Adhesive suggestions

[steve c]

The bonding separated on gate on my transom door and looking for the preferred adhesive for repairing. I'm not sure what the original product was. The door itself is also showing some parting on the bottom.

 

[rustybucket]

kinda looks like your coring is shot..... how soft is the wood inside? Any sign of rot/termites...etc?

Couple of options...

First job is getting the part cleaned up and getting all the old adhesive off. I'd personally hit my edges with a soda blaster (just b/c I have one) but a pressure washer and some sanding/wire brushing would probably suffice.

Once you have it clean I'd get a person to help, and a nice cool place out of the sun on a 60-70 degree day. You can also work outside and bring the part inside to cure. If it's too hot/humid the epoxy will cure way to fast.

If the wood is 'ok' then I'd probably turn to west system epoxy thickened with High density filler (404) and Micro fiber adhesive filler (403). I'd probably use a slow hardener as well to give as much working time as possible.

You will need a pastry bag or two like these: https://www.clcboats.com/shoptips/epoxy_and_fiberglass/e_pastry_bag.html

You've kinda only got one shot at it with the way the part is made, so it may be handy to have 2 or 3 people helping you, with a couple of people just mixing/filling epoxy.

Mix up a small batch of epoxy (un-thickened) and wet out all the surfaces you are going to glue.

Then mix up a couple of bigger batches of thickened epoxy and load into the pastry bags. Squirt a liberal amount of thickened epoxy on the surfaces you want to bond.

After you have a good bead laid sandwich the two parts together and secure them somehow (weights, ratchet straps, couple of screws, whatever it takes to hold them in place for a long time...etc)

DO NOT try to wipe/clean off the epoxy while it's gooey unless you need to mash some into gaps. after a few hours test hardness, once it hardens a little you can scrape your edges with a putty knife and keep everything nice and clean.

Let the part cure for about 24hrs (more if it's colder) and then it should be glued together for life. If any epoxy remains grind it down with the appropriate sanding/grinding tools. The high density filler is pretty damn hard when it's cured so best to get as much cleaned off when it's semi-hard.

 

[jim rosenthal]

All good advice. And if you have to replace the coring, use Coosa panel.

 

[Cricket]

My thought is if you have to ask what type of glue to use to put the door back together you should probably get some help or have a professional fiberglass outfit/guy do the job. This one will not make for a very good learning project on your own.

 

[steve c]

Just to clarify...the gate and the door are hollow ie no coring. The wood you see is 1/4" leveling strip. The previous adhesive is not epoxy. The bonding seems like Sikaflex or something like West 2610. Both units are constructed with 2 pieces and the original bond seems to have dried out

 

[Briankinley2004]

If you clean it up good first 5200 probably will hold it until the cows come home. I would probably sand it, wipe down good with acetone and use west epoxy if it were mine

 

[tonytrakovich]

I like Rusty’s solution. One thing I would add is to clean up the whole inside and brush a layer of neat epoxy on all the surfaces. There are other adhesives that will work to just glue it together. Plexus sticks to everything and cures hard and permanent. Often used for hull to deck joints.

 

[rustybucket]

Just to clarify...the gate and the door are hollow ie no coring. The wood you see is 1/4" leveling strip. The previous adhesive is not epoxy. The bonding seems like Sikaflex or something like West 2610. Both units are constructed with 2 pieces and the original bond seems to have dried out

First of all, I can clearly see coring in the part, looks like it's either plywood or foam, hard to tell exactly from the pic. Also, I've done some work on my tuna door top as well and it had 1/2" plywood coring. So, you do have coring, it looks to be in ok shape, but impossible to tell for sure from the pic. If you have any rot, NOW is the time to fix it before you epoxy it back together.

The original adhesive would absolutely NOT have been epoxy. BUT... the original adhesive would have been applied at or near layup allowing it to bond with the polyester resin. The best solution for bonding polyester resin long after the fact is epoxy. I would not look to what was originally used for a guide as to what to use today. The original adhesive will NOT be the adhesive you want to use.

 

[Walter P]

First of all, I can clearly see coring in the part, looks like it's either plywood or foam, hard to tell exactly from the pic. Also, I've done some work on my tuna door top as well and it had 1/2" plywood coring. So, you do have coring, it looks to be in ok shape, but impossible to tell for sure from the pic. If you have any rot, NOW is the time to fix it before you epoxy it back together.

The original adhesive would absolutely NOT have been epoxy. BUT... the original adhesive would have been applied at or near layup allowing it to bond with the polyester resin. The best solution for bonding polyester resin long after the fact is epoxy. I would not look to what was originally used for a guide as to what to use today. The original adhesive will NOT be the adhesive you want to use.

I agree. If not done exactly right you will be doing it again in a few years (or sooner)

Walt

 

[Cricket]

So, if this was my gate I would:
Only use epoxy and appropriate thickening fillers for all gluing.
Take it apart and grind the crap out of every surface.
Remove any messed up wood and repair or replace as needed. Try to replace wood with composite if able.
Maybe fill the "open area" with foam epoxied in to both have a bigger gluing area and also make sure there's no place for water to go if it gets in.
Cut and epoxy (glue) in a piece of G10 fiberglass over area (inside) where the hinge attaches for added thread area.
Fill in current hinge holes. Drill and tap new hinge holes later, instead of sheet metal screws.
Epoxy the hole thing back together. Might need to make a jig or other structure to keep all the parts straight while clamped.
Sand, prime and paint.

How's the transom door itself??
Fun fun fun.

 

[steve c]

Thanks to all for your input. New strips, new epoxy etc. Looking for closest paint and color match using Brightside, Perfection or EZ-Poxy to finish the project ?