Lewmar hatch sealant

[meleana]

In process of "resticking" my 30 plus yr. 24 inch ocean hatches. The stickem holding the hatch to frame no longer holds. Gaskets still look good. What would be the best product for set, seal, and stick ??

[svinshallah]

"Hatch to the frame?" If you mean the frame to the deck, I've used butyl tape successfully. If you mean the plastic window to the aluminum frame, I've got 5 hatches and had great success with Dow Corning 795 using acrylic glazing.

[meleana]

Thank You for your reply. It appears the original was either a black butyl (acrylic to gasket area) or a black tape, after so many years it's hard to tell which. Since these hatches are opened by pushing on the acrylic or the handles this point of adhesion is critically strong, so, of the two, which is stronger ??? Thank You.

[svinshallah]

I put in gas struts so that I don't have to push too hard to lift the hatch. But DC795 is designed to hold big glass windows in buildings, so it should hold up with your pushing on it. Butyl tape is a sealant/caulk and a very poor adhesive.

[JPA Cate]

3M5200 is an excellent adhesive. It will last for hatches, without developing leaks, for about 20 yrs. It will eventually fail, and is difficult to remove the hatch if you used it, but it sure does a good job!

I guess the real question here is whether you need an adhesive or a caulk? If it is only the adhesive that holds the hatch down with no mechanical backup, you want a super strong adhesive. Every greeny that comes over the deck tries and get its fingers under there and pry the hatch up, to say nothing of your opening the hatch at anchor.

Ann

Ann

[svinshallah]

3M 5200 is a polyurethane adhesive and specifically NOT recommended for use with acrylic or polycarbonate. Silicones like DC795 are specifically compatible with glazing plastics. Sikaflex 791UV is a urethane and can be used, but only with a very expensive primer.

[Suijin]

Dow Corning 795 is the go-to sealant for this. Sikaflex 791 can be used but the primer is noxious stuff and as noted, expensive.

You WILL want to prime the aluminum frame however if you want a proper and durable seal. It's going to be in nasty shape when you get the butyl off.

You can use butyl, and it will stick well enough. Plenty of people use it with good results. It's extremely messy stuff to work with though.

All this said, and after having reglazed a few hatches myself, I'm going to recommend that you give Hatchmasters (Select Plastics) a call. They just did one for me and the workmanship was first rate. New acrylic lens and new updated handles, seals, the whole ball of wax. They even threw in new delrin washers for the hinge. I had to install new dogs on the frame but that was straightforward provided you've worked with rivets. Hatchmasters is not cheap but it's a time vs. money thing.

Lastly, if you're going through the trouble of rebedding yourself, and your acrylic is crazed, at the very least consider new acrylic. Take the old piece to your local plastics shop and they should be able to use it as a pattern to cut you a new one.

[leftbrainstuff]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

3M5200 is an excellent adhesive. It will last for hatches, without developing leaks, for about 20 yrs. It will eventually fail, and is difficult to remove the hatch if you used it, but it sure does a good job!

I guess the real question here is whether you need an adhesive or a caulk? If it is only the adhesive that holds the hatch down with no mechanical backup, you want a super strong adhesive. Every greeny that comes over the deck tries and get its fingers under there and pry the hatch up, to say nothing of your opening the hatch at anchor.

Ann

Ann

Not for acrylic

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[SV DestinyAscen]

Second Dow Corning 795 for poly to hatch, 3m 4000uv for hatch to deck.

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by svinshallah

3M 5200 is a polyurethane adhesive and specifically NOT recommended for use with acrylic or polycarbonate. Silicones like DC795 are specifically compatible with glazing plastics. Sikaflex 791UV is a urethane and can be used, but only with a very expensive primer.

What he said. Also, keep in mind that many hatch manufacturers use some form of silicone to seal the lenses to the frame and, if you do not remove it all, nothing is going to stick. I have had good luck with McKanica silicone remover.

[Delancey]

No to 5200. Yes to Dow 795. Here's what worked for me. Three years later as good as the day I installed them.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...nt-111539.html

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by Suijin

All this said, and after having reglazed a few hatches myself, I'm going to recommend that you give Hatchmasters (Select Plastics) a call. They just did one for me and the workmanship was first rate.

Meh, I called Select Plastics for a quote before I did my hatches. They were like eight plus week lead time and their price was more than replacing with new hatches. Maybe your quote was better.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Delancey

Meh, I called Select Plastics for a quote before I did my hatches. They were like eight plus week lead time and their price was more than replacing with new hatches. Maybe your quote was better.

Wow, got my hatch back in two weeks, and was way less than a new hatch. What model hatch is yours? Super hatch? Ocean hatch? And the quote was more than a new Lewmar hatch?

[Delancey]

Super hatches. Like I said they wanted as much as new Ocean hatches. This was about three years ago in the summer time and they wanted eight weeks to do the job.

Good for you they did in two weeks for a good price. Not sure what the deal is with the difference in our experiences. I will say the guy I talked to was nice enough and helpful with answering questions. I'lll give them that much.