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Polyester Repair


Jim Atl

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The Polyester skin on the bow and stern have worn down to the wood frame.  I want to patch and add a metal strip to protect from the rocks.  Paint has kept skin from breaking loose and minimal leakage occurred.  I have tried several glues and sealants but nothing sticks to the Polyester.  My plan is to "clean" skin on both sides of the bow/stern and use fiberglass to cover both stem timbers

This area is supported by the stem timbers so flexing is not an issue only mechanical integrity,   Will fiberglass adhere to polyester?  How "clean" must the skin be to bond?

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Lets back up, what did you coat the skin with because I haven't found anything that will not stick to polyester?  Photos would be very helpful.

 

Not trying to scold you but this is why I recommend run strips. Abrasion is your boats enemy and the bow takes the brunt of it. It's why I recommend not beaching the boats and learning to get in and out in the water.

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I try to avoid approaching any landing - even in a tupperware boat - bow-on. I approach parallel to the shore. I also exit the boat from the side away from the shore, especially in areas with frequent power boat wakes or at the beach; if you're between your kayak and the shore, a wave or wake can bowl you over - sending your boat into your legs with surprising force. This is especially important at the beach with a 60-pound tupperware kayak. Even with a SOF it can be unpleasant.

 

A bow-on landing also makes your boat less stable. When the bow is supported by the beach, it's also lifted a bit, the max beam is shifted aft to a narrower portion of the boat, making it less stable.

 

I rely on rub strips to protect the bow and stern when I'm resting one end on grass or sand while lifting the other end onto a roof rack.

 

Meanwhile, back to Jim's question: I've had good luck with Lexel sticking to everything and anything.

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Any paint or other finish already on the polyester may cause problems with adhesion of a repair. Especially epoxy may be a problem. 

   I have used epoxy only, and have used fiberglass cloth/epoxy. This was on new polyester. It works but seemed to be a little brittle. Where you are using it in an area with no flex it may be OK.

   If you haven't already tried PL Premium construction adhesive it may be worth a try. Seems to stick to most anything and easy to apply. 

 

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You mention you have tried glues, to do this repair?  If you have contaminated the area with glues as well as the paint, getting anything else to bond well may not happen.  I would not use epoxy.  Even if you got it to stick it is brittle and would crack when the cloth flexed.

I always figured a repair would be a sewn on patch of cloth that would be waterproofed by more paint.

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The answer to your patch problem is Poly Tac!  It's a high strength, fast drying, one part cement manufactured ESPECIALLY to attach polyester fabric to an airframe !! This stuff works and is great. I suggested a few weeks back about adding reinforcing tapes over high ware areas, keel and stringers but was shot down by Jeff about doing this. Sure it will not stop the ware on our skins but will give you one or two more layers to wear through before you have a hole in the bottom of your kayak. Might just get you home dry on a long  extended trip. Nothing wrong with redundancy. Add your brass wear strip on top of your extra layer of reinforcing tape and you are better off without adding hardly any extra weight for more protection.

Poly Tac is great for cementing polyester to its self for the patch you are wanting without having to sew the patch on first. Check out www.conaircraft.com/polyfiber/cement   or just google Poly Tac .

Tip of the Day: if you do decide to add a couple of layers of reinforcing tape to your keel make  two different widths of tapes, say 2" and 4" putting the 2" on first then the 4" last.  This will give you only two edges instead of four edges to hide when you paint your kayak if you want the tapes to disappear.

 

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17 hours ago, Joe Underwood said:

.... I suggested a few weeks back about adding reinforcing tapes over high ware areas, keel and stringers but was shot down by Jeff about doing this.

 

Sounds like I stepped on your toes and that was not my intent. 

 

The point I was trying to get across is if you will build these boats the way I suggest, you just don't need extra layers of fabric.  I have been building and paddling these thing for years and I have made most of the mistakes and tried a lot of things. I have refined the design and my goal is keep construction simple and not add things that are not needed. 

 

I have learned that If you put a good rub strip on the boat rubbing a hole in the fabric is simply not an issue. I still advocate not beaching a boat when you can avoid it, but with the brass strip I will nose mine up on a rough concrete boat ramp. Sounds like it grinder on steel but it does nothing except mark the brass.


 

Quote


The answer to your patch problem is Poly Tac! 

 

 

Will this adhere to paint or just raw polyester?  If it will stick to the painted polyester it could be a good choice for repairs.

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I've recently started experimenting with kydex for rub strips when Keel Easy failed me at the tips.  Rough cut size, thermoform carefully with a heat gun, sand it to final shape / debur the edges, and rubber cement in place.  If it gets too worn, peel it off and wash, rinse, repeat.

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5 hours ago, Kudzu said:

Never heard of Kydex, how does it handle UV? I recommend plastic cutting boards at one time but they are not UV resistant and only lasted 2 seasons. They were falling apart literally  by the second. That is why I switched over to brass.

 

Honestly, no idea, but considering it's more popular applications in the sporting goods and automotive applications, I don't think it's an issue.  I'm using 0.080" sheets. Lots of wear resistance...for the price. I can replace them half a dozen times at half the cost of brass.

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