Sealants / Adhesives used on a sailboat
September 7, 2023 · 1 min · 549 views
What this video covers
3M 4200 failed to bond adequately to plexiglass on a sailboat window, causing persistent leaks that required buckets to manage.0:17 Alex and Cory tried 4200 after it adhered well to fiberglass, but the plexiglass joint failed.0:17 Their revised approach removes all fasteners, fills and seals the holes with epoxy, then bonds the plexiglass using 3M VHB mounting tape as the primary adhesive.0:59 An autoglass urethane windshield adhesive — described as comparable to Docile 795 — goes around the tape perimeter as a secondary sealant.1:24 The crew also clarifies the distinction between sealants and adhesives: silicone is a sealant only, not an adhesive, and should generally be kept off boats.0:39 4200 works well as a fiberglass-to-fiberglass adhesive but not for plexiglass.0:17 The repair outcome is pending, but removing the fasteners is expected to be the key fix.1:11 When rebedding a plexiglass window, 3M VHB tape outperforms 4200 as the primary bonding agent.0:43
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