My First Experience with MarineTex

P

Pat Anderson

New member
...was an unmitigated disaster. :cry: I had to fill the screw holes in the cabin floor from where I removed the pedestal seat bases on the CD16. I had read so many glowing comments here about what wonderful stuff MarineTex is and how easy it is to work with, so got myself a two ounce box of the stuff. There is a jar of the putty and a vial of the catalyst. Thought I would use about half of it, so tried to get the putty to a mixing cup, which is where all the trouble started. Not sure what I was expecting, I guess I thought it would be softer or more pliable. I really don't know how to describe this stuff - it is about like silly putty, pretty hard, but unlike silly putty, incredibly sticky. It stuck to EVERYTHING - the popsickle stick I tried to take it out with, the second popsickle stick I used to try to scrape it off the first one, the sides of the mixing cup - there was no way I was going to get it into a mixing cup, and I wonder how the heck anyone else does. I should have put the vial of catalyst in the jar of putty I guess, but the jar was fairly small, and the putty was so hard, I do not see that I could possible have stirred in that jar. End of the story, the whole mess is in the garbage now, the holes are not filled, and I wish I had my ten bucks back... :cry: :cry: So, all you guys who think this is such great stuff, tell me where I went wrong, I guess other than trying to do this myself...
 
Pat- you must be my long lost brother. as I had the same [lack of] results. I'm just glad there is such a thing as grad school or I would have starved to death.
 
Can't help you with the MarineTex or getting your 10 bucks back, but here's something that will work better for what you're needing to accomplish. It's called Git Rot, and it is a liquid epoxy. You dribble one part of one thing into a squeeze bottle of three parts of another and shake it for a minute. Then you squirt it into the hole. Done. It kind of swells up so you may have to sand down the bump where the hole was in a week or so if it bugs you.
 
Measure out how much putty you need. Put it on a flat surface, add appropriate catalyst and stir around with tongue depressor or popsicle stick. When you have it stirred then apply to area to be repaired.

regards
Ryder
 
Pat, you might have given up one step too soon... if I remember right the liquid catalyst actually thins out the putty while you're mixing it together to make it much more workable. Odd stuff, I agree, but really good if you can deal with its quirks.
 
Not to be mean here but think back to the "tire changing" story. Some guys make better lawyers than mechanics , it's a fact.

As a machinist my greatest dread is the sometimes irreparable harm sometimes done by "hobbyist" PRIOR to letting me look at it!

Mike :roll:
 
Pat,
You may have picked up some that has been sitting around several years. I used to sell the stuff in my windsurf shop and used a lot for gel coat repairs. I mix it on a glass surface with a stiff putty knife. It does thin out after mixing. Putting scotch tape over the repair for 24 hours leaves a smooth finish that matches the gel coat.
Gary king
 
Pat-

Sorry to hear of your MarineTex travails!

I's important to work with small amounts of this stuff, using plenty of force to push the two parts together to mix them throughly. I prefer to mix them on a flat surface, like apiece of cardboard, as a small cup makes the complete mixing of the stiff components much harder. Mixing too much at once can result in so much catalytic heat being generated that the mixture smokes and can catch fire! Better to mix several small batches than one large one.

When they're mixed together, push the mixture into the holes using the stir stick, then use a metal or plastic putty knife (a single edged razor blade is excellent for small work) to flatten out the surface as much as possible. Just slightly overfill each hole to be sure it filled up completely.

After the putty sets for 15-30 minutes, it will set up softly, being firm to the touch, but definitely not dry hard. At this stage, a sharp singled edged razor blade can be used to cut the surface down nearly flat, if you're careful. Or you can wait until it fully hard and dry cured and simply sand it down level. This "soft set" stage is when body and fender repairers shape Bondo (a similar polyester based resin putty for auto body work) with big toothed rasps. Always sand fully flat during the final hard and dry stage to finish the repair.

Clean up of MarineTex is mostly accomplished by wiping down any tools with a dry rag, then using a rag dipped in a "hot" solvent like lacquer thinner to dissolve the rest, all done as soon as possible before it sets up firmly.

Your hands should stay mostly clean with disposable gloves, but the hot solvent can also clean up any small spots.

It takes practice to use this stuff, we've all shared your experience with our initial usages.

After you use it a few dozen times, it becomes a real friend in the toolbox!

Joe :teeth :thup
 
I wonder if anyone has tried using one of the many liquid polyurethane glues to fill/repair smaller core holes? I'm referring to the single component glues like Gorilla glue, etc., that expand as they cure and cure hard. The glue bottles have a thin nozzle tip that would fit easily into a small screw hole. They are waterproof and strong as heck in carpentry applications. The advantages would be cost, availability, simplicity, sandability, cure speed, re-usability, and compatibility with a gelcoat topcoat cover where cosmetic matches are desired. I'm planning to remove all the screws attaching my cabinetry to the hull bottom inside the cabin, clean out and fill the holes, then attach the cabinetry back to the hull using 5200 or a polysulfide caulk. In my case the fills will be hidden so I'm not concerned about gelcoat compatibility, but I bet this method, or Tyboo's epoxy suggestion, would be a heckuva lot easier than what Pat described. I would not attempt to substitute this product type for epoxy in a hardware attachment application or a through-hole, but mainly for filling core penetrations in Preventative maintenance/repair work. I'd love to hear from any shipwrights on this idea. Mike.
 
Pat Anderson":27o8c4ya said:
...was an unmitigated disaster. :cry:
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Oh dear God. Your father is turning over in his grave, Nephew. You grow up to be a lawyer, use crescent hammers instead of real hammers, can't handle pumpouts so you have an airhead doing the dirty work, can't change a tire . . . now you can't even mix MarineTex without wearing it.

Oh the shame....

Don
 
Sea Wolf":2ieeejl7 said:
Pat- Mixing too much at once can result in so much catalytic heat being generated that the mixture smokes and can catch fire!
Joe :teeth :thup
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Joe, that ought to be real comforting to the Attorney.... :disgust

Pat, next time you mix up a batch of that stuff do you want me to bring a fire engine company and a couple of my partners with me? Heck, I'll even bring a Medic unit just in case it is another one of your real lucky days... :mrgreen:
 
Pat, I have a Marine Tex package in my tool kit. Been there for about 3 years, I guess. There are two tubes in the kit, about 1 oz each, one hardner one resin. Neither has been opened. Wonder if they are still any good, and neither one look like putty. OK, now what I am really wondering is: Do I need to carry a piece of glass and a stiff putty knife in the tool kit as well, or should I plan on calling DaveS to bring his fire engine and friends? Just wondering! :?:

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Pat,
I filled the holes where my passenger seat was screwed down with JB weld. It's an easy mixing epoxy and has worked great. It does sound like that may have been an old batch, I mixed some up today and it was pliable before adding catalyst. More so after mixing. I use a flat surface for mixing, too. If at first you don't succeed, etc. etc. A plastic spreader like you would use for taking air bubbles out of Vinyl lettering works great for leveling out some areas, too.
Have fun with it and ask for a demonstration if need be.



JT :smiled
 
Thanks, all! Tyboo Mike - the Git Rot is ordered, sounds great, we'll giver 'er a try! Uncle Don, I know, I know, what can I say? Marty - Don is like an uncle, but we are not actually, you know, related or anything. Alasgun Mike - I understand, my main philosophy is not to make stuff worse but I obviously do not achieve that from time to time. I may or may not ever try MarineTex again, it was traumatic today to say the least...
 
Thanks for all the confidence building in using Marine Tex. I am preparing to use some on my boat bottom fixing old screw holes in a few days so I bought a new small box. The white putty is pretty pliable.
I found two old unused boxes in my shop and one was hard as a rock and the other was almost impossible to shape. THey went into the can.
 
Pat Anderson":2f7mff23 said:
... an unmitigated disaster. :cry: ... It stuck to EVERYTHING - the popsickle stick I tried to take it out with, the second popsickle stick I used to try to scrape it off the first one, the sides of the mixing cup - there was no way I was going to get it into a mixing cup, and I wonder how the heck anyone else does. ... and I wish I had my ten bucks back... :cry: :cry: So, all you guys who think this is such great stuff, tell me where I went wrong, I guess other than trying to do this myself...
Click to expand...

So, I suppose we better keep you away from 5200, too. :twisted: Tuition: money paid to learn something. Consider the $10 tuition and the time spent as "homework." Next time you'll know what to expect and it will be better.

Best wishes,
Jim

If it makes you feel any better (misery loves company), tonight's forecast for this area is: "thunderstorms and a chance of snow"! :shock:

PS - Thanks for the chuckle this morning. Perhaps we need a new thread: "Tips from Pat"... how to do some hands-on work on your boat, and who to sue when it doesn't work out. :twisted: Or: "Boat Time", sponsored by Binford Tools... maybe we can get Brent to play Al to your Tim? ("I don't think so, Pat") :mrgreen:
 
Kudo for Marine Tex,
I used it under the bow pull-ring on my C-Dory. The gouge was into the fiberglass well past the gel coat right below the ring. Wear from towing. The marine Tex matched the color quite well and it never wore through. Hard as a rock. It is harder than the rest of the boat. I highly recommend it as a filler. :thup Screw holes can be filled with any tube epoxy. I have used "Get Rot" on wood and had good luck with that. That is kind of what it is made for.

Just my limited exp. :beer
captd
 
Marine Tex is not always the easiest thing to work with, but it does match fairly closely to a white gel coat. Old resins will still work well for filling. I have some which is at least 5 years old, and in my latest project (removal of the water heater in the CD 25, and putting in a 750 watt instant heater) I had to fill the screw holes in the bottom of the cabinet, as well as the numerous holes drilled in the hull bottom...someone missed on the first one, and they could have used a longer base board instead of 3" screws thru alumium tubings. The old resin was quite hard, and Sequim was quite cold. I put the vial of resin in the microwave for 10 seconds, and it warmed up enough to make it easy to mix. The "stickyness" is really a plus, but you have to learn how to use it to your advantage. The disadvantage of heating is that it sets up faster....

I would be concerned about the waterproofness of the various wood glues, as well as adhesion to plastics and making a water tight seal. I have used get rot for some items, but it is so thin, that it may take large amounts to fill a simple hole, plus does not match the surface. I have also mixed other epoxies (one of my favorites is the West system which comes in two 2 oz bottles--equal parts and quick set. I recently used it to put a 6" wide piece of cloth over the doc. numbers--a bit tricky since it goes off in 5 minutes. But this can be tinted with resin pigment to match gelcoat and is very easy to work--plus you can thicken it, but the viscosity is good for many projects. This is what I used to tab in the cabinets after removing the "L" brackets.
 
Pat,
I wont make fun of you as the first time I tried Marine Tex I too tried to mix it in that little paper cup they give you. What a disaster. :smilep Then someone showed me how to mix it with a putty knife on a hard flat surface and it is great stuff. I've patched everything from a hole in an Evinrude Powerhead where the con rod cap nut came loose and punched a hole in it, to drywall, where a molly had pulled through. Remember those Evinrude 3hp with the handles molded into the back of the hood? Those too. Like the others have said...If you're not working "on the flat" put some tape over it until it sets and....It does have a shelf life. :smiled Jack
 
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