Bedding compound?? How have you/do you fix that new hardware

[henry hey]

Hi,

Carter Brey and I rode up to the boatyard the other day and had a pretty lengthy discussion about what to use for bedding compound.

Carter had used 3M 4200 on his sabre for bedding.

My other friend Peter Schorr (Shannon 38 owner) was suggesting polysulfide and saying that he thought 4200 was too gluey -- and that getting 4200 to release would be too difficult.

Carter also mentioned Boatlife which exhibits a combination of properties

While I respect both of their thoughts greatly, I would also like to

hear what anyone else has to say on the matter.

What have you used? What have you had to remove? How easy was it to work with?

I am bedding primarily stainless (Garhauer) hardware to my cabintop.

Thanks!

Henry

[David van den Burgh]

While 4200 would certainly work, I'd be inclined to use BoatLife's LifeCaulk, a polysulfide sealant, for your application. Another option is 3M's 101. We have used LifeCaulk aboard Ariel with very good results - from chainplates to deck hardware. I can't tell you how hard it is to remove hardware that has been sealed with LifeCaulk because we haven't had any failures yet.

I think the decision comes down to how you feel about trying to remove and rebed the hardware in the future when/if it begins to leak or needs to be replaced. Both products will work well for sealing, but 4200 is more adhesive than polysulfide and will likely require more effort to remove.

David

[Carter Brey]

Henry,

It seems Peter was right: 4200 is a weaker version of 5200, and is a polyurethane, not a polysulfide. No wonder I had a bitch of time to get that transponder off my CD25 hull. My bad. BTW, I used UV-resistant 3M 4000, a polyether, not 4200, on my Sabre.

Don Casey on various sealants and their uses:
http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/35.htm

LifeCaulk, a polysulfide, is probably what you want. It comes in various colors:

http://www.go2marine.com/product.do?no=53649F

Best,
Carter

[Ron M.]

I've used Boatlife for years above and below the waterline with excellent results. It has a good bond but not as tenacious as a polyurethane base,(which is basically GLUE and quite difficult to remove). Lacquer thinner is the solvent for Boatlife.
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ECSTASY REHAB FORUMS

[Warren Kaplan]

I've used BoatLife Lifecaulk and I like it for bedding hardware quite a bit. I do believe, however, that they warn you not to use polysulfide on plastic. I think it dissolves it.

So, read the instructions carefully for do's and don'ts no matter what product you use.

[Maine Sail]

exclusively after trying both 5200 and 4200 and hating it due to it's relative lack of inflexibility. My boat yard uses Sikaflex 291 LOT and turned me on to it based on specs alone. It works very well and stays flexible longer than 4200, 5200 or 101 ever did. The clincher with 291 LOT is that is has a 700% elongation at break were 4200 and 5200 are about 300-350% at best. The Sikaflex is somewhat glue like but less so than 4200 and more so than 101. Over 30+ years of boating 101 is the product I used most but have had some failures, not many, due to elongation breaks. I have yet to have the Sikaflex part at a flexible joint, with lots of stress, like a gate stanchion. Hamilton sells Sikaflex and most of the top quality yards in Maine use it from Hinckley to Lyman Morse...