Thinner for Dolphinite

[nautiguy]

Can anyone suggest the best thinner/cleaner for use with Dolphinite?
The only reference on the can is for something called "1481 compound thinner" a product that I can't find.

Thanks for your help,

Norm

[StevenBauer]

I have a half full kinda dried up can, too. I was going to try some Penetrol.

Steven

[JimConlin]

I'm guessing here.
This stuff is more eager than oil paint to solidify, and its shelf life is a PITA. I occasionally put a teaspoon of paint thinner in the can. If it starts to crust up, I fish the crusty bits out. And i grumble.

[kc8pql]

I occasionally put a teaspoon of paint thinner in the can. If it starts to crust up, I fish the crusty bits out. And i grumble.

Me too. I've never found anything that would really reconstitute it. I keep thinking about trying Bloxygen or maybe a shot of propane to slow the crusting, but never have.

[Yeadon]

I thought I read recently that some people put a bit of linseed oil in the can to keep the dolphinite fresh.

[rob]

You can't "reconstitiute it" the leathery skin is oxidized material and has to be removed and discarded..otherwise the stuff gets lumpy and is less than worthless.
Linseed oil will effectively thin it if you need a less viscous grade of bedding..it's easier to mix it in on a scrap board like you might work a bit of mortar than to attempt this in the can.
For clean up I like a bit of scraping to begin and rags with paint thinner to finish.

[HR]

What I don't understand is how can it be a good bedding compound if it dries out so easily in the can (I have several cans like that too)? Seems to me that one of the key properties of a bedding compound is that it should remain flexible.

[nautiguy]

Thanks for the good information, so far.
I think raw linseed oil is a good choice for thinning, since one of the things I'm going to try is to thin it enough to get into a caulking tube. That may reduce the amount of mess that I make every time I use it.

Linseed oil doesn't seem to work as a cleaner. The best I've found so far is acetone, but it isn't great.

[JimConlin]

A digression-
I continue to feel that the traditional bedding compounds are one of the biggest ripoffs in 'yacht' commodities. They're unconscionably expensive, have a short shelf life and don't work (stay flexible) all that well. Are there alternatives?

One of these days, I'm going to get a pot of 'plumber's putty' which is used for bedding faucets and such. It might be no better, but it's a tiny fraction of the price of the 'yacht' stuff. Whaddaya suppose Mil Spec TT-P-1536A is?

[kc8pql]

Linseed oil doesn't seem to work as a cleaner. The best I've found so far is acetone, but it isn't great.

As someone mentioned above, first remove the squeeze out. I use a plastic putty knife. Then a little mineral spirits (paint thinner) on a rag or paper towel.

[kc8pql]

One of these days, I'm going to get a pot of 'plumber's putty' which is used for bedding faucets and such. It might be no better, but it's a tiny fraction of the price of the 'yacht' stuff.

Interlux's Boatyard Bedding Compound has always reminded me or plumbers putty.

[JimConlin]

Interlux's Boatyard Bedding Compound has always reminded me or plumbers putty.

Which costs a buck a pint.
Margo will award a prize for the first experimental results.

[Concordia...41]

Jim - Dave was a big fan of Plumber's Putty. Primarily for short term patches - say when you pull stanchions and you think just maybe it might be a bit before you get them put back on... plumbers putty makes a great seal. Certainly as good or better than the items designed to make a seal...

Cheers!

- M

[Lew Barrett]

I used plumbers putty to seal the penetration made in order to run my radar cabling through the coachtop. However, I have to say first that I ran it through the mast and sealed the top of the entry as well as the penetration. I also employed some other tricks, but the bottom line is after 4 years.....plenty tight.

Jay, if he shows up, may remember a "discussion" we had about four years ago in which I cursed Dolphinite in much the same terms as you guys are. I bedded my windows with it, and it barely lasted a season. I just don't use it for those sorts of applications anymore, but let me say this in it's defense: Easy on, easy off, decent enough compound for items you are mounting and removing on a somewhat regular basis. It is critical to seal any faying/mating surfaces you plan to use it with....same seems to go for most oil based compounds. Varnish will do as a sealer, but it's a great application for shellac as well; it dries fast, and you can bolt your stuff together. Mistakes I now avoid are squeezing it all out by over-tightening, and the aforementioned application over raw wood. If I am making pads or something like that, I now always include some sort of relief on the bottom of the pad to act as a "catchment" area, sort of to make a gasket. But in all honesty, if I'm putting on a pad, I'd be more likely to use some sort of sikaflex to bed in presuming I wasn't planning on removing the item. However, I still use dolphinite, and ever since I learned never, never to apply it to raw wood, it does last much longer in service. But whatever they used to put in it to help it maintain it's pliability, they no longer do. Despite the questions here about "how do you clean it up?" I find it is a useful product for items that might require periodic removal (like hardware you take off for varnishing) but you have to remember to seal and to make some provision to create some sort of gasket area if you want it to last more than just a few seasons. White lead paste probably kicks it's ass as a bedding compound, but try buying that at West Marine.

[kingplanker]

I found an MSDS link online for Dolfinite. The ingredients listed include: mica, silicon dioxide and mineral spirits. I would suspect that it is the mineral spirits that is slowly evaporating leaving the solids behind. Perhaps a splash of ms from time-to-time would help. Good luck.

[Chip-skiff]

For small jobs, it might be good to have a soft bedding compound in a tube or tub. I'd take me years to use up a pint can of Dolfinite, and evidently it does not store well.

[Jay Greer]

The trick of bedding with Dolfinite is to seal the surfaces with a coat of shellac.
This prevents the oils from being wicked into the wood. Since I have a wood burning stove in my shop I don't think I would want to seal the can up with propane. I do use Bloxygen with very good results.
One can lasts a long time. No need to use a lot as it is heavier than air and settles down on the surface.
Jay

[Bob Cleek]

What Jay said... again. Plain old thinner will work on Dophinite, too. I think much of Dolphinite's good reputation is based on the "old" Dolphinite. It used to be called "FUNGICIDAL bedding compound," and it contained fungicide. Some years back, they dropped the fungicide, which was likely tributyltin oxide, now pretty much outlawed. (If you know where it can be obtained, PM me!) Given that it is now just another good, albeit a decent one, for a lot of applications, you'd probably be happier using white lead paste and whiting. (White lead paste is available mail order from George Kirby's Paint Co. in New Bedford, MA, or was at last report.)