repairing a abs or fiberglass boat

[rocket rich]

I picked up a old 10 foot abs boat that had layed out in the sun for years and had a lot of stress cracks in it. I found a lick on the internet that said to use abs cement . never knew about it. I first welded the cracks about 20 an counting then used the cement and fiber glass to strenthen it. Great stuff Home depot has it as would any plumbing supply house. now to paint abs

[MDCrappie]

ABS and HDPE (stuff poly boats are made of) are 2 different substances.

Please let us know how it hols up when the HDPE flexes. I have one of those boats and this would be a good thing to know

[tnriverluver]

On the Bass Hunter boat website they have repair kits for both ABS and Poly boats. My 8 ft baby bass hunter is poly and very tough. They make boats from each type of plastic. If you need a repair kit check their site. Accessories

[Daily fishin]

Or you could just spray it with some of that cr&p they use to make screen doors into boats!

I think its spray on bedliner. That stuff will stick to anything and its flexible.

just sayin

Daily fishin

[rocket rich]

you'd be surprise what doesn't stick to abs.the spray on which you see on tv is not a perament repair for abs. Welding it is really good if you don't get it too hot. I Weld it first then apply the abs cement with fiberglass cloth with three passes of the cement let it dry real good and spray paint it.

[Daily fishin]

I guess I picked the wrong smiley face for sarcasm... oops. It wasn't a REAL suggestion. I writing needs some work. Sorry.

So, for the un-initiated how do you WELD the ABS? My understanding is; heat, melt, fill with similiar materials and hope the original material can handle the stresses and not get brittle. Same?

[bfish]

Plastic weld works for poly, not so well for abs (yes hot air, slightly melt the material to re-bond it, and add new material if needed).

There are some epoxies that work to bond abs, but you will need to flame the abs first (this releases the surface and gets you into "virgin" abs). Problem is abs doesn't take heat very well, as it deforms and burns easy. For a spider-cracked boat, it is not worth the effort to reconnect all the cracks, as the boat is shot, time to move on to another boat.

[rocket rich]

not true bfish, i've welded them before and never had one fail.. The trick is not too get it too hot and after welding ad a binder such as fiberglass. now the abs cement is a new one for me . This is something I learned on line??

[bfish]

Glad it is working out for you RocketRich. The 10 or so abs boats that I know of, that have had welding done, have all failed. Of course spider cracks were pretty bad in most all of them.

[rocket rich]

this boat also had a large hole about the size of you fist. I went to the Hobby shop and a got a sheet of ABS the very thickest they had and welded it in place then coated with abs cement than with fiberglass and let it set for 24 hours and more abs cement. the cement binds it as it heat the abs. I tell you it is very tough only time will tell. and what else do I have to do but fish. catch my 10 a day and go take a nap....