Best glue for repairing teak wood on deck

[basssears]

Tried searching archives but mostly came up with some threads regarding teak bungs, so asking new question.

We have a piece of (presumably) teak that is part of the guide for our forward hatch that has cracked and broken off (picture below is of a sister ship, arrows show approximate area of breakage):


I am generally comfortable with wood repairs (have clamps, etc) but not sure what kind of glue to use. Is waterproof Titebond style wood glue the right choice here? Or should I use West epoxy? I have both, unlike the bung discussion this isn't something I really care if it ever comes apart again.

If it were below decks I'd just use wood glue and be done with it, something about being above decks makes me think I should be using epoxy, but???

Thanks in advance,

-- Bass

[skipmac]

Interested to hear this one myself. One thing I have been told by the experts, before gluing teak wipe the area to be glued with acetone to remove some of the oil from the wood and allow the glue to penetrate a little and make a better bond.

[fryewe]

I’d use resorcinol.

[fryewe]

BTW, I get resorcinol from Aircraft Spruce on the web. (No affiliation)

[keepondancin]

I would clean the surfaces to be bonded with acetone, which removes the oil so the adhesive will penetrate and not have an oil barrier. For adhesive I would use the West epoxy that you have. I’d clamping it, do not tighten it as you would using something like Titebond, you don’t want to squeeze out all the epoxy. You could wet out the surfaces, then add some teak saw dust, if you have any, and slightly thicken some epoxy and use that for the bonding. Do it all in one operation. If you have a good mating of the surfaces, when cured, with some sanding, you should have an acceptable repair.

[jimbunyard]

Lots of talk about this, here's one I remember cause I had a lot of input.

Short answer, epoxy is good...

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-170417-3.html

[Pauls]

Epoxy is good for filling gaps.

Resorcinol is the best wood glue on the planet. It leaves a purple glue line which may not be desireable for your clear finish. by the way, regular resorcinol requires very good joint fitting, ie gaps are not acceptable. Aerodux makes a resorcinol which is gap filling up to - by memory- about 1/16". It is available from Chemical Supermarket: DGR Industrial Products, Inc. :: Structural Adhesives :: Resorcinol Adhesives

I'd recommend the Aerodux 185. it is significantly cheaper than the 500 and has the same properties. This is the gap filling resorcinol.

[Steve Bean]

If using epoxy with thickener, after cleaning with acetone, wet the surfaces with unthickened epoxy, then mix in the thickener in the epoxy pan, place the thickened epoxy in the joint, and clamp, not tight enough to squeeze it all out of the joint. Have you read the West System directions on this?

[MartinR]

Aerolite, Aerodux, Epoxy all work.

I would replace the whole piece. This looks like a stress crack, and gluing it together might just shift the fault line, and it will crack anew just beside the new glue line. Glues are much stronger than the wood.

Alternatively, rout out a straight piece of wood about 1/2 to 1" each side of the crack and glue in a new piece. Full length.

[Lepke]

I use West epoxy for all my gluing. I used Resorcinol 40-50 years ago. It's a good waterproof glue but as others have said, has no strength when filling gaps. It was used in PT boats in WWII, but we've come a long way. I've never had a West Systems epoxy glue line fail. That's doing commercial work and for my own stuff.
Ditto on acetone 1st on oily woods.

[Seabeau]

Or, simply eliminate the wood, by using PVC lumber available at any big box store. It can be attached by countersunk and plugged wood screws and/or glued with regular PVC cement. Cheap, lasts a long time.

[basssears]

Thanks everyone, appreciate the replies. Due to time constraints and lack of tools I won't be replacing the whole piece right now, although it may be in the line later on. I'm not sure it's a stress crack either (although that could be part of the issue), I believe we wacked it with the dinghy when putting it on the foredeck

I have read the West System info, feel pretty comfortable with how to proceed using epoxy, just wasn't sure if that was the right way to go or not, sounds like it is.

Thanks.

-- Bass

[LakeSuperior]

Resorcinol makes a considerably stronger structural glue joint than epoxy. However, in the scheme of things that characteristic is likely not a factor for most applications.

[ZULU40]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

Resorcinol makes a considerably stronger structural glue joint than epoxy. However, in the scheme of things that characteristic is likely not a factor for most applications.

since the strength of the bond of epoxy to wood exceeds the strength of the wood itself being torn apart,
I cant see where stronger comes into it

[moseriw]

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