deck pulling away from mast step repair patch

sburke1212

New Member
I just acquired an old laser that already had the mast step repair done. Most of it looks great except for about a 4" section close to center aft. It is no longer bonded to the patch and gives when I push on it. Does anyone have any sugesstions on how to repair it?

A guy at Layline suggested I use self-tapping screws and epoxy, but also suggested I ask laser afficionados. So do any of you afficionados have any advice?
 
That sounds reasonble - 3M 5200 would be another choice for the bonding.

Either way you will need to do a decent job of removing the old adhesive. That's where some creative thinking will help you save time and get all the loose bits of the old adhesive out. Serrated knife, sawzall blade etc in the gap type of thinking...
 
49208 said:
That sounds reasonble - 3M 5200 would be another choice for the bonding.

Either way you will need to do a decent job of removing the old adhesive. That's where some creative thinking will help you save time and get all the loose bits of the old adhesive out. Serrated knife, sawzall blade etc in the gap type of thinking...
WEST Epoxy would probably be easier to work into any cracks and crevices, but you will need to buy some kind of filler in addition to the resin/hardener (caveat: I'm a well-known fan of the WEST System...:rolleyes: ).

In addition to getting the old glue out, don't forget to roughen the mating surfaces (60-grit is good) to get good bonding with whatever adhesive you use.

Screws probably won't help with the strength after the glue cures, but they might be the best way to clamp the two sides together.

Cheers,

Geoff S.
 
sburke1212 said:
So what are the benefits of using West Systems epoxy over the 3M 5200 adhesive?
I'm not that familar with 5200, having used only about 1/4 small tube in my entire life (vs. a few gallons of WEST...). Probably the biggest benefit I find to epoxy is that you can modify it's characteristics by adding various fillers to it.

For example, a common technique when repairing something like the mast-step exapmle here is to work some neat (unfilled) epoxy into the crack and onto all the surfaces. It's fairly easy to get the epoxy into some pretty narrow confines. Then, add some filler to the rest of the mix and work it in between the surfaces as much as possible and clamp it all together. The filled stuff will bridge any gaps you can't get rid of.

Wth something premixed, like 5200, you have whatever comes out of the tube, and that's it.

Cheers,

Geoff S.
 
I just finished a repair with West epoxy. I think it is probably the best
way to go for your repair.

As Geoff said, you can vary the viscosity by adding (or not) filler. More
filler makes the resin more viscous (thicker). You can adjust its density
trading off weight vs strength by the choice of filler.

Epoxy is very rigid, RTV is somewhat flexible (until it gets old).

West epoxy is more expensive than 5200 (or any other similar stuff).
Epoxy is more complex to use, so it is probably more work than just 5200.

westsystem.com has good information about its use. There is a guide
there that gives a fair amount of detail. This forum also provides excellent
guidance.

There are other brands of epoxy, but I am not familiar with them. All use a
resin + hardener. Some already have filler added.

Make sure that whatever you pick is a better adhesive than the one that
was used with the mast step patch. You only want to do this once. :)
 
Well, too late. I made the repair using 5200 this past weekend. Thanks everyone for your input.

Hopefully it will work out okay. I'll keep you all posted if I encounter any problems with the repair.

Thanks again, Susan
 
sburke1212 said:
Well, too late. I made the repair using 5200 this past weekend. ... Hopefully it will work out okay.
I'm sure it will; 5200 is well known for its high-adhesion and long-life.

Did you use the screws, or just the adhesive?

Cheers,

Geoff S.
 
Geoff,
I did use the screws. I needed them to pull the deck and patch together. I will be unscrewing them tonight and checking the repair. I am so excited. It has been difficult waiting for a full week. Hopefully it is sound. And thanks again for your input.

s.
 

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