Where is a good low-priced place to order resin for a skid plate installation on a royalex canoe?
O are there any suitable products that I could pick at a local automotive supply?
Doing it because the ends are already
damaged, or in the hope of preventing future damage?
I don’t use Kevlar felt for skid plates. I use layers of bias cut S-glass. Stronger, harder wearing, low profile interferes less with water flow.
I think the Kevlar felt skid plate kits are now using a polyurethane resin rather than epoxy. Perhaps the best resin would be West G-flex, if it will soak through the felt. West 105/207 epoxy is thinner, but more brittle after hardening.
Maybe someone will come by and tell you what polyurethane they use for Kevlar felt.
But if your stem and stern aren’t damaged, don’t do skid plates now. Wait for nature to remove some of the vinyl. When you start to see that lucent aqua color under the vinyl, then maybe some skiddy fix is needed.
old canoe
Oh, this canoe is getting old and starting to get a little beaten up. lol Thought I might get a few more years out of it.
Walmart now has it in their automotive
dept.
they also have fiberglass patch kits.
jack L
MarPro same as west sysem
m1/3 the price for two stage marine epoxy.
just get West System a forget about …
– Last Updated: Jun-10-10 11:15 AM EST –
...... experimenting with cheap stuff .
There are many online-off brand name epoxies out there that cost considerably less ... how many do I know that have gone that route only to be pissed off afterwards ... too many is the answer .
Save yourself the trouble and trust West System brand or take your chances .
West System is not the only reputable maker out there ... but West System always works just perfect so there is no need to try and equal or beat it in my opinion , and the last thing I would want to do is compromise on an epoxy job .
Marpro
Looks interesting…I’m too poor to buy the West System stuff.
How much of the Marpro do you think it would take to do two skid plates?
was in marine shop yesterday
Evercote -gal. o polyester resin & hardener 44$-US , not epoxy so check to see if its do-able.
post marine , new rochelle , ny
M
I don’t know about their shippin.
You definitely don’t want to use
polyester resin, or even vinylester resin, for skid plates. It’s either epoxy or the polyurethane that’s included in some skid plate kits.
We just tried the G-Flex
at our last reapir clinic and it does not soak into the s glass or kevlar cloth very well. You end up wasting a lot and the results are not really any better compared to teh higher cost. Better of with the standard West System Epoxy.
PS if you have a really old boat, you can make your skid plate layers or patches out of cotton felt for a fraction of the cost. They require some periodic touch up, but it works great.
That’s what I wondered. Of course I will
have to try myself. I understand that West suggests gently pre-heating G-flex so it will soak through cloth better.
Here’s what you do.
Call up you best buddy. Tell him you need to make skid plates for your canoe. Tell him you cannot afford to do it right. Tell him a guy on P-net (me) said for him to give you a ride to work and back today. That the money you save will enable you to buy West System’s epoxy instead of crappy brand X. If he says no, resort to duct tape. It’ll save you the aggravation in the long run.
Inexpensive Reliable Epoxy
http://www.jgreer.com/
This aeromarine epoxy is not uv resistant so you have to deal with that. Otherwise a good inexpensive source for boat building or repair.