Your Favorite Adhesives

[Jamme]

All that has been said.

For small cabin projects (think no heavyweight bonding) I have used Sugru, https://sugru.com/buy/sugru-mouldable-glue

I really like the ease of application and the fact that it sticks to many surfaces, including rubber (I fixed a leaking washing machine door gasket at home with it and it still holds after more than 1 year).

[Thumbs Up]

Something to remember about all of these epoxy putty sticks (and they don't mention it on the instructions), It is epoxy! They say to knead it with your fingers, they don't provide gloves with the kit, nor a warning. Wear gloves!

[hpeer]

In addition to everything said above … not for boat building but something useful for life.

E6000 is sort of like a super shoe goo. I had a running light that was getting water inside the cable. I needed to water block the cable, I needed something to stick to the wire insulation Ended up doing a test with E6000, 5200 and liquid electrical tape, this stuff had the best adhesion to wire.

It sticks to plastics pretty good and is very flexible, and it stretches a LOT before breaking. Stays soft.

It has its uses.

[Thumbs Up]

Another favorite is through the roof, similar to lexel. I just now realized they are both by Sashco. Maybe the same product.
https://www.sashco.com/products/lexel/
https://www.sashco.com/products/through-the-roof/

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by hpeer

In addition to everything said above … not for boat building but something useful for life.

E6000 is sort of like a super shoe goo. I had a running light that was getting water inside the cable. I needed to water block the cable, I needed something to stick to the wire insulation Ended up doing a test with E6000, 5200 and liquid electrical tape, this stuff had the best adhesion to wire.

It sticks to plastics pretty good and is very flexible, and it stretches a LOT before breaking. Stays soft.

It has its uses.

How about Shoe Goo (same company as E6000 and similar polymer, but different solvents)? I've certainly used it on shoes and chafed luggage, and some round-the-house stuff I no longer remember. It's real strength is abrasion resistance.

[tennis4789]

Duct tape an adhesive?

[Sailorman97]

5200 has no place on a boat. It is impossible to remove and usually results in destruction of the fiberglass it is bonded too.

I use Sikaflex 291 and it is more than strong enough. I re-bedded the keel on my Idylle 1550 this year and we made a mistake and had to take it off again (long sad story)

The keel is 13,500 lbs. We took all of the bolts out and replaced them with rod so the keel would stay in place. We lifted the boat and the keel did not come off. The sika flex held it on. We had to cut it off with a sawsall and about 25 blades.

We then scrapped the remainder off with a power chisel. If this had been 5200 we would have had to reglass the bottom of the boat.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Sailorman97

If this had been 5200 we would have had to reglass the bottom of the boat.

That's unlikely. You would have just needed a different removal technique after you cut the adhesive to get the keel off. There are solvents that can help remove 5200.

[Sailorman97]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

That's unlikely. You would have just needed a different removal technique after you cut the adhesive to get the keel off. There are solvents that can help remove 5200.

Why would I want to use solvents to remove an unnecessarily strong bond when I could simply use an adhesive that was appropriate for the job. Working with solvents always has a cost to either your health or the environment. I try to stay away from anything stronger or harsher than acetone.

Why would I want to take a chance that the adhesive will damage the fiberglass or gelcoat. Its not like these surfaces are easily repaired to like previously undamaged condition.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Sailorman97

Why would I want to use solvents to remove an unnecessarily strong bond when I could simply use an adhesive that was appropriate for the job. Working with solvents always has a cost to either your health or the environment. I try to stay away from anything stronger or harsher than acetone.

Why would I want to take a chance that the adhesive will damage the fiberglass or gelcoat. Its not like these surfaces are easily repaired to like previously undamaged condition.

You used the same kind of adhesive, just another brand. You can buy DeBond (hope I got the name right) to separate the bonded pieces… would have saved you many saw blades.

[Sailorman97]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

You used the same kind of adhesive, just another brand. You can buy DeBond (hope I got the name right) to separate the bonded pieces… would have saved you many saw blades.

Nonsense. You are never going to use debond to get a keel off. It would take gallons of the stuff, weeks of time and is of dubious effectiveness anyway. I tried this product years ago. It seemed it was designed to make money for the manufacturer and not much else.

How would you get it into the keel hull joint which is at best has a gap that is varying from nothing to 1/8-1/4" and is 9 inches wide at the widest part of the keel.


5200 and 291 are different formulas of similar ingrediencies. They are not the same.

You always know that if you can get Sika 291 out of the tube it is going to harden. This is not always true of 5200. It does not take long using google to find out this can be a problem.

I have separated fiberglass parts bonded together with Sikaflex 291. I have never managed to do this with 5200 except at the destruction of one part or the other.

If I know the part must be separated at a later date or parts that are going to be subject to movement I use butyl tape. It never hardens. This is not the same as butyl caulk you use out of a tube from Home Depot. That stuff hardens and then cracks.

You of course are welcome to use whatever you want. I use Sika 291 for most adhesive work. It has never let me down.

[Joe Okros]

Loctite 518 anaerobic glue. I repair small outboards as a hobby and its invaluable for sealing the cases.

[Sailorman97]

Originally Posted by Joe Okros

Loctite 518 anaerobic glue. I repair small outboards as a hobby and its invaluable for sealing the cases.

Does it have body at all? Like a gasket maker?

[Joe Okros]

No, it is like a gel and remains so, but it seals in the ABSENCE of air and will seal even through some contamination of surfaces, so when you torque crankcase halves together there is no air. It is also fuel resistant (kinda important in 2-stroke crankcases). There are propriety sealers like Yamabond but I think it's basically the same stuff. 2-stroke outboards almost always require the splitting of the crankcase to do anything internally and sealing them after is paramount to continued longevity. It cleans up easily as well. Many the small outboards I repaired after the "silicone" sealer fails and the crankcase starts sucking air.

[Larryo]

I use a bunch of the above mentioned but my "go to" ones include:


4200: to seal things (use a lot)

5200: to permanently mount stuff (really don't use much, but CAN be removed if needed)

Sikaflex 291: overall a better solution for 5200 unless super holding power is needed

GFlex: great, very flexible product, use a lot


And a few other specialty items like the shoe goo, hapalon glue, etc.


I don't buy "no name" stuff or products not proven... ain't worth the hassle.



Can't have too many adhesives.