gluing vinyl without VynaBond

In order to do a challenging trip this weekend (time pressure), I want to glue a second float bag into my Kevlar canoe. The first bag seems to be solidly attached to the hull, via Bell’s daisy chains and some VynaBond. I used a lot more VynaBond than Bell anticipated, though (three one-ounce tubes to attach four vinyl strips, with the other six vinyl strips remaining, and no glue).



The problem is that I can’t find anybody in Manhattan who has VynaBond or any other vinyl glue that is made for exterior use. And I thought you could buy anything in Manhattan. Apparently you can’t ship VynaBond by air, so I can’t get it in time from afar.



So the questions are (1) are there stores other than boat, pool, and hot-tub dealers who might stock vinyl glue, and (2) is there any glue other than VynaBond (or VinylTec) that is suitable? In particular, people seem enamored of Gorilla Glue, so I’m wondering if that would work.



– Mark

Did you try
the West Marine store on W 37th?



West Marine carries a PVC adhesive and Hypalon adhesive, either of which should work.



Also, to your velcro question, they have 3M “Marine Reclosable Attachment Strips”. I don’t know if it will really work better than standard Velcro, but it has “Marine” in the name, so it is way more expensive.

West Marine, West 37th
I was there yesterday. They had only the two-part vinyl adhesive, and it looked like a huge pain to use, much more annoying than epoxy. (They got a shipment of one-part recently and promptly sold it all.)



I looked for velcro but didn’t notice the Velcro Marine stuff. I will check again. Thanks for the pointer.



– Mark

E-6000


I was in the same position a few months back and asked for suggestions regarding substitutes for Vynabond. Someone (sorry, forgot who) suggested a product called E-6000. It’s sold in craft type stores. I used a tube to attach vinyl pads below the deck of a kevlar kayak. (It was a Northwater under deck bag.)



So far so good. I’ve had a fair amount of stuff in the bag (couple bottles of water, cell phone, gloves, etc…) and it’s holding extremely well.

gorilla glue
Unless you can clamp the pieces together gorilla glue is questionable. Try using shoe goo. I have used the stuff on just about everything. Just use some cleaner on the spot you plan to glue on. Did this on a poly kayak and later had to use a razor blade to remove it. Give it a try.