How to Treat Minor Scratches

I have a royalex canoe that I’ve used just about a year now and I’m looking for ideas to treat the minor scatches that I’ve accumualated mainly on the lower bow section. Not wanting to use skid plates, one treatment that I’ve tried is by spreading small amounts of “Shoo Goo” into the scratches and this seems to work. Has anyone else tried this and if not what have you tried if any??

ABS repair

– Last Updated: Jun-17-09 9:14 AM EST –

Although I have never used it, I have heard others also report good results with Shoe Goop.

Daggermat has given me/us great advice on the use of a slurry made of ABS plastic dissolved in acetone which can be painted on scratches, or larger defects, in Royalex boats. Check this thread: http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=1106564

And also this one: http://cboats.net/cforum/viewtopic.php?t=7958458

epoxy
I just mix up a bit of liquid epoxy and kind of dribble a thin thread of it into the scratches, or use a matchstick to fill in teh scratch - seems to stick just fine. I have also used som of the two-part epoxy putty, a version designed for use on plastics, that has stuck quite well, on the stems. Its not particularly pretty, as it dries white - its in the “crude but effective” class of repair.

You might be remembering 3M
Scotch Weld 3532 urethane adhesive, which mixes 1:1 from two tubes. I used it to fill a deep scratch (down to the ABS) on a Royalex hull, and the repair, tan in color, has lasted at least 8 years.

3M Scotch Weld
I too like the 2 part 3M “structural adhesive”, as it is sometimes called. It is easy to work with and can be mixed simply “by eye” at 1:1 by volume.



I have used it to attach plastic D-ring anchor plates to both composite and Royalex hulls, and also for filling “cold cracks”, small side wall punctures, and areas of stem damage in Royalex canoes.



I have heard some people complain that their hulls have cracked beneath, or around the edges of plastic D-ring anchor plates that were attached with this stuff, presumably because it was stiffer when cured than the surrounding Royalex.



Although I have never experienced this, I have avoided using it for repairs on areas of the hull normally subjected to considerable flex, like the hull bottom near the center.

Leave 'em be
Minor scratches aren’t hurting anything. Give the boat a little character.

I mean what do you have there, a boat or a museum piece?

I prefer my boats prescratched.



Tommy