Restoring, repairing, cleaning, and maintaining Hypalon boats

[SnappingTurtle]

Well as expected the older boat (Hypalon) I picked up Monday while in overall good shape, has a slow leak in one of the tubes with no visible signs of a puncture. It takes about a day for it to show signs of air loss, but it is there.

I remember from many years ago using something like a acrylic Latex in my boat. I don't remember anymore where I got it at the time, but it wasn't from a inflatable store. I also had a friend who used to buy it really cheap, by the gallons, for theater & film mask making. It was about one hundredth the price of what the boat dealers wanted for their small little bottles, but was identical to their product in the chemical composition.

1. Do you guys know of readily available alternative to such products as “Sealflex”, and where can you find it?

I would also like to clean it up a bit.

2. What do you suggest I use for general cleaning?

Several patches exist where the previous owner applied way to much glue, and discolored the area around the patch leaving it with a brown color.

3. Could you use Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) solvent/cleaner for these areas, or will this affect the Hypalon negatively?

4. Any tips in general you could give me?

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by SnappingTurtle

1. Do you guys know of readily available alternative to such products as “Sealflex”, and where can you find it?

I would also like to clean it up a bit.

2. What do you suggest I use for general cleaning?

Several patches exist where the previous owner applied way to much glue, and discolored the area around the patch leaving it with a brown color.

3. Could you use Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) solvent/cleaner for these areas, or will this affect the Hypalon negatively?

4. Any tips in general you could give me?

1. I'd recommend "Tuffcoat" applied to the exterior surface instead.

http://www.synergy.ca/stuff.htm

But before doing that I'd dry to located the exact source of the leak by brushsing some dishsoapy water over the tubes.

2. Dishsoapy water. Some of the guys use Traffic Film Remover (called 'Bug Remover' in North America) for the tougher stains. I haven't used it myself.

3. You could wipe these areas with MEK or toluene (wear gloves!). Don't soak the fabric in the stuff.

4. Keep it out of the sun when not in use. Reduce the air pressure a bit from operating pressure if it is not going to be used for a couple of weeks or so. Keep it away from hot dry areas when being stored. If you inflate and deflate it frequently, leave some air in it and do not try to fold it up too tightly. For example, if you don't have a large car or truck, it may be worthwhile getting a tiny utility trailer (if you don't have space for a boat trailer) just big enough to fit the loosely folded boat & motor into, rather than stuffing a very tightly folded boat into the back of a car.

I've got an 31 year old 3.2m hypalon zodiac that will still hold air in it's main tubes but is otherwise past it's useable life (transom separating from tubes on one side). I suppose it could probably be made useable again with some enough skillful TLC but isn't not worth the time and effort for such a tiny boat. If I had followed the recommendations I made in #4 myself, it would probably still be in use today.

[SnappingTurtle]

Thanks for the tips "prairie tuber"!

The latex I was referring to is not to be confused with house paint. It was, or is a milky colored liquid latex you poured in side the tubes. You then rotated the tubes, spreading a thin film inside the tubes and it would fill the little pin holes and seems from the inside out. Sometimes you needed to do it several times, but it worked relative well.

I am heading out now to see what of the things you listed I can find locally.

I don't want to make things worse, and it is better to ask, then to guess. My motto is to do nothing, before I do the SIB harm.

[prairie tuber]

I've tried that latex on the inside of the keel of the 3.2m zodiac and didn't find it very effective. It also tended to gum up the valve and valve threading, making that valve cap difficult to unscrew and causinf the vlave to stick in an open position. Definitely not my first choice.

[m chappelow]

think for a better job than trying to seal inside the tubes how about using hypalon flexi paint ,seals porous hypalon and small holes and makes the boat look like new, i used it on an old 40 year old avon and it sorted it out great ,on another boat a zodac that too was full of small pinprick size holes and it also bruoght the boat back to life with a new colour color ,its a bit expensive but you will get a good few years out of the boat .

[SnappingTurtle]

Originally Posted by m chappelow

think for a better job than trying to seal inside the tubes how about using hypalon flexi paint ,seals porous hypalon and small holes and makes the boat look like new, i used it on an old 40 year old avon and it sorted it out great ,on another boat a zodac that too was full of small pinprick size holes and it also bruoght the boat back to life with a new colour color ,its a bit expensive but you will get a good few years out of the boat .

Thats just it, I bought the boat from the original owner. A fireman who had always stored the boat inflated, in a dark section of the fire house. Other than a couple of non-critical sections it looks as new, as a boat this old, could be expected to look.

I thought about painting it, but it would decrease the value immensely on the market here. I watched auctions on E-Bay for months and anything painted went for pennies compared to those still in original, but rough condition.

As a last resort I will paint, but at this time I would rather not.

It seems to hold pressure for about 12 hours in a cool room with no sun, and then it needs a minute of pumping to bring it back to normal.

Perhaps I will just leave it this way if I can't find anything to fix.

P.S. I just restored a fiberglass boat, and I would prefer to enjoy the water before the next 9 month long rainy season begins, rather than start a month long (free time) restoration project. I also am in a apartment house in the middle of a city and anything I do outside upsets my sensible German neighbors. This makes any projects, like painting really difficult,

[SnappingTurtle]

Anyone heard of, or tried the products from "Yachticon" for inflatables. I found Hypalon cleaner & a Hypalon UV protector from them today. Both are about 10Euros for 500ml.

[mike13401]

Silicone free bumper dressing from car valeting specialists.
Really works well and is much cheaper than boat stuff.

[SnappingTurtle]

Originally Posted by mike13401

Silicone free bumper dressing from car valeting specialists.
Really works well and is much cheaper than boat stuff.

Is "silicon" bad for Hypalon?

I have lots of automotive stuff in the basement, but I have been reluctant to use any of it for fear there would be some ingredient that would harm the material.

[SnappingTurtle]

By the way, I found the slow leak, and I have now gone 48 hours with out any air lose. :-)

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by SnappingTurtle

Is "silicon" bad for Hypalon?

Yes, even worse for PVC.

[SnappingTurtle]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

Yes, even worse for PVC.

Thanks for the tip!

I was worried, now I know, with good reason.

[iainmartins]

Does it actually do any damage though?? I thought it just makes it harder to repair.

[mike13401]

Originally Posted by SnappingTurtle

Is "silicon" bad for Hypalon?

I have lots of automotive stuff in the basement, but I have been reluctant to use any of it for fear there would be some ingredient that would harm the material.

Dont really know but I have heard that it is which is why I would only use a silicone free product.

It wouldnt affect repair as silicone can be removed with various products.
Before repairing Hypalon I always clean the area with acetone which will totally remove any silicone residue.

If anyone knows the definitive answer,please let us know.
Would be useful to most inflatable and rib users.
Mike

[prairie tuber]

Silicone penetrates deeply into hypalon and PVC surfaces. Wiping the the fabric with acetone, MEK, or toluene only removes the silicone on the surface. The deeper silicone will still be there and will return back to the surface thus compromising the repair. It is best just to avoid using silicone based products on hypalon or PVC altogether.

As an aside, it is also best not to use silcone based products on vynil surfaces in general. Stuff such as 'Armorall' causing the cracking of car dashboard vynil and disintegrating tire rubber has been well documented.

[jyasaki]

It's not the silicone in ArmorAll that causes problem, it's the petroleum based solvents/carriers. They leach out the plasticizers from vinyl.

303 Aerospace is a much better long term choice, IMO (of course, that assumes you use anything. I usually don't remember to apply anything.)


jky

[SnappingTurtle]

The silicon is a point I was worried about before reading anything here and I still am.

I tried the "Yachticon" products I ask about in a earlier post, but I wasted my money, like most purchases from the marina the stuff was crap. I might as well have used shampoo & suntan lotion.

Coming from Texas, I am not sure about Armor All causing the cracks in dashes.

I think it is the repeated exposure to sun that dries out the material and people try Armor All as a last ditch effort to reverse this process with anything they can find. It won't help once material that is already damaged, and it cracks with, or with out the use of Armor All.

I have had leather seats treated with Armor All where the seems rotted where it was used, but not were it wasn't. My tires are worn out, long before any damage could be done by it! ;-)

I still use it, just not on stuff I really value, and expect to keep for very long.

Now if I just could find a dealler in Germany who carried 303, or another readily available alternative.

[dverstege]

Aurora products is suppose to be good. I never used it though because 303 is easy to get around here at Canadian Tire. Couple friends use it and like it on there tenders. It's a Polymer base product made for inflatable boats.

http://www.auroramarine.com/aurora/c...aurd-01220.htm

[SnappingTurtle]

Originally Posted by dverstege

Aurora products is suppose to be good. I never used it though because 303 is easy to get around here at Canadian Tire. Couple friends use it and like it on there tenders. It's a Polymer base product made for inflatable boats.

http://www.auroramarine.com/aurora/c...aurd-01220.htm

Thanks for the tip dverstege. ;-}

I checked their web site and unfortunately they don't have a distribution net in Germany.

:-{

The best cleaner I have found as of this writing, is a citrus based hand cleaner that cost about 1.50 Euro a tube that I get at Aldi (a German discount/no-name food store). It is not great, but it works, which I can't say about any of the expensive German Hypalon cleaners I have as to this point tried.

[shthpnz]

Originally Posted by SnappingTurtle

Thanks for the tip dverstege. ;-}

I checked their web site and unfortunately they don't have a distribution net in Germany.

:-{

The best cleaner I have found as of this writing, is a citrus based hand cleaner that cost about 1.50 Euro a tube that I get at Aldi (a German discount/no-name food store). It is not great, but it works, which I can't say about any of the expensive German Hypalon cleaners I have as to this point tried.

I use the Aurora stuff too. Living in the Netherlands. So I doubt you can't get the stuff in Germany. But if you really need it, I can help you out.

Regards, Roel