Hi group: I am looking for some recommendations to glue some PVC rub-rail (PVC extrusion)to a fiberglas sailboat. I have approximately 120 feet to glue on.
I have been advised to use a product called "ITW Plexus" which no one seems to want to sell me in small quantities. Reading their web-page leads me to believe it is a "super-glue" type material.
Can anyone recommend an alternative adhesive, or someone who can sell me small amounts of "ITW Plexus".
PS. for those interested in such things, the boats are 420's owned by the local sailing program.
I don't think so, Andy. More likely it's a polyurethane. Cyanoacrylate (super glue) would be too brittle for PVC, even in the modified, high-elongation varieties.
PVC is tricky material to bond unless you're using solvent adhesives to bond it to more PVC, in which case it's very easy. Bonding it to something rigid, like the joint in a fiberglass hull/deck, gets iffy. ITW Plexus is something I've been curious about for a while, so I just talked to one of their techies. They recommend AO420 (open time 4-6 minutes) or MA425 (open time
30-35 minutes) for your application, depending on how much time you have to apply it. They're both high-elongation (relatively elastic) versions, which should take the severe flexing to which rub-rails can be subjected...if they're called upon to rub up against another boat. They do caution to try it out first, before committing the whole fleet to it.
ITW doesn't sell the stuff directly, and they don't tell the distributors how or whether to break up a case. They said to call several distributors and see what they'll do. They have a list on their web site.
Now, if you run into a brick wall, I'd just look for any good, viscous polyurethane glue. In college, I bonded some very rubbery rub rails to our dock and to one boat with butyl caulking compound, and it worked. I wouldn't recommend it but it suggests that the application isn't necessarily demanding. Clean out the joint with acetone first and scuff the fiberglass with sandpaper. That will help the bond.
I sailed 420s in college, in the Midwest. Fun little boats in a good breeze. Good luck.
CA is NOT water soluble. Try wetting your fingers, and gluing them together with a drop. It'll come off after a long time in water, but because the skin softens, not the glue.
Thank you for the responses. For convenience's sake, I ended up purchasing two products from McMaster Carr. A fast acrylic which will stick to fiberglass A medium urethane which will stick to PVC Ed: I appretiate your research/write-up and may regret not using the Plexus product. The Plexus was recommended by the manufacturer with the caveat of " if they will sell you some"
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