Fixing leaky Hypalon

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

I meant the Flexseal putty, to put where the canvas ply shows through the missing rubber.

The tape may work as well. Also, 5200 works as a filler as well as patch adhesive.

No way. It worked!

I can’t believe it. Flexseal tape I already had on board.

I just cut out a couple of pieces to put over the holes and pressed them on and no more leaks!

That is crazy. All the difficulty and trouble people go through to fix leaky dinghies and all you have to do is cut a little square of flexseal tape and press it on there, inflate it and immediately it works!

Absolutely ridiculous that it's this easy. I don’t know why anyone is going through all the trouble of all the other methods.

Press it in place and done!

there is currently a little bit too much pressure from the hot sun right now. And no problem. The flexseal holds.

Mind is blown

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Chotu

No way. It worked!

I can’t believe it. Flexseal tape I already had on board.

I just cut out a couple of pieces to put over the holes and pressed them on and no more leaks!

That is crazy. All the difficulty and trouble people go through to fix leaky dinghies and all you have to do is cut a little square of flexseal tape and press it on there, inflate it and immediately it works!

Absolutely ridiculous that it's this easy. I don’t know why anyone is going through all the trouble of all the other methods.

Press it in place and done!

there is currently a little bit too much pressure from the hot sun right now. And no problem. The flexseal holds.

Mind is blown

That's good to know! I guess the real test will be when you get to see how it holds up over time.

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by Chotu

No way. It worked!

I can’t believe it. Flexseal tape I already had on board.

I just cut out a couple of pieces to put over the holes and pressed them on and no more leaks!

That is crazy. All the difficulty and trouble people go through to fix leaky dinghies and all you have to do is cut a little square of flexseal tape and press it on there, inflate it and immediately it works!

Absolutely ridiculous that it's this easy. I don’t know why anyone is going through all the trouble of all the other methods.

Press it in place and done!

there is currently a little bit too much pressure from the hot sun right now. And no problem. The flexseal holds.

Mind is blown

possibly the answer will become clearer in a month or 2. a proper repair is as good as the original, whereas who knows how long the tape might last

anyway, it's got you going so that's a good thing...
cheers,

[George_SD]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I don’t know why anyone is going through all the trouble of all the other methods.

Because a properly done patch will hold for the lifetime of the dinghy. Not so sure about the tape.

[Chotu]

Yeah. Maybe there is no longevity with the tape. That’s possible. But considering how simple it is, it’s still better. Just put new tape on in a few months. It’s only a small square. It’s not like you are taping up the entire dinghy.

It’s just crazy that this worked at all.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by George_SD

Because a properly done patch will hold for the lifetime of the dinghy. Not so sure about the tape.

Ahhhhh.

different needs case. As is usually the situation on the forum when people don’t agree on something.

you are picturing a new dinghy and somebody gashes it and put a hole in it. Definitely a proper hypalon repair in that case.

this is an ancient, tattered rib that I bought for $750 to try to last me a year or two while I still have to haul messy construction things back-and-forth a bit.

I bought it for durability purposes because it is all fiberglass with a rib collar. so nothing can really break.

if I get two years I’ll be pretty happy. But I actually think it’s going to last 5

[rslifkin]

Even if the tape doesn't last well, it's still a good trick to know, as it can be done quickly, then a proper patch applied later when time allows.

[GreenWave]

I keep a roll of flexseal tape in my dinghy box for emergencies. Good to hear that it worked for Chotu!

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Chotu

No way. It worked!

I can’t believe it. Flexseal tape I already had on board.

I just cut out a couple of pieces to put over the holes and pressed them on and no more leaks!

That is crazy. All the difficulty and trouble people go through to fix leaky dinghies and all you have to do is cut a little square of flexseal tape and press it on there, inflate it and immediately it works!

Absolutely ridiculous that it's this easy. I don’t know why anyone is going through all the trouble of all the other methods.

Press it in place and done!

there is currently a little bit too much pressure from the hot sun right now. And no problem. The flexseal holds.

Mind is blown

Of course it works, didn’t you see the advertisements with the guying taping a boat together and plane it at 60kts or so?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Of course it works, didn’t you see the advertisements with the guying taping a boat together and plane it at 60kts or so?

I will have to check that out. No TV. No ads. Just the ones on the forum

[Chotu]

So, the flex tape might have worked but there might have been some user error.

I had a small piece of it on there to test and I wanted to put a larger piece to make sure it stayed for a long time. When I pulled the old piece off, there was residue left.

I put the new, larger piece on and it leaked. I cleaned almost everything off with some solvent and put another new piece on. And it ended up peeling back and leaking also.

But then I made an observation.

I had been testing out some water-based hiding primer (paint) on something else. As I was throwing away the paint stirring stick I noticed it was just like plastic/rubber after it dried. Very durable, yet still a little soft.

So I thought, why not?

I deflated the tube that was leaking and painted the hole. Here I am weeks later now and no leaks anymore on the dinghy.

So it’s as simple as painting the leak. Unbelievable.

[Phil_Fr17]

You've discovered the principle of serendipity.
Now, the best thing for us would be for you to tell us the name of the paint (or supposed paint) you used. Photos, chemical composition if necessary, so that we can do some tests or research into the composition to find out what stuck (in the truest sense of the word!).

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Phil_Fr17

You've discovered the principle of serendipity.
Now, the best thing for us would be for you to tell us the name of the paint (or supposed paint) you used. Photos, chemical composition if necessary, so that we can do some tests or research into the composition to find out what stuck (in the truest sense of the word!).

It may not help you as I’m not sure it’s an internationally available product.

However, it’s in every single hardware store in the USA.

The pictures:

Pic #1 shows the product. Kilz water based interior/exterior primer. No idea about longevity in UV rays.

Pic #2 shows the paint in place. All the gunk around it is from the last piece of FlexSeal tape. You can also see another similar hole to the one that is patched right next to it as well. This dinghy has several “tumors” like this that should be patched. This one I did patch seems to be the only one that was leaking so far.

[Phil_Fr17]

What interested me in your product was which components might react with your Hypalon.
So I looked for the SDS (or SDS in the USA) and TDS to try and find out more.
I should point out that I'm not a chemist...
Apparently, it's similar to an "acrylic glue" which, because of its composition, reacts with the components of Hypalon.
All that remains is to protect it from UV rays to ensure longevity.
Be careful, Kilz3 contains a carcinogenic product (Diphenyl ketone).

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Phil_Fr17

What interested me in your product was which components might react with your Hypalon.
So I looked for the SDS (or SDS in the USA) and TDS to try and find out more.
I should point out that I'm not a chemist...
Apparently, it's similar to an "acrylic glue" which, because of its composition, reacts with the components of Hypalon.
All that remains is to protect it from UV rays to ensure longevity.
Be careful, Kilz3 contains a carcinogenic product (Diphenyl ketone).

I also think it has shellac, i.e. beetle juice.