Please help… i have an old town pack canoe which i would love to take it out since the weahter is getting warmer but i have one problem. the problem is my canoe suffered a cigarette burn (i’ve noticed someone threw lid cigarette butt on top of it) which caused the first layer bubbled up,sizzled up and burnt(apparent black holes). What is the best method to patch this dime size burn up. i looked at the repair kit at old town website. they want $70 for the kit. i can’t afford it. besides the instruction is long and confusing. please help!!
"…apparent black holes…"
Almost certainly Eric is right. But if the holes are more than apparent, how deep? Through the vinyl? Sanding the black sizzle off carefully, can you see pale aqua color underneath? That’s one of the structural ABS layers. ABS is vulnerable to UV, so if you think light can get at it, spray paint for protection. Krylon Fusion is nice, if you can match the shade.
Or, just put a piece of duct tape over it. Adds character.
or smash it into rocks
200 times, then read this. Probably overkill for a dime size burn, plus a color match won’t be happenin unless you overspray, but a little abs and a little acetone…
http://www.npmb.com/cms2/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?97767
Based on my recent “accident” with
acetone and ABS, I would advise caution when painting existing ABS with ABS dissolved in acetone. The acetone can travel through the foam and soften, distort the other ABS layer, or the acetone can soften and distort the ABS surrounding what you want to repair.
The way to succeed with this approach is to use multiple thin coats, each being so light and thin that the acetone can evaporate outward before it has a chance to move inward.
Gary, if you’re
down to the foam, use a layer of gorilla glue on the foam, let it dry, sand the foamy glue down somewhat, then apply the slurry.
Well, you know me… S-glass has to
be used up within a few years of purchase, or its coating goes bad. So, I would glass over the foam repair. But I follow the ABS paint threads because I want to form an opinion as to whether the painted-on ABS is as strong, or near as strong, as the original.
royalex repair
– Last Updated: Apr-09-09 5:41 PM EST –
it burnt thru the top layer. and yes i can see the layer underneath...is it safe to use rustoleum spray paint? i have a can with matching color at hand.
thank you for all responses everyone!
Don’t think I would try Rustoleum
There is something in the solvents. Not sure what all because I don’t have a can here, but it is strong, drys slow and penetrates. You don’t want that on your plastic boat.
I used Rustoleum to decorate my
plastic Corsica… No problem at all, paint flashes lasted very well.
New Rustoleum paints aren’t like the old stuff.
No one has mentioned "JB Weld"
I have used Gorilla Glue a couple of times for standard adhesive work, and I don’t think it creates as durable a surface as epoxy or JB Weld. I have filled scratches on my Royalex boats with a “no-name brand” of JB Weld, and the patches seem to be very durable (it was darned difficult to sand them down flush with the surrouding undamaged hull). I haven’t painted the patches, so the color doesn’t match. I think the Mohawk website recommends JB Weld for Royalex repair too.
Matt, are you sayin’
that one could repair a small area of the foam layer with Gorilla glue? Reason I ask is because I have a chance at a hull that is otherwise restorable, but has a few spots of exposed and decomposed foam core on the stems (where skid plates should have been applied) - for almost nothing.
I’m thinking…chip away any brittle abs, fill with Gorilla, sand smooth, coat with abs slurry and/or cover with skidplate. Worth trying - or give it a pass?
I’d try it, Steve
Got Chip (booztalkin) up from Maryland for tomorrows poling session. Anyways, he paddled our (Aarons ;-)) Whitesell today for some mellow whitewater. I cut an 8X8 inch patch out of the bottom (vinyl and foam) as the foam was rotted, and the vinyl had slit from too many seal launches. Been about a year since repair and it’s working fine and is real solid. Sounds like you got the method down good.
JB Weld…
is what I always use to fix deep gouges in Royalex hulls. To keep from having to sand it down when it’s dry, what you can do is apply it, let it sit until it just starts to stiffen up, and then take a handful of wet paper towels and start rubbing until it smooths out even with the rest of the hull. The stuff is mildly water soluble until it cures, and you can get a very smooth patch by doing that, but it takes some timing…too soon and it glops up when you buff it with the wet towels, too late and it won’t be water soluble enough to smooth out.
When one of my Royalex boats was
almost new, a rock cut a scratch all the way through the vinyl and exposed the aqua-colored ABS.
I mixed up a small amount of 3M Scotch-Weld 3532 and wiped it into the scratch. It set up level, needed no sanding, and has lasted for about ten years now. This product is a 2 part urethane, and does not foam when it sets.
I caught-on to a similar trick
I eventually figured out how to lay the stuff into the groove pretty neatly and to wipe it down nearly flush with the hull. At that point, sanding wasn’t really needed, but just some minor sanding made it “perfect”.
putty
Skip, all you need is the putty on old town,'s website for 10 dollars. You can paint it or not as desired. Get it as smooth as you can as it is very hard to sand after it hardens. good luck, Dave
Thnx, Matt
If I can still get the boat, I’ll seee what I can do with it.
thanks
thank you all you guys… i will let you know… i’m gonna fix it on my days off which is two days away.
thanks
thank you all you guys… i will let you know… i’m gonna fix it on my days off which is two days away.