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JUST LETTING YOU GUYS THAT HELPED ME WITH MY PONTOON LEAK QUESTION THAT I USED AQUSEAL AND A PATCH TO SEAL UP THOSE VULCANIZED TUBES. IT REALLY WORK OUT QUITE WELL. THE LEAKS WERE NEAR THE SEAM WHERE A TRADITIONAL PATCH AND CONTACT CEMENT WOULD NORMALLY FAIL. SPREAD OUT THE AQUASEAL THEN PLACE PATCH. PLACE SARAN WRAP OVER THE REPAIR SPOT THEN WEIGH IT DOWN. I USED A TOOL BOX. THE WEIGHT SPREDS OUT THE AQUASEAL AND SARAN WRAP KEEPS THE WEIGHT FROM STICKING TO THE PATCH. TAKES 24 HRS. TO DRY BUT IS A GREAT SEAL AND PLIABLE. NET RESULT, PICKED UP A PONTOON FOR 25 BUCKS AND A FEW HOUR OF INVESTIGATION AND REPAIR TIME. NOW I JUST HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO USE IT.
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[cool]Yeah, team! Score another victory for Aquaseal.
Now get out there and win a few for the "lipper". (Sorry)
Pop over to the float tube board if you need any help with rigging up rod racks, sonar or any of the other bells and whistles. We have quite a few photos and diagrams to help you get started.
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HAHAHA!!!
YOU'RE JUST LIKE JIMMY DURANTE, YOU'VE GOT A MILLION OF EM. THANKS AGAIN!
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do you thinkthat would work on my raft its a fishhunter hf360 and the seam split in the outer bladder
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[cool]Seam splits are a bad thing. They are usually a result of either abuse (over-inflation or heat expansion)...or degraded materials due to age and improper storage (heat and/or mildew). No matter what the cause, a split seam is often difficult to repair effectively.
A few questions: 1. How long is the seam separation? 2. What is the fabric or bladder material involved? 3. Is it a heat weld, chemical bond or a stitched seam? 4. Do you have a repair kit...including scraps of extra material for patching? 5. Does the outer bladder have to hold air, under pressure, or is it merely a protective cover for the air chamber beneath?
I have used Aquaseal to successfully repair seams on waders, at stress points, so I am guessing you might be able to make it work on the raft seam. The key will be whether or not you are able to turn the bladder inside out. Is it zippered to allow this? If so, you can first seal the seam from the inside, with a patch of Aquaseal along the failed seam, and then apply a large patch over the outside, followed by a bead of Aquaseal around the edges of the patch for good measure.
The tough part about fixing seams is that they have a raised joining edge. A patch will not seal it totally, but it will help, and you can finish up around the edges with the Aquaseal. It won't be pretty, but it may be serviceable.
If this doesn't give you enough to go on, get back with the answers to the questions I posed and we will explore it further.
Like yourself, I hate to give up on something until I have given it a good shot. If you have great personal attachment to this craft, it is worth trying to repair before trying to get rid of it on Ebay.
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Rats! I was really hoping that you would give up and sell that thing to me like you said you would. Serioulsy though, nice job. Isn't it great to score on something like that once in a while? I hope it works out well for you.
m
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MATADOR
WHEN YOU SAID YOU'D BUY IT SIGHT UNSEEN, I DECIDED THAT IT COULDN'T HURT TO GIVE IT A WHIRL. SO YOUR RESPONSE GAVE ME THE INSENTIVE.
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Double rats!!!! Foiled myself by being greedy. Ahh, I guess I got what I deserved.
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hey tubedude i think the raft is made of pvc heres a picture of it. do you think the aquaseal will work on the seam, its the seam where the green and black meet on the outside
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[cool]I think you may be right about the material. I have used Aquaseal successfully on a wide range of "plastics" with 100% success.
The one question I would have is how long is the seam failure? If it is not too long, you should be able to get the job done.
Since this is not something you can turn inside out, you need to do the next best thing. Start by squeezing a quantity up inside the hole and trying to get a good layer on the inside. Then, use a couple of those big clamp paper clips to hold the seam together while you lay it hole down and allow the inside part to cure.
After the inside patch is cured (24 hours), then set up the deflated raft on a flat surface, so the Aquaseal will not run off, and apply a generous layer all around and over the split from the outside. In fact, after that has cured, you might want to double layer over the seam itself. I'll let you decide whether it looks fixed or not.
Aquaseal grabs onto plastic materials and really bonds well. I have repaired some vinyl and PVC and urethane air bladders with it in the past and it has always held good air pressure afterwards.
Considering the price on the craft, you may want to get two tubes of the Aquaseal, if the split is large. Otherwise, judicious use of one tube might do the job. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
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thanks for the help tube dude. ive actually sold the raft and im helping the guy who bought it gt it fixed. thanks again
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