So just picked up a zodiac dinghy tender with a PVC floor and have noticed that the floor is pulling away from the sides although not leaking yet. I thought these things were supposed to be welded not glued although it appears that that only pertains to the transom and inflatable sides. It is not Hyperlon but PVC. Has anyone sourced a cheap PVC glue that actually works long term?
www.glueguru.co.nz/shop/BRANDS/BOSTIK/BOSTIK+999+HR+Polyurethane+Adhesive.html
this is the best glue,but i canot find a aus supplies of this,you can normaly by small quantity of pvc repair glues from chandler ,you will have to repair regularly
Select to expand quotegrich62 said..
www.glueguru.co.nz/shop/BRANDS/BOSTIK/BOSTIK+999+HR+Polyurethane+Adhesive.html
this is the best glue,but i canot find a aus supplies of this,you can normaly by small quantity of pvc repair glues from chandler ,you will have to repair regularly
So what about good old Liquid Nails from Bunnings?
Clark rubber have pvc glue for above ground pools.
But I reckon the pvc glue plumber use would work great but you would have to be really fast & I would test a bit just in case
prime it with the red primer
Select to expand quoteactiomax said..
Clark rubber have pvc glue for above ground pools.
But I reckon the pvc glue plumber use would work great but you would have to be really fast & I would test a bit just in case
prime it with the red primer
Thanks I didn't think to check Clark Rubber not that they are usually cheap. I would be concerned with the blue plumbers liquid stuff because it melts the plastic to some extent and there is very little thickness in the Zodiac plastic compared to a pipe not to mention that a Zodiac needs to remain flexible rather than go hard.
I tried the PVC pipe glue and it was useless. Azbond from Ww's works well if you strictly follow the instructions. My short-cut slacker attempts failed, but I re-did them properly and they have lasted many years on my Bombard.
I'd leave the science experiments to those who would be happy to swim to shore and then duck-dive to retrieve their belongings and outboard.
Would suggest looking if 3M 5200 fast cure permanent bond white meets the specs as regards handling pvc but I have not used it in this application. Buy from Classic Boat Supplies Belrose cash or card. Clean the joint with acetone. A very strong adhesive good in peel and shear strength if it is suitable for pvc.
God I went through way too much time and effort with PVC that I never want to see one again. If it's just one repair then buy the good stuff.
Plumbers glue didn't work. Pool glue worked sometimes. 5200 leaks after some time.
Theoretically you should be able to melt the plastic but I had no luck with soldering iron or heatgun. A heat welder is expensive.
The real issue is the plasticizers used with PVC fabric to make the PVC flexible start to migrate. It's accelerated by UV and saltwater. It breaks the glue bond when this happens
I would test some seams to see if they pull away. Better than when using the boat. If there's any stickiness to the fabric then there's not much life left.
Sorry to bring bad news. I didn't want to hear to throw it away at the time.
Anedotal but i understand product like Permatex Ultra Grey Rigid High-Torque RTV Silicone Gasket Maker is "not bad" and can do a good job .
I will see if i can find the reference .
I went through the process of trying to repair my ducky with the cheap glue process to no avail!!
I took it to "someone who knows" & he told me I was wasting my time because it was over 10 years old & it is a waste of money to chase the leaks as it all deteriorates over time. So I bought a new one :)
However, if you want to get some "proper" glue look here:
www.rubberduckydoctor.com.au/spare-parts
Select to expand quotejulesmoto said..grich62 said..
www.glueguru.co.nz/shop/BRANDS/BOSTIK/BOSTIK+999+HR+Polyurethane+Adhesive.html
this is the best glue,but i canot find a aus supplies of this,you can normaly by small quantity of pvc repair glues from chandler ,you will have to repair regularly
So what about good old Liquid Nails from Bunnings?
no liquid nails wont work,the proper glue is a 2 pack product the glue that lazzz showed you is the one that you can get in aus
Select to expand quotegri
no liquid nails wont work,the proper glue is a 2 pack product the glue that lazzz showed you is the one that you can get in aus
Azbond from Ww's is also a 2-pack you can get in Oz.
i used that up here in the north,only lasted 8 months,i now have stoped repairing the dingy and i am building a new one
If you have some Selleys Durobond on hand I would give that a try. It's meant for sticking timber to anything but if it sticks to PVC as well as it sticks to my hands it should work. Clamping the job while it goes off might be a problem.
Select to expand quotegrich62 said..
i used that up here in the north,only lasted 8 months,i now have stoped repairing the dingy and i am building a new one
That's a good point - heat and UV are the killers, so my success with Azbonddown here at the South Pole (aka Melbourne) is not necessarily the universal solution. ymmv as the kids say
Select to expand quoteymmv as the kids say
Your mother manufactures vinyl?
Yttrium's molecular mass varies?
Yellow makes mauve violet?
Please enlighten me.
Select to expand quoteAchernar said..ymmv as the kids say
Your mother manufactures vinyl?
Yttrium's molecular mass varies?
Yellow makes mauve violet?
Please enlighten me.
I guess you're not a kid
Select to expand quotewongaga said..Achernar said..ymmv as the kids say
Your mother manufactures vinyl?
Yttrium's molecular mass varies?
Yellow makes mauve violet?
Please enlighten me.
I guess you're not a kid
I tried to keep up with the times, but it was exhausting.
Select to expand quoteLazzz said..
I went through the process of trying to repair my ducky with the cheap glue process to no avail!!
I took it to "someone who knows" & he told me I was wasting my time because it was over 10 years old & it is a waste of money to chase the leaks as it all deteriorates over time. So I bought a new one :)
However, if you want to get some "proper" glue look here:
www.rubberduckydoctor.com.au/spare-parts
Thank you very much for your help guys. I haven't bought product yet but will grab some two pack stuff from Whitworths and see if it works. Annoyingly have only just bought the dinghy for 500 bucks. The PVC isn't sticky and hasn't been exposed to much UV light as it was largely unused in its bag but I think it is about 11 years old. Maybe I should just put it straight back on Gumtree and get a cheapie no name Brand one which will probably give me 8 years before it falls apart if I don't leave it in the sun
Used the same recently. Repaired the bit that holds the transom in place and two of the beefy handles pulled of the side.
Stuff we used was 45383 INFL AZBOND PVC 250 for $47 and 45389 IN P/M PVC PRIME 250 for $27
Been a few months and while not used much seems to be holding very well. Usual materials handling caution, not indoors and wear a good mask. This concerns me as I get older and have sensitivity to more "stuff"
Select to expand quotejulesmoto said..Lazzz said..
I went through the process of trying to repair my ducky with the cheap glue process to no avail!!
I took it to "someone who knows" & he told me I was wasting my time because it was over 10 years old & it is a waste of money to chase the leaks as it all deteriorates over time. So I bought a new one :)
However, if you want to get some "proper" glue look here:
www.rubberduckydoctor.com.au/spare-parts
Thank you very much for your help guys. I haven't bought product yet but will grab some two pack stuff from Whitworths and see if it works. Annoyingly have only just bought the dinghy for 500 bucks. The PVC isn't sticky and hasn't been exposed to much UV light as it was largely unused in its bag but I think it is about 11 years old. Maybe I should just put it straight back on Gumtree and get a cheapie no name Brand one which will probably give me 8 years before it falls apart if I don't leave it in the sun
the cheapies dont last 8 years up here ,2 years if you are lucky.i watch the boat next to us with a vetus , left on the front deck under cover rot in and fall apart in 16 months ,i brought a dingy from bcf that fell apart in less than 12mths,i then brought a jarvis walker that lasted 6 months it was changed under wrty and the new 1 lasted 9 months,ended up geting my money back .just get your zodiac profesionly repaired and it will last a lot longer it is unusial for a zodiac to have falures
Select to expand quotejulesmoto said..Lazzz said..
I went through the process of trying to repair my ducky with the cheap glue process to no avail!!
I took it to "someone who knows" & he told me I was wasting my time because it was over 10 years old & it is a waste of money to chase the leaks as it all deteriorates over time. So I bought a new one :)
However, if you want to get some "proper" glue look here:
www.rubberduckydoctor.com.au/spare-parts
Thank you very much for your help guys. I haven't bought product yet but will grab some two pack stuff from Whitworths and see if it works. Annoyingly have only just bought the dinghy for 500 bucks. The PVC isn't sticky and hasn't been exposed to much UV light as it was largely unused in its bag but I think it is about 11 years old. Maybe I should just put it straight back on Gumtree and get a cheapie no name Brand one which will probably give me 8 years before it falls apart if I don't leave it in the sun
my understanding is that the best way to store an inflatable dinghy is partially inflated. i've used the Azbond stuff for one patch on my PVC Zodiac - it's holding up well however it's not on a high-stress point...
I have rebuilt a couple of Zodiacs (ie Zodiac brand).
1. Clean off old glue using scraper and /or MEK.
2. Prep and final clean the surfaces to be glued with a cloth pad soaked with MEK which raises the bloom of the material.
3. Prepare timber battens as clamping pads for each side of the join to be made, as long as possible. If the join is for the whole of the bottom it will need to be done in sections. If it is for the transom to pontoon join, roll bent aluminium strips are recommended.
4. Apply Zodiac brand glue with accelerant mixed with it ( a 750 ml can with 3 small bottles of accelerant costs about $80 with precise instructions on the can), to both surfaces to be joined and allow to dry for 5 or 10 minutes depending on temperature and humidity. The ideal environment is air conditioned about 25 degrees with low humidity. Apply the glue with a short bristled brush. A 30 mm brush with bristles trimmed to 30 mm is ideal. If the glue goes milky it is too moist. A heat gun may work and apply another thin coat of glue.
5. Mate the two surfaces together accurately ensuring the edges of the floor coincide with the pencil marks that you previously placed on the pontoon.
6. Immediately clamp the joint with the timber battens and clamps no more than 100 mm apart. If you do not clamp the joint, you are wasting your time. Allow to cure for 24 hours.
If you are reglueing the whole bottom, the process will take about 3 days. If you have a section that has let go peel it back as far as it will go because if one section has let go, more than likely more will let go later.
This is the method the professional use. Anything less is a waste of time.
Select to expand quotecisco said..
I have rebuilt a couple of Zodiacs (ie Zodiac brand).
1. Clean off old glue using scraper and /or MEK.
2. Prep and final clean the surfaces to be glued with a cloth pad soaked with MEK which raises the bloom of the material.
3. Prepare timber battens as clamping pads for each side of the join to be made, as long as possible. If the join is for the whole of the bottom it will need to be done in sections. If it is for the transom to pontoon join, roll bent aluminium strips are recommended.
4. Apply Zodiac brand glue with accelerant mixed with it ( a 750 ml can with 3 small bottles of accelerant costs about $80 with precise instructions on the can), to both surfaces to be joined and allow to dry for 5 or 10 minutes depending on temperature and humidity. The ideal environment is air conditioned about 25 degrees with low humidity. Apply the glue with a short bristled brush. A 30 mm brush with bristles trimmed to 30 mm is ideal. If the glue goes milky it is too moist. A heat gun may work and apply another thin coat of glue.
5. Mate the two surfaces together accurately ensuring the edges of the floor coincide with the pencil marks that you previously placed on the pontoon.
6. Immediately clamp the joint with the timber battens and clamps no more than 100 mm apart. If you do not clamp the joint, you are wasting your time. Allow to cure for 24 hours.
If you are reglueing the whole bottom, the process will take about 3 days. If you have a section that has let go peel it back as far as it will go because if one section has let go, more than likely more will let go later.
This is the method the professional use. Anything less is a waste of time.
Wow bit daunting but thank you very much. I will do as you say.
I've got a Walker Bay I've just replaced as it wasn't worth fixing anymore. Just as an experiment, I'm going to try and take out the valves and fill the tubes with expanding foam.
Select to expand quotejulesmoto said..
Wow bit daunting but thank you very much. I will do as you say.
Armed with that knowledge you can now ask yourself the question "Is it worth fixing?"
That kind of repair work will last for years but look at the overall condition of the dinghy, how old it is and what it has cost you so far. You could end up chasing your tail so to speak.
After Avon (hypalon boats), Zodiac was the next leading brand. However due to price competition from the Chinese knock offs, Zodiac tried to meet the market and their quality has plumetted over the last decade. So much so that Marine Safe Australia in Brisbane who were the importer gave them away.
You might want to give them a call. They are very helpful and will give you good advice.
Can you post some photos of the dinghy??
Before you go buying glue, I have a 750 ml tin of Zodiac glue with accelerant that is a virgin. It has been sitting in the bottom of my fridge for years unused. Yours for the cost of postage. PM me if interested.
