Pettit Premium Fast Dry Adhesive Failed After 1 Month

[Alex F]

My synthetic teak floor has been maintenance free for good 10 years. However, the time came when the original caulking started failing by flaking off. So, I bought this sealant to use between teak joints in the cockpit and swim platform. After a month, it dried and was flaking off as bread crumbs. Now I have to redo the entire project.

Does anyone have good luck with other sealants for this type of project?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Not a specific recommendation, but if the original stuff had silicone in it then you likely need to go with another silicone product. Once silicone sets in, other products won't stick so well - even a brutal cleaning may not be enough. Is the manufacturer (of the synth teak) still around to contact for a recommendation?

I don't envy you - at least not in this case

 

[Skybolt]

My synthetic teak floor has been maintenance free for good 10 years. However, the time came when the original caulking started failing by flaking off. So, I bought this sealant to use between teak joints in the cockpit and swim platform. After a month, it dried and was flaking off as bread crumbs. Now I have to redo the entire project.

Does anyone have good luck with other sealants for this type of project?

You need to be a little more specific. Possibly a pic so we can better understand what it is your exactly looking for.

But there is a rubber like calk that can be used to for this possibly. They sell it for butting the teak together and is very sticky at first. I will try and find a link for you.

But if that doesn't pan out, my old go to is 4200 product line of 3M and some elbow grease. Possibly this product as well: https://maritimewoodproducts.com/ChemicalProducts/teakdeckcaulk.html

 

[Lazy Daze]

LifeCaulk (by Boat Life) is excellent stuff. While I know that it can be used for teak and all kinds of material, I don't know about the "previous silicone" variable. BUT... the good news is that Boat Life is very responsive to customers and a quick phone call will probably answer that.

From personal experience with LifeCaulk... the downside? It's VERY messy. It's one of those things where you look around and wonder HOW did it get there when I wasn't even working there? Crap, it's on my elbow now, too! It takes a long time to cure, too. But it really is excellent, long lasting stuff with the adhesive properties of about 3M4200 - so very strong.

FYI, I'd caution against 5200 since it doesn't fare well over time when exposed to UV.

 

[Skybolt]

... FYI, I'd caution against 5200 since it doesn't fare well over time when exposed to UV.

Yep, my bad. I meant 4200. But your Lifecalk recommendation is probably better.

 

[quality time]

I used the Pettit UV resistant version a few months ago and it's holding up well with no signs of flaking. I agree that there may have been silicone contamination since nothing will stick to it.

 

[Alex F]

My task is pretty simple. The teak is holding up fine and sticks to the floor. The issue is the areas that are fully exposed to the sun. Those areas are loosing the original sealicon filling and need to be resealed.

Thanks for recommendations, guys. SIS440 looks promising. It seems to have good reviews online. I'll try on smaller section before committing to the larger project.

I was a big fan of LifeCaulk until this year. I redid my ER grills joints and month later the caulking turned yellow. Few years ago I used 3M 4000UV on bridge seams, it started cracking after about 1.5-2yrs. Needless to say I'm getting very disappointed with the products that used to work fine years ago for the same applications.

 

[Scott215]

Hard to find a good caulk these days. Lol

 

[Lazy Daze]

I was a big fan of LifeCaulk until this year. I redid my ER grills joints and month later the caulking turned yellow. Few years ago I used 3M 4000UV on bridge seams, it started cracking after about 1.5-2yrs. Needless to say I'm getting very disappointed with the products that used to work fine years ago for the same applications.

Hmmm, that's really strange. Both LC and 3M4000 are great products and are perfect for the jobs you used them for. That's definitely not the norm. It kinda makes you wonder if there's another variable at play here?

 

[quality time]

I was always a fan of UV4000 but also noticed it drying out and cracking after a short time the last few places I used it on our previous boat.

 

[techmitch]

Hmmm, that's really strange. Both LC and 3M4000 are great products and are perfect for the jobs you used them for. That's definitely not the norm. It kinda makes you wonder if there's another variable at play here?

I was always a fan of UV4000 but also noticed it drying out and cracking after a short time the last few places I used it on our previous boat.

I wonder if there is a shelf life/production date issue being the root cause of premature failure.

 

[Alex F]

Hmmm, that's really strange. Both LC and 3M4000 are great products and are perfect for the jobs you used them for. That's definitely not the norm. It kinda makes you wonder if there's another variable at play here?

One thing I know is that my prep and application process hasn't changed. So, my focus is on the product.

Mitch made a good point, I'll keep a closer look at the date stamp, if there's one, next time I'm shopping for one in a store.

However, I think that something changed in the formula they're using now. The reason I say this is, b/c about 6-7 years ago I redid caulking around 3/4 of the join of the bridge and I used LifeCaulk. Worked great, stayed white, didn't dry out by cracking. The remaining section (about 25% on the STBD side) was fine at the time. Couple years later that remaining section was due, so I had 3M 4000UV handy from other projects, so I used it instead of LC. Couple years later, my original LC application on the 3/4 of the join was still in decent shape, while the 4000UV started cracking. The obvious decision based on previous experience was to go and redo it with LC. Well, now only very short time later (a month or two) it's yellow. Again, the original LC application on the 3/4 of the bridge join is still in place and the only issue is cosmetics, it has what I'd say mildew looking stains, which I'm able to clean to some degree, but if I found reliable product, I'd rather redo the caulking of the entire join.

Just a quick reminder, while we're discussing other products, stay away from Pettit caulking. It 's a total waste of time, which is most important in this type of projects. The prep and application is very time consuming. At this point it doesn't matter whether the tube is $20 or $40.

 

[quality time]

Just a quick reminder, while we're discussing other products, stay away from Pettit caulking. It 's a total waste of time, which is most important in this type of projects. The prep and application is very time consuming. At this point it doesn't matter whether the tube is $20 or $40.

I don't agree with this statement. Especially since you've also had short life span issues with Life Caulk and 3M products. Myself and a boat neighbor (who works for a marine service center) use the new Petit caulk products and are happy with them.

 

[Alex F]

I don't agree with this statement. Especially since you've also had short life span issues with Life Caulk and 3M products. Myself and a boat neighbor (who works for a marine service center) use the new Petit caulk products and are happy with them.

Ok, it may not be fair to paint everything with the same brush, but "Pettit Premium Fast Dry Adhesive" is the one to be aware of. If within a month it dried out and falling out as crumbs, I'd say it totally failed. If it was falling out as a solid strips, then you could point fingers on my prep work. But that's not the case here.

Also, to support my statement above, about 6-8 months ago I did a first attempt on using small tube of a sealer (I'm trying to find details and the pic of it) I picked up from West Marine. That section is holding up just fine. I wanted to use the same product, but they didn't have it. That's how I ended up with Pettit.

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