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Bic Boat sealing and repair advice.


Fen tiger
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Have a Bic 252  which i notice has developed  a slight crack starting where it has clearly banged against something,  i want to try and prevent this  from increasing anymore but being plastic i am not sure how to repair it properly. What do other repair these boats with looked online seems soldering iron and heat guns plastic weld but any adhesives you have found work, its got duct tape over it which is holding out but i want to try and put it right for the season thanks..

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37 minutes ago, motty said:

I have a similar crack on my Bic sportyak. I was going to try a fibreglass repair on it.

That was my idea when i first noticed it, but remembered seeing a car bumper repaired with  fibreglass that the glass had de laminated from the ABS plastic with just day to day use,  do you think with the plastic hull flexing it would come de laminate  like the bumper did.?

14 minutes ago, muncher said:

Had one fixed a work,I will ask the fitters what they used.

Thanks that would be great.

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ive seen a bloke plastic weld a motorbike faring with a soldering iron.............im sure as NIC says , that is the way to go...........i think with ABS/nylon type of plastic you will need to drill a small hole either end of the crack first.....

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54 minutes ago, jason g said:

I had my piranha kayak plastic welded by a car bumper specialist called midlands mars. They heat a metal mesh and insert it into the plastic.

I will probably now attempt this type of repair. Mine is only a hairline crack, and a half decent repair seems like it wouldn't be too difficult.

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2 hours ago, figgy said:

If its ABS get some abs plastic cement from a plumbers merchant. Its liquid plastic for solvent welding ABS Durapipe.

That sounds a good idea but i am unsure if these boats are ABS, any body know if they are or not. ?  Would it make a difference if some other plastic?  Im no plastics expert . That sounds a simple solution if it works.

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1 hour ago, Fen tiger said:

That sounds a good idea but i am unsure if these boats are ABS, any body know if they are or not. ?  Would it make a difference if some other plastic?  Im no plastics expert . That sounds a simple solution if it works.

Polyethylene from what i can gather. It doesn't bond with much so best to find something designed for it

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19 minutes ago, motty said:

Definitely not ABS. If it was, it would be a very simple fix.

Its polyethelene there are quite a few adhesives coming up for this type of plastic , this loctite might be easy to find. The adhesive in the video might be hard to find but looks like it could be an answer.

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/sg_plstc/overview/Loctite-Plastics-Bonding-System.htm

 

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Update!  Thought about adhesives but anything would have been a couple of days away and not sure it would work. So watching the welding videos on youtube i decided to try and weld some plastic, no specialist welding gun but a cheap heat gun and a soldering iron and a cracked 20L  drum . Spent three nights practicing prob 5 hours practice until i felt i could do the boat. It turned out near invisible, just slightly cleaner plastic where re melted the plastic in the fill with the iron. The crack is solid feels supple just like the rest of the hull its level and smooth i took a  rough high spot off with some wet and dry but went well i am pleased with my efforts. Time will tell if it holds up but seems good.

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15 hours ago, Fen tiger said:

Update!  Thought about adhesives but anything would have been a couple of days away and not sure it would work. So watching the welding videos on youtube i decided to try and weld some plastic, no specialist welding gun but a cheap heat gun and a soldering iron and a cracked 20L  drum . Spent three nights practicing prob 5 hours practice until i felt i could do the boat. It turned out near invisible, just slightly cleaner plastic where re melted the plastic in the fill with the iron. The crack is solid feels supple just like the rest of the hull its level and smooth i took a  rough high spot off with some wet and dry but went well i am pleased with my efforts. Time will tell if it holds up but seems good.

Nice one. I hope to do exactly the same.

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1 hour ago, motty said:

Nice one. I hope to do exactly the same.

Watch the YouTube videos then you'll have to find a piece of plastic with a crack in it that is easier said than done, I found a weathered plastic drum that are remarkably similar cracks to the boat, I used a cheap Chinese power Craft paint stripper gun ex Lidl an ordinary soldering mains soldering iron and a boiling ring with an old wooden handled soldering iron to put it into it when I needed it quick.

   Apply e near the crack watch for it going shiny is the best way I can describeit, when it gets shiny it's nearly ready if you give it much more heat it will open up then you have a major feeling job on your hands.  I cut strips of white plastic cut from an oil can only want to be 2 mm Max cut them uniform so you know when you smudge it in you are going to be getting a set amount off new material.

  You have to broadcast the heat but not get it too hot that is why I think it's better topractice, it's not hard to do and being just cracks not big holes it does not change the integrity of the Hull, the new plastic bonds remarkably well to the Hull it is just getting it right on the boat that's critical and why I advise that you practice until yo until you're confident. Good luck with it.

 

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