Aluminum Paste, ever work with it?

Brian D

Brian D

.
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
An observation on what happened when I first started the kneading. Most importantly I wore gloves for the first kneading.

At first, the material was stiff and hard to work. But after a few twists and turns and mashing of the material it soften up some. I noticed that after about a minute of kneading the material started to heat up. Obviously a chemical reaction. After about four minutes the material started to stiffed again. This is when I inserted the material into the repair hole. The only issue I had was the material was sticking to the glove and it was hard to get a nice fill. So the key here was to allow the material to overflow a little. It was not fluid in any sense of the word. After a couple of hours of drying I filed it down to the form you see in the image.

I do have JBWeld but not in Aluminum form. These are the two-part epoxy sticks. I have not have a great amount of luck wtih the JBWeld. I purchased this Aluminum stick based on a video I saw of a guy working on his aluminum mast. Small repairs of drilled holes and such.

Again, this part is not load bearing. It only hold the cover for the remote, a Yamaha 704 single control.

Later I will let you know how the drilling and tapping worked out. Who knows, it might not work at all. Fingers crossed.

This stuff is cheap and I got it from Ebay. You might want to pick up a tube and play around with it.
 
  • Like
Likes: rgranger
SG

SG

.
Feb 11, 2017
1,670
J/Boat J/160 Annapolis
I purchased this Aluminum stick based on a video I saw of a guy working on his aluminum mast. Small repairs of drilled holes and such.

I've seen those as almost "body fillers" -- I'd like to know it they really provide "epoxy-like" strength with the differential thermal expansion and vibrationthat the engine might provide.

Why wouldn't you just use an expansion device like a helicoil, Brian?
 
J

JimInPB

.
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
I've worked with a few of the different aluminum pastes. I think that Lab Paste was probably about the best one. I was surprised to see it hold when used to repair a broken keyseat in a taper shaft that held a cam gear.

That aside, my preferred repair in this situation would either be to drill & tap a new hole in a different location or repair the original hole with a thread insert. Since it has been said that the hole is not too big for a Heli-coil type insert, that would then lead me to look for a solid body insert, perhaps like this one - https://www.mcmaster.com/90247A009

If that didn't work, then I would either weld up the hole & start from a fresh surface or make a custom insert that was big enough.
 
Brian D

Brian D

.
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
SG, the hole that I created by error was no longer true with it's counter part. So unless I were to expand the hole and try and center it, it would probably ruin the part. And I do not have the precise tools for that kind of job. I think of this application, what I did should work.

@Stu Jackson, sorry, I looked and looked but cannot find that video. There are a few with different techniques. But I swear I saw one with the guy using the product I got. Otherwise I would have probably used JBWeld since that is predominant product on Youtube.
 
SG

SG

.
Feb 11, 2017
1,670
J/Boat J/160 Annapolis
SG, the hole that I created by error was no longer true with it's counter part. So unless I were to expand the hole and try and center it, it would probably ruin the part. And I do not have the precise tools for that kind of job. I think of this application, what I did should work.

What about just a new hole with, or without, a helicoil, as suggested by others? Then you could use your "filler" to just plug the hole, if you care.
 
Brian D

Brian D

.
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
SG, that is what I am doing with the Aluminum Paste I am using. The hole got enlarged while trying to remove the remnants of the broken screw. I did not have an image of the damage done before adding the Aluminum Paste. So the images show the repair work, not the damage. I think that is what is causing confusion. If you look at the images you will see the difference between the real aluminum and the inserted paste. Kind of hard to see but it is there. So at this point all I need do is drill a hole for an 8-32 screw and tap the new threads. Then it will be done.

This image shows a representation of the damaged area.
Untitled-1.jpg
 
Daveinet

Daveinet

.
Sep 20, 2014
1,320
Rob Legg RL24 Chain O'Lakes
When your aluminum paste fails, clean it out and put a Threadcert in it. That or as mentioned before to use a Helicoil. Those are the only two viable solutions that will work. Unless the screw is decorative only, epoxy based solutions are not going to be strong enough to do any good.
 
J

JimInPB

.
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
Maybe use that paste stuff to fill the hole completely, so that you can drill in the exact spot that you want & then put one of these in there to spread the stress to a larger area, & probably some virgin metal - https://www.mcmaster.com/90247A009
 
Brian D

Brian D

.
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
So first I want to correct myself. This is not a "Paste" as I have been calling it. It is actually Epoxy Resin, in stick form (not a gel form) with Aluminum infused for added strength (as I understand it). With that, I shall endeavor to call it what it is.

I drilled and tapped. The drill bit did not tear the material. I thought that it would rip chunks off as the hole started. This did not happen. However, the material being removed is power so caution (re face mask and safety glasses) should be exercised. The exit hole was also clean. I used my drill at slow first until I felt the material was holding up. But I never went high speed. I also lopped off a corner to see what the density was like. After cutting I filed. If there were issues it would show up even after filing. Here is the image of the corner removed.
DSCF4968.JPG


Next was to tap. I only had a 10-24 tap so that is what I used. At first it felt like the material was too soft to tap. But as I got deeper, it was harder to turn. The tap eventually exited the material and then I reversed and took it out. Here is an image of the threads in the material.
DSCF4969a.jpg


So far it looks like this is going to work. Again, this is not a load bearing part that is being repaired. Just a frame that holds the Outboard Throttle Control's cover.

Next follow up will be with the part drilled, tapped, and the new screw inserted.
 
  • Like
Likes: rgranger
Meriachee

Meriachee

.
Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
Brian, you could remove the area where the hole is, make it flat against the side flanges and put a rectangular block of aluminium in there, as a cap plate. Doing it that way, the epoxy would only need to hold the plate in place while you bolted it down, or just skip the epoxy altogether.
 

Attachments

J

JimInPB

.
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
This looks more promising than I expected. I will be interested to see how it works out for you. Thanks for posting.
 
Brian D

Brian D

.
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
A sad day, oh, woe is me. Oh the humanity of it all. It isn't an 8-32, it is an M4 0.7 thread. Now let me go to my corner of the world and cry. LOL

OK... temporary setback. However, I could really mess with the next owner and put in a mix of screw types. 3xM4 and 1x8-32. I would do that but that is not in my character. Got it... a few more days. LOL
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top Bottom