Help,
I have an Old Town Appalacian that has developed some deep cuts into the foam layer and now the edges are lifting up. I had been keeping the areas painted and hadn’t seen any deep damage beyond the color coat before this last weekend. Will JB Weld fill the gouges down to the foam or is there some other method that will have to be done at this point to bond to the foam. I love this baby and need it for a training class in a few weeks. Any info would be helpful. Karen.
Royalex repair
There is a lot of info on Royalex repair at cboats.net if you run a search. For simple linear cracks and cuts I have had good luck using 3M Scotch Weld urethane 2 part structural adhesive (http://www.noc.com/Store/7064). You may need to enlarge (“trough out”) the break in the green substrate layer to make sure you can clean out the crack and get the adhesive into the foam layer. Clean it out with denatured alcohol and let dry first. Bell Canoe also makes a two part epoxy called Superbond which works fairly well. Royalex putties also exist, and a slurry can be made by slowwly dissolving chunks of ABS in MEK (methyl ethyl ketone). Larger repairs may require epoxying fiberglass, kevlar, or an ABS plate over the weak area.
Agree about the 3M adhesive. I’ve used
it to fill some deep scratches, and it stays put. However, once a crack gets through to the foam, the edges are going to “work” with stresses to the hull. I would consider removing the surrounding vinyl with a chisel and doing a glass cloth and epoxy patch, using enough layers to make sure the hull isn’t flexing at the crack. Someone suggested drilling the ends of cracks, and this can help keep them from spreading.