If the surface prep is done carfully it will not fail IMHO. If the bond is good you may not get it off. Thats the point. Do not use it on somthing you may need to remove. I have used it extensively for 30 years.

That said..... there are other Poly u based sealants that work just as well or better depending on the application. Sitkaflex and Bostitch and others have great adhesive lines.
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Old 10-01-2009, 09:06   #3
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Life caulk has some good stuff, too. I have seen people repair deflatables and sails with 5200, however, and it does work.
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Old 10-01-2009, 10:47   #4
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Death Paste: buy a lot, open each tube for a nano second then wait three months. Then you have $15 death lumps.

Anyone contemplating its use should be required to spend 4 hours trying to remove it from something. If that doesn't work lobotomy is the only viable treatment.

Friends don't let friends use 5200. 4200 is OK.
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Old 10-01-2009, 11:02   #5
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5200 was originally formulated to build trailers for 18-wheelers; to seal the seams in the metal sheets making up the skin. It's an adhesive and a sealant and it generally clings like grim death. That it failed only says something went wrong with the prep or maybe the tube itself was defective.

I use Life Caulk and keep a supply on the boat, to bind stuff I want to have a hope of taking apart. If want stuff to stay there forever, 5200 gets the nod. On a previous boat, I stupidly used 5200 to seal the gauges in the back of the cabinhouse. What was I thinking??? Doh... When poor Caribe is long gone to fiberglass dust, those gauges will still have hunks of 'glass stuck to them.
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Old 10-01-2009, 12:10   #6
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Thanks for all the responses so far! I personally use LifeSeal above the waterline and Sika below. Practical sailor seems to agree with me...this stuff ain't as flexible as they make it out to be.
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Old 10-01-2009, 12:49   #7
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Exclamation

For the love of all that is holy just don't use silicone on anything you are not willing to throw away afterwords.

Most folks go through a silicone 'phase' that will last until they have to paint or repair anything that has been smeared with the stuff. The silicone never holds, leaks but worse then that it leaves an oil that leaches into fiberglass or plastic and is impossible to remove without destructive removal of the material.

Here are a couple past discussions on the topic; Silicone Dont use it and why. & Silicone is truly evil.
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Old 10-01-2009, 12:59   #8
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For the love of all that is holy just don't use silicone on anything you are not willing to throw away afterwords.
I have used silicone quite succesfully all over the boat, not for critical stuff, but window applications and such.

You must be talking about the Home Depot kind of silicone, not the 3M Marine Silicone, the difference is acid content or some such thing.

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Old 10-01-2009, 13:11   #9
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I find that many boatmen don't know the difference between 5200, a polyurethane adhesive, and 3m 101, a polysulphide bedding compound. The 101 is an excellent sealer, and does allow easy removal of a fitting..
The owner of the yard where I haul Bluestocking once said the only thing in the yard that is more verbally abused than 5200, is the travel-lift operator.
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Old 10-01-2009, 14:01   #10
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I believe 3M 5200 simply sucks.
The proper tool for the job is always appropriate. Misusing 5200 tends to make it on the list of the worst jobs you have had to undo so you could fix something. A chain saw can be dangerous too but it's notthe fault of the product.
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Old 10-01-2009, 14:07   #11
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Originally Posted by s/v 'Faith' View Post
For the love of all that is holy just don't use silicone on anything you are not willing to throw away afterwords.
[...]
+1! There are places where it's appropriate but on a boat they're few and far between.
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Old 10-01-2009, 14:42   #12
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As mentioned before, 5200 has a place. I have used it for a hull to deck joint. I use it there due to it's loooong cure time(4 days to fully cure)and it's elasticity. I would never use it where there was the slightest chance I needed to remove it. I learned that on the hard way. I'm sold on Sika-Flex. It comes in different formulations and colors. I have recently had problems finding it telling me their marketing department is falling behind. All in all, I feel there is no replacement for 5200 for the right job
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Old 10-01-2009, 15:17   #13
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In the last few days 3 sailors in the Vendee Globe have used 5200 or talked about using it.
1. for a transom repair.
2. for sail repair.
3. for a cracked stringer (haven't used it yet but keeping it in reserve because they are running low). Pretty useful stuff it seems to me.
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Old 10-01-2009, 15:28   #14
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Chainplates on our boat were bonded to the deck with 5200 and after 18 years were leaking. I got a product called Debond Marine Formula 2000 and with patience and that product I was able to get things dis-assembled without issue. That means without damage, to me or the boat. When I put things back together, I used 5200 again. I think 18 years is pretty damn good for an "adhesive sealant". That's what 3M calls 5200. Adhesives are meant for holding things together, and that's what 5200 does very well. For stuff that needs to come up and isn't stout, I use other sealants. But for high load stuff that I don't want coming apart, I'll keep on using 5200.
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Old 10-01-2009, 15:48   #15
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Seems like there a more then a few 5200 devotees here! I would love to see real data on it's flexibility. I swear its not as advertised.
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