Best adhesive available in AU

Hi all,

I am looking to install some additional grab loops to my raft so I can use thigh straps.

It seems almost impossible to source locally or import the recommended Clifton or Stabond glue.
Has anyone found anything similar to these products that you can buy locally??

Aquaseal has been the only thing I can find locally, but there is a lot of advice that it is not really suitable for load bearing patches.

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks,
Kurt

kurt, I don’t know but maybe contact one of the major rafting companies ?

A few months ago I used a conventional raft repair glue to attach extra grab loops to my raft. The glue would probably be fine for repairs/patches, but I’m not going to use it again in load bearing areas, as one of my loops is starting to peel at the edges. It seems that not all urethane glues are the same! Will be very interested to hear if anyone has had any luck sourcing decent adhesives locally.

Where are you getting your thigh straps from, Kurt?

I have had a little to do with adhesives in my area of work and would be looking at the Sikaflex range of marine grade flexible urathane adhesives considering the rafts are felxible urathane coated I believe. Contact Sika and see what they have to say as they are very teched up on urathnae adhesives. Please let us know how you go as we are all keen to know and sharing knowledge improves the collective packraft brain.

http://www.sika.com.au/cmi/marine_products.htm

Aqualseal is a similar but lesser product, prolly not up to the job. They use Sikalfex to stick aircraft windscreens in…break it and your gonna die anyhow :slight_smile:

Steve

Hi Folks,

Apologies for a late response on this query. I am certainly no expert but have glued on near 50 patches to Alpacka packrafts over the past 18 months (I have a bad habit of modifying and personalising every piece of outdoor equipment I own & occasionally doing likewise to friends’ gear). Prior to this I have done numerous repairs on large rafts & inflatables. I can only tell you what I have been using and info that has come from much more experienced raft repairers than I. About 60% of the patches I have fitted were for thigh straps and the other were additional tie-ons and carrying handles. Just as important as the glue is using the right patch. All of the patches I have used were homemade primarily from spare floor material with the thigh straps being larger than standard Alpacka tie-downs and the webbing sewn more substantially than Alpacka.

The vast majority of these patches were done with a standard 2-part (PVC) raft/inflatable repair glue purchased through Bruce Baxter at Paddle Sports Australia in Preston, Melbourne (http://www.paddlesports.com.au). This glue is actually suitable for both PVC (e.g. Incept inflatables/rafts) and, from my experience, Polyurethane fabrics (such as Alpacka packrafts) and is: Bostik 777 which is combined with a curing agent: Bostik 9101. The glue actually says on the label that it is a Polyurethane Adhesive.

Unfortunately I am pretty sure that Paddlesports Australia cannot post either part of the glue so depending on where you are located you might need to find an alternative source.

Bruce and his team are THE definitive whitewater raft repair people in lower SE Australia if not much wider. These guys can give you much better advice than I can. Likewise their is some good advice on the process to follow on the General Discussion page of the forum. I have also approached a local highly regarded authorised life-raft repairer who suggested for Polyurethane Bostik 2402 or Bostik 1669 - both to be again used with Bostik 9101 curing agent. I have not tried either of these glues however!

I have ALWAYS used multiple (2-3) coats of MEK prior to applying glue and a low level heat gun. The life-raft repair guy told me though that heat is not needed for Polyurethane (only PVC) and recommended 2x MEK with a 5 minute break and then apply glue after 1 minute from last MEK. He said apply glue 3 times although I haven’t always done so. I do always use a proper hard roller from an art shop (don’t know the brand but could find out if needed as it took me ages to find something suitable) so that I can apply significant pressure on the patch.

Haven’t had any problems with any of the patches but only applied the thigh strap ones relatively recently. They held fine during multiple rolling practices. One thing I have learnt though is to next time measure up the centre point for the thigh straps (hip and ankle points) whilst sitting in WATER rather than on land. Due to the sag of the floor, measuring on land will lead to a slightly loose fit - not a big issue but still annoying.

On the topic of glues and patches I can also tell you that it’s worth carrying some of the Patch’n’go material from Alpacka. Saved one of our packrafts and our paddling team a lot of time and heartache on a recent multi-day trip.

Good luck all with the modifications!

Mark

Folks, Thanks for all the good info. Finding glue in Brisbane has been a bitch so I thought I’d share what I’d found.

Swift Marine at Molendinar on the Gold Coast supplies a variety of glues as kits with hardener. They are happy to courier it to wherever. They also stock MEK and both can be ordered in quantities as small as 250ml.

In particular they have Bostik 999HR with Bayer RC catalyst for Urethane. The HR variety specifically makes it hydrophobic. 999 and 777 work for urethane as below from Incept rafts:

Adhesives
What to use and where to buy…
All of the materials - PU (polyurethane), PU Alloy and PVC (polyvinylchloride) - used in Incept boats since 1995 can be repaired with a suitable Polyurethane boat adhesive. In New Zealand we use and recommend Bostik 777 Ultragrip and Bostik 999 Unigrip. While both of these give excellent bond strength, and can be used alone for temporary repairs, they should be mixed with activator Boscodur 5 for permanence. We supply in New Zealand only BOS08 Ultragrip 777 as Part A in 50ml, 125ml, 250ml and 1L quantities, and Boscodur BOS03B in 50ml quantity, enough for 1L of Part A.
Bostik 777 is easier to apply than 999 and is tacky for half an hour after drying (at 25 C or warmer). Bostik 999 allows a heavier film application but requires external heat to about 40 C to enable tack for final assembly. However 999 has a better initial grab and initial strength (first 24 hours) than 777.

Hope it helps

I have used selleys polyurethane glue for grab loops and thigh straps and have had excellent results with a single coating onto the loop followed by weighting it down overnight.

The glue is around $20 for a small (200ml?) tube and is easily obtained/ordered through a hardware store…

A single tube allows around 6 alpacka plates to be adhered.

with D-loops and haul plates I use isopropyl alcohol to thoroughly clean both surfaces followed by glue application to the plate, ensuring the surface is coated to 1-2 mm thickness. I then apply the plate exactly where I want it and gently rotate it left and right to really smear the glue in, in fact some glue actually comes up through the stitching on the loops.

I have a 3/4" teflon tape roll that is the exact size of the alpacka plates and allows a D-ring to come up through the centre, I then weigh it down with a kg of lead and leave it overnight.

Of the 10 haul/D-ring plates I have fitted none have ever moved and they have been used extensively under various levels of strain, especially my thigh straps, and nothing has ever budged.

I can supply photos if it helps.

I thoroughly recommend the selleys glue. It is easy to use being a single coat on one surface and allows for pin-point accuracy in placement.

Hope that helps, like I said, more info available upon request.

Cheers,

Dan.

(Geelong)


EDIT- Selleys urethane bond is the glue, 30 ml tube…