Scuff repair

[RibinSpain]

Hi all, I noticed a scuff on the underside of my Zodiac 3.4 activ air. It looks like I hit something is the water & it's just scuffed the leading edge underneath.

The outer fabric has just a couple of nicks but it reveals the inner white material, sorry no photos as I forgot my camera.

I want to repair it with a patch - is the dark grey colour unique to Zodiac or can I buy a square of material anywhere? I want to cut a template & glue it over the front triangle so if I scuff it again I am protected.

Anyone got any experience of repaing Zodiac SIBs?

Also, I searched historic thread but what is that translucent glue that you can paint over small scuffs?

Thanks for any help or advice

[spartacus]

Assuming it's PVC, you'll need to use a 2-part glue from polymarine.com

Patches can either be purchased from local Zodiac dealer or from Ebay, however check the fabric weight of the ones on Ebay, as they can be light-weight. Area will need to be sanded lightly, and degreased using MEK. Do a search online and you will find a detailed process to follow for a good repair.

[RibinSpain]

thanks Spartacus - top advice.

[jyasaki]

Personally, I haven't had much luck with Polymarine adhesives (caveat: I'm in the US, so shelf life may play an issue here.)

Zodiac sells PVC glue, and a "Universal Adhesive" that I am pretty impressed with. Don't know what the PVC glue is, but the Univ. is a urethane/chloroprene glue that supposedly holds well on any boat fabric.

As far as procedure, do a search on here for patches or tube repair and you should get quite a few hits. Biggest deal is surface prep before gluing.

Luck;

jky

[spartacus]

Personally, I haven't had much luck with Polymarine adhesives (caveat: I'm in the US, so shelf life may play an issue here.)

It's all in the preparation, ambient air temperature and how the repair is completed. Polymarine's 2-part PVC glue includes an adhesive and curing agent. I repaired the seams, end cones and transom on my Zodiac CGT (circa 1986).

Washed boat thoroughly and allowed to dry. Areas to be glued were sanded to remove any old glue and provide a key for the patch to adhere to. The underside of the patch was sanded too. Area to be patched was degreased with MEK twice and allowed to dry. Mixed up the 2-part glue in a jar working quickly (latex gloves a must). Applied a coat of adhesive with a brush to the boat fabric and to the patch. I allowed 15 minutes between coats. The second and final coat of adhesive was applied and then left for a further 15 minutes until it developed an oxidsed glaze. The patch was applied to the boat, working from the centre, applying pressure out to move any air bubbles to the edge of the patch. Excess glue was removed from the tube and the patch with solvent. A little chalk dust added and then a heavy weight applied on top of a flat surface (wooden shelf or bit of MDF) to ensure there was consistent pressure across the entire surface of the repair. Left to dry and cure for 36 hours in a garage. Temperature-wise it was probably in the 15-20 degree Celcius range. Worked for me.