Formica Repair

[Ocean Girl]

Formica Repair
Split in the Formica. Any ideas about easy repair? Not too concerned about aesthetics, it's a head. But I am concerned about water intrusion, this is our main bulkhead.
Can I inject penetrating epoxy into the seam? I can lift it about 1/4 inch at most. It does not seem to have any bubbles or pockets above or below split.

[ssanzone]

if you are really concerned, cut all the loose formica out, epoxy the bulkhead and place the formica back in place once the epoxy starts to set up.

-steve

[Ocean Girl]

If I go that route. Would a dremel to make a neat cut work? Or will it shatter you think? Can I tape it up, then cut ?

[ssanzone]

i think u will get a cleaner cut with a razor blade.

a dremel will cut cleanly for sure but a pretty thick cut making the repair more noticeable than it needs to be.

-s

[Ocean Girl]

Yes, you are right, the Formica is not that thick.

Have you tried the seam fill repair kits?

[ssanzone]

i have not. many of the desks in my office have the same problem and someone told em they tried to no avail so i have never even bothered to look into if they work or not.

-s

[svHyLyte]

We had a similar problem on a former boat. We repaired it by separating the formaic from the surface a bit and holding the formica away with pieces of bamboo kitchen skewers and then "painted" the surface and the underside of the formica with contact cement. When that dried enough, the spacers were pulled and the formica was pushed back in place. We covered the seam by mixing up a bit of MarineTex and trowling it lengthwise along the seam with a stiff rubber spatchla. It filled the seam nicely. Once it cured, any high spots were removed with a little fine sandpaper and the surface polished with a patch of 600 grit cloth. That was about 15 years ago and I understand that the repair seems to still be holding up.

FWIW...

[keepondancin]

Is there any apparent reason why it split? You could use a heat gun to soften the adhesive, and lift the formica away. Check that the bulk head doesn't have a problem. Use the smelly contact cement, following the mfg's directions to rebond it, and if marine tex sounds a little extreme, you could purchase a tube of formica seam fill from a cabinet shop or a supplier and use that to disguise the repair, and it would be water resistant. When rebonding the formica, rub it very hard to get a complete bond. In the shop I uses a special roller to press it down. Be inventive. That is what is used on counter tops.

I had a Crealock 37 for 12 years, sailed lot's of miles. I am surprised that it split like that. Is there movement in the bulkhead?

[keepondancin]

One last thought, formica chips very easily. i wouldn't try to cut it with a roto zip. You could use a trim router with the correct bit and improvise a jig the you double face tape to the surface to guide the router.

[Ocean Girl]

Thanks everyone!!
As far as why the bulkhead formica split, not sure. The split was before we owned her. Everything looks good, the bulkhead itself looks in place and solid. The mast compression post is right there too, I've checked all along the post, including where it anchors in the bilge, no shift, misalignment, or sag.

I think I'm going to try to patch it.
Thanks again for the input, you all are a gret help.

[Ocean Girl]

My husband just said that he had Mike Firestone look at it, he said it was just cosmetic.
Thanks