Just a quick initial report on my first attempt at repairing an eight inch outer hull crack on my OutrageX.
I tried a Plasti-Mend ABS repair kit. Its a pint of ABS dissolved in a MEK-based solution. My kit included a square of mesh, some abs pipe cleaning solution, a pair of disposable 1.5" brushes and a scotch-brite pad.
The MEK is a health hazard so I used nitrile-coated gloves and a carbon-filter mask from Home Depot. I did the work outside, of course. The temps in Cambridge yesterday afternoon just touched 50 degrees and that is the bottom of the preferred working range of 50-80 degrees F.
I lightly sanded the area around the crack to remove almost all of the remaining outermost vinyl layer. (Almost all of the blue vinyl had already been donated to river rocks.)
I used a 1/8" bit and carefully drilled very shallow holes at each end of the crack on the theory that this helps prevent the crack propagating.
Next step was to slightly widen the crack to clean it out and allow better bonding. (I'm thinking that I should have been more aggressive in that prep.)
Used a damp rag to remove dust and then used the abs pipe cleaner.
Excellent consistency when I opened the ABS solution. The solvent is very volatile so you want to close the lid tightly after each application.
I put on three coats roughly two hours apart. Inserted strips of mesh over the crack. I would have preferred more time and warmer temps but two hours was adequate to get to a not-quite-dry state.
The abs solution is a thick version of paint and reasonably self-leveling. It seemed to bond very well and I ended up with a fairly smooth and shiny finish.
I did not try the acetone-abs-legos method but I think this is pretty ideal consistency. I'll want to compare notes to see if the mek dissolves the boat's abs better than the acetone in order to get the best bond.
Used about 1/3 of the pint so far. Thinking of sanding more of the places where the blue vinyl is mostly gone on the hull bottom and painting a protective layer of this black abs over the boat's white abs. Perhaps I should have ordered some of the special thinner in order to paint the black abs on over unpunctured abs in very thin layers.
I hear that black abs has more UV tolerance than white abs. (The Plasti-Mend site offers white but says it is not as strong structurally.)
I tried using a Dupont Krylon spray paint formulated for plastic a few years back to protect exposed abs on a boat. Not at all comparable to the original vinyl. The paint was much softer and scuffed readily. (I had only given it a day or two to harden before using the boat.) Has anyone advice on painting the repair?
You might not want to try this repair until I've run some rocks in the repaired boat. But initial indications are that the melted-abs method works well and took no special talent to achieve a decent finish that appears well-bonded.
Others are welcome to borrow the carbon-filter mask. The MEK solvent was not very smelly and did not eat through my nitrile gloves but I believe that you ought to be careful with things with nasty warning labels.
Here's the stuff:
http://www.amazon.com/Plasti-Mend-Plastic-Repair-Holding-Tank/dp/B003JC3UB2
I am an rv'r and the main market for this stuff is repairing abs holding tanks. Figured if it can hold the liquids in for 100k miles it might hold the river out on my canoe.
Dan
