How much ABS showing is a worry?

The bottom of my Encore is starting to have some ABS showing through the skin. Do I need to slap some s-glass on it now, or is it immaterial at this point. This is, predictably, under the saddle.



http://chipwalsh.org/Misc/EncoreBottom1.jpg

http://chipwalsh.org/Misc/EncoreBottom2.jpg



BTW, it isn’t a pink boat, it is a red boat with pink scratches.



~~Chip

Ah’s jus’ shoot a couple o’ coats o’
vinyl paint (or Krylon) on it every so often.



FE

Yeah, just paint it until it’s big
enough to make glassing worthwhile.

If it makes you feel better paint it.
If you don’t care about the looks, it’s not likely that the boat does either. The boat likely doesn’t spend enough time with it’s bottom skyward to worry about UV degradation. When the vinyl wears off to the point that the core is in obvious danger, that’s when I’d add some glass.

Marc Ornstein

Dogpaddle Canoe Works

g-flex + aluminum powder
Chip:



I sanded the bottom off my Shaman that showed a lot more ABS than your boat. The spot was concentrated in the center of the boat. I probably didn’t “need” to do it, but I had Chris at BMO do a patch. He masked off about a 1-1/2’ x 2’ area and spread a smooth, thin, single layer of g-flex mixed with aluminum powder. That was 2 years ago and the patch is wearing as well (if not better) as the surrounding royalex; and the g-flex is a smooth finish for sliding over rocks.



As you can see, I don’t do my own repair work, so I’m not sure if g-flexing the whole bottom of your boat is possible. But patching it now with g-flex may save a major repair later.



David

Interesting idea. Lighter than glassing,
although the 2 layer S-glass patch under my solo pedestal has lasted better than G-flex and aluminum powder could do.



An alternative might be G-flex mixed with graphite powder. Many plastics made UV resistant use graphite or another black additive. As graphite is scraped loose, it may lube a bit.

I thought it was fuschia…
My boat is teal - what were they thinking when they picked those colors.



My boat it about the same - maybe a little worse. I haven’t done anything to it, and unless we start getting more water, it will be years before I have to bother :frowning:



http://flic.kr/p/dEW3Xr

What and where ??? too late now
No WAY would I worry about it. just IMO

Chip, that’s a lovely pink boat
you’ve got there! :wink:

I like answers that don’t involve work!
Thanks everybody for the input and ideas.



On the NOT pinkness, I bought this boat to replace a MR Fantasy that was basically the same color, and I hated the color. I bought the Encore at night, and was looking at it in the yard at Staark Moon, where the light was provided by a sodium bulbed, street light. I thought it was mango color. I was horrified when I saw it in the daylight. It immediately went under a paint roller and became a red boat, at least for a while.



So, don’t be fooled into thinking it is fuschia or pink or anything but red, with pink scratches!



~~Chip

Doesn’t look bad at all
Only the green marks are visible ABS denuded of the outer vinyl layer and they are quite modest.



No harm done if you want to cover those streaks with some spray paint (Krylon Fusion or other) but I certainly wouldn’t do any more.



Of course, those old whitewater Royalex canoes will wear into the foam core of the ABS eventually and it usually happens in the area under the pedestal which draws a significantly deeper draft in a highly-rockered boat and where the paddler’s weight is concentrated. Sometimes it is hard to judge when the outer ABS stratum is getting thin to the point of breaking through but it usually only happens after a sizable patch of ABS is denuded. Sometimes you can tell by pushing hard with your thumb and seeing if the ABS indents a bit.



My old Encore (a fuscia one by the way) did wear through and I repaired it with a three layer patch of E 'glass under the pedestal area using G Flex and it seems to have held up just fine so far.

Chip
women love a man confident enough to paddle a pink boat! :wink:

Yah, but…
That’s an answer that requires work! ~~Chip