Epoxy/Adhesive for cleats for wall strips

[brianontheroad]

Cleats as in the carpentry term wood to attach other wood too, not tie up with!

I'm putting strips of ash on hull sides in areas where there isn't teak, I was planning on using plywood strips 3" wide with grooves cut in the back so it conforms to the hull as my attachment points -- what's the easiest way to attach those cleats to the hull (bare fiberglass)

I'm comfortable with a thickened epoxy, but West Systems set time and the fact that it's winter (SC winter....but still) means I'd need a way to keep pressure on them to get a good bond

Is there another adhesive that's quick set that I can use to attach the cleats to the wall? The ash strips I'll be screwing to them are relatively light (1/4" thick x 2.25 wide)

Thanks for any tips

[Cheechako]

Often you can get thin strips of wood, cut them to the correct length on the boat and force them to hold the wood conforming to the hull. I hope this makes sense... you bend the wood (or dowels) and put them in place so they stay bent a little forcing pressure on the plywood.
I've just used Bondo, which sets up pretty fast if you warm the boat up and mix right. Then a few light strips of f'glass cloth to make sure the ply stays in place.
If I was doing this again I would be very tempted to give one of the new-ish one part urethane glues a test. They swell instead of shrink and are tenacious. Dampness or water makes them cure BETTER! Still.... you'd have to keep them in place overnight....

[brianontheroad]

in the past I've used things like extendable boat hooks to hold things like this in place, but I'm doing it all over the boat and she has over a 12' beam so these will be looooong thing strips of wood to hold them in place and lots of them

bondo does seem like a good enough cheap way of doing this, what would an example of the urethane glues you're referring be?

[minaret]

You want Plexus or Hysol.

[sww914]

Bondo is strong enough to hold it while you lay up glass over the cleats bit it absorbs water. It sands easy because it's porous. I'd use thickened epoxy (Cab-O-Sil) with fast hardener and do it before noon.
You can use 5 minute epoxy instead of West Systems for that, they sell big containers at hobby stores.

[susswein]

You can also try a combination of epoxy and hot glue gun adhesive. The way I've done it is the an uncovered strip down the when you apply the epoxy, and run a bead of hot melt glue down the bare strip. The hot melt glue sets up within a minute, and is strong enough to hold the pieces together while the epoxy dries.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by sww914

Bondo is strong enough to hold it while you lay up glass over the cleats bit it absorbs water. It sands easy because it's porous. I'd use thickened epoxy (Cab-O-Sil) with fast hardener and do it before noon.
You can use 5 minute epoxy instead of West Systems for that, they sell big containers at hobby stores.

WEST makes G5, the best five minute epoxy.

[brianontheroad]

yea I'm looking for something like a 5 minute epoxy -- not sure if we have any hobby shops in the area, any thoughts on the plywood as cleats idea? I can also use a grooved solid wood as well, or even a high density foam w/glass

[minaret]

Originally Posted by susswein

You can also try a combination of epoxy and hot glue gun adhesive. The way I've done it is the an uncovered strip down the when you apply the epoxy, and run a bead of hot melt glue down the bare strip. The hot melt glue sets up within a minute, and is strong enough to hold the pieces together while the epoxy dries.

I often use this method for Plexus. It's open time is about 30 seconds to one minute, perfect for working with hot glue. Stronger than epoxy and pumps out of a gun with mixing wands.

[minaret]

Cross link hot glue is probably the ultimate solution for this, but crosslink guns are expensive. Probably only for pro use.

[brianontheroad]

@minaret the plexus and hysol both look very promising, thanks for the tip

[Cheechako]

Gorilla Glues is an example, but not the same as the more commercial ones. Here's just an example of the clamping system concept...

[brianontheroad]

I see grainger carries hysol, where can I get the plexus? Do you use the marine adhesive?

[brianontheroad]

one other request -- little surface preparation requirement...happy to clean/wipe down with acetone but not interested in grinding inside the boat at the moment

[minaret]

Originally Posted by brianontheroad

@minaret the plexus and hysol both look very promising, thanks for the tip

Of course. I usually use Plexus. It can be hard to find. You west coast or east?


These adhesives are best for minimal prep/max bond, but some prep will always make a world of difference. Destructively test a bond with no prep first.