3M 5200 - What am I Doing Wrong?

[The Continuum]

The 'gas springs' that hold the engine hatch up have come loose. The screws of the mounting bracket were spinning in the stripped-out holes. I figured that some 3M 5200 would do the trick. My understanding was that 5200 is permanent, and it bonds to just about everything. I applied a generous amount, and let it cure for a full week before using. The picture below shows how the 5200 did not hold. It never hardened - just got kinda rubbery.

Click to enlarge:

My questions:

1) Is 5200 the right kind of stuff for a job like this? (I also have some canvas snaps that have stripped their holes...)

2) If 5200 is the right stuff, what can I do to get a better adhesion?


Thanks!

 

[Quint4]

5200 is a flexible sealant/bond. It is not right for this application. You should fill the holes with epoxy, drill pilot holes, & re-insert screws.

 

[fwebster]

No........5200 is a bedding compound that can be used under water. It isn't nature's cure all for everything that comes loose on a boat, but it holds so well that it sometimes seems that way.

The correct way to fix your issue is to now remove all the 5200 and use a thickened epoxy injected into the holes. Put as much as you can into the void then put a piece of tape over the hole to hold the epoxy until it kicks. The next day, drill the proper sized pilot hole in the old location and rethread the screw into the hole.

 

[Bt Doctur]

either the screws are too short or there is rot in the hatch where the screws go.A router make it easy, router out the area 2 x3 or 3 x 4, install and glass in place a oak block, resin coat block, install gas lift.

 

[The Continuum]

Great! Thanks for the quick replies. I'll give the epoxy a go.

-Seth

 

[Loneranger]

Buying a bottle of west system epoxy has been a good buy for me owning boats.

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/105-epoxy-resin/
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/406-colloidal-silica/

I have mine in pump bottles that last for years. Anytime I have need of epoxy one pump from the resin and one pump from the catalyst with silica filler added if need for the application provides easy access to epoxy. Before I had the epoxy on hand, I would try to fix a problem some other way or would wait until I could buy a small tube of hardware store epoxy that always ended up curing on me in the tube.

Then you can build your own dingy. My son and I have built a few plywood boats now.

http://koti.kapsi.fi/hvartial/index.htm

John