Repair Sticks and Kevlar repair

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  • #11253
    Nancy More
    Participant

    Good morning

    I have seen several of you with a fibreglass repair “stick” that was applied by kneading two materials together.  I thought it came from MEC but can’t find it on their website now.  Can anyone tell me where you bought this?

    Second question:  with a Kevlar boat, do i need a different repair compound for my repair kit?

    Thanks all you technical experts out there!

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  • #11255
    Nick Heath

    Good questions, Nancy.  This is exactly what our forum is for!

    The two part sticks are thickened  epoxy – a resin stick and a hardener/catalyst stick. The ‘thickened’ part means it is not runny (normally, most epoxies one buys are like honey) . Tiny bits of powdered glass, plastic or minerals like talc do this thickening  job.

    This stuff is very practical to carry for a number of potential repairs because it has good shelf life, handles easily but hardens quite quickly (varies by type) . It doesn’t contaminate your stuff and food with nasty fumes (unlike other resins) and it works on most surfaces.

    However, it is really only a stop-gap because your boat is not made of this – the most expensive type of resin.Iinstead your boat is made of a vinylester resin (kevlar reinforced boats) or a  polyester resin (most glass reinforced boats). Only my Pygmy or another ‘wooden’ kayak will be made of epoxy resin (because those other resins won’t bond as well to wood).

    What this means, is that the stick repair is temporary – grind it out later and fix properly (unless it is so small that it doesn’t really matter).

    I would try chandlers like Steveston Hardware or West Marine or Martin Marine.  They might have it a Home Despot too. They make some that it specifically for marine or underwater use, but I doubt that matters for a temporary repair.

    Use rubber gloves. Those chemicals are not benign…

    Plumbers putty will plug small holes but will not harden and has no real strength- more like chewing gum (another time-honoured multi-purpose sealant).  Another type of material that works well is a sealant/adhesive like 3M 5200 or Sika-Flex. These don;t have great shelf life and are messier to use but for some repair are better because they are flexible as well as waterproof  e.g. for bulkhead sealing (a common need in kayaks, especially those reinforced with kevlar, because they flex more).

    Sorry to be so long-winded.

    /n

    #11254
    Jacquie Gaudet

    Nancy

    Mine is a two-part (plumber’s?) putty that I think I got at Canadian Tire. I bought it some time ago to cover the sharp ends of the screws from my compass.

    Let me know if you want me to dig it out for the specific name.

    Jacquie

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