My new use for PL Premium poly construction adhesive

[sdowney717]

On some planks I had some deep gouges and areas that needed some filling, building up etc...
But not wanting to make up an epoxy filler mix I decided to try a new idea.
I took some of the PL, shot it onto a mix board. Took some sawdust and mixed it into the PL with a putty knife. I used a fair amount of both sawdust and PL. Then I troweled it onto the wood. It will swell up and you have to keep knocking it back down using a back and forth motion to press out the bubbles.(one way then the other, several times as you see it swell up.)

I found that even a very thick mixture will setup all the way thru. Since the stuff is moisture cured, using the sawdust speeds up the curing. It is tough to sand, need to use 40 grit paper but is not gummy at all. The sanded surface fairs in and looks really good and smooth. And the repair is a flexible material and tough. I found it quicker and neater then using the epoxy and I bet its cheaper too. Plus it is waterproof.

[maa. melee]

I've used PL in quite the same way, with sawdust or sanding dust (the latter yields a much smoother finish), but on a wooden boat-trailer (not wooden-boat trailer). I find that just slathering it on and not playing with it, although it bubbles, is much easier to do and not so frustrating. Just go over it with your finger or trowel with some rubbing alcohol or similar, not too much. Later, after mild sanding, another batch can be mixed to fair it out even more. Sanding and chiseling is very easy and it's alot cheaper than epoxy...ALOT.

[sdowney717]

I found out if you press it first one way then reverse direction and press it the other way, the pulls that form in the mixture are easily pressed out. Otherwise it tends to be a pain to work with it. Putting in the sawdust and it sets up like within 30 minutes, hard to the touch. I always sanded it smooth the next day. when you see it start to bubble, just press it back down, as it sets up stiffer, it takes more pressure to press it down.

[capt jake]

Interesting thought. I recently used PL and attempted to 'use' the ooze out to fill a small gap. It didn't work so well. But with the added wood dust or flour, it might have worked fine.

About a week too late for me; but I will know better next time. ;)

[Rick Clark]

PL Premium poly construction adhesive
Hey guys I never thought of using it that way :confused:
Any way Year ago I built a skiff and the only metal on the boat was the out board motor. I mixed good old fiberglass resin with real fine wood flour from my 4’ sander, the trick in this is I doweled the hole boat together using a peanut butter thickness on every joint. As this boat was going to be painted I could fair all the ribs and the plywood on the inside. I would mix it so that it would take an hour or so to set. On that most people told me I was crazy for taking all the time and trouble to build in that manner, but I have never had a crack or loose board, and I tried to knock off a piece with a hammer and it would not break.
It looks real good after sanding all the dowels and just spending the time too make it look good. Anyway I would use this mix a little thicker to fix customer boats, but I swipe a little resin on the repair spot first and let it start to set and apply the mix with no bubbles at all.

I took out a rib in a boat and constructed a new rib in the boat with ¼ plywood sides for shape and there it was it held the screw that was there, and did not even break the paint on the outside that was about 15 years ago, and my friend is still using it today.

You try it on two 2x4's only 3" of surface on each end, clamp it. And each board should be 2' long and let it sit for a week and then try to bust it apart. tongue.gif

Long winded right, Oh Well you get the jest of what I’m trying to say. This was written for the novice.

Try it you will have fun in repairing fibber from now on, and it stick to stone, metal,and about anythig you can think of.

Good luck Rick
:cool:

[ 11-23-2005, 08:08 PM: Message edited by: Rick Clark ]

[J. Blazy]

Any thread with PL Premium polyurethane in the title will get my attention - awesome stuff. Been using it since the eighties.

Done the sawdust & PL trick for filling - great for cheap fills :D .

Absolutely no better glue for end grain and/or plywood edge bonding to solid, unless you have time and money to use epoxy, making sure to pre-heat the joint, and prewet the epoxy for ten minutes before bonding.

Also unbelievable bonds in wood to steel, wood to aluminum, etc.

And if you ever need to bond to PVC, Lexan (polycarbonate), Plexiglass (acrylic) or any other solvent meltable plastic (not HDPE etc.) you can create virtual WELDS by priming the plastic with PVC cement, and bedding the WET PL on the wood into the WET PVC cement on the plastic, and the two adhesives will actually weld to one another, and set up with insane joint strength. I had to test this joinery on a line of high-end furniture I was building that utilized hanging cleats on the interior of PVC pipe (with figured veneers bonded to the PVC-see below) and the joints failed at the wood, not the joint.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid149/pe6d5f88c9dfea7f10c5ad4744c5801e3/f5fa9c48.jpg

[Steve O'Connell]

Years ago I was working on a charter schooner on Long Island. About mid-season we tore the rotton old foresail from luff to leach (about 20-25 feet of tear). The sail was too far gone to sew. the owner was not going to race out and have a new fore made for that year. So in an effort to stay employed and sailing for another month or two we scrounged some old sail cloth for a patch and bought a case of PL Premium. There was a distinct hard spot in the sail, but it worked and only cost a few bucks.

[Charlie Santi]

http://www.simplicityboats.com/jointtest.html
This test looks very interesting using PL.

P.S. sdowney I will be in Newport News on Boxwood Lane for the holidays any good boat shops to visit

[Thorne]

Wow -- those tests are interesting! Not a major $$ scientific testbed, but they still covered part of the comparison between pl premium and epoxy. Wonder what the results would be after immersion in water for a few weeks?

Has anyone built a current-design lapstrake plywood small boat using PL Premium instead of epoxy? It sure looks to me (rank amateur that I am) like the best way to use an adhesive that much more flexible than epoxy, where the construction of the hull provides the strength and rigidity and the adhesive just "holds things together".

[sdowney717]

http://www.budgetboats.net/
They are in chesapeake VA
Huge wharehouses of parts of all types of items.

There is also a nice boat consignment shop in Norfolk, but I cant remember the name of the place.

[John B]

What is PL. is it a brand name or a generic type of goo?

[tidmarsh]

Originally posted by John B:
What is PL. is it a brand name or a generic type of goo?PL (http://www.stickwithpl.com/Products/detail.asp?PLProductID=14) is a brand name for polyurethane construction adhesive.

[John B]

Thanks tidmarsh. its not a brand represented here AFAIK

Similar to say Sikaflex 252?

[ 11-28-2005, 05:35 PM: Message edited by: John B ]