I've been reading through the archives for this forum and doing some other reading as well while I try to decide which caulking to use to rebed the deck hardware on my 1983 Oday 23. The main jobs are to rebed the mast step and the chainplates. I also have to replace most of the gunwhale molding and rub rail on the starboard side. (I should probably rebed the stanchion bases and toe rails, too, but I'll have to wait to see how much time I have in the spring! They don't seem to be leaking.) So my question is this: Which caulking is best for these jobs? I know that I should use polysulfide, but there seem to be many opinions about which specific polysulfide caulking to use. Some sailors on this site recommend 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant Fast Cure 4000 UV; other recommend the 101. One of the guys at my local West Marine shop was adamant that I should use the 3M 5200. My sense is that the 5200 is probably not right for these jobs, but as a novice at repairing a sailboat, I'm not sure. Any advice/comments/opinions about this are most welcome! Thanks. Bob
Choosing the Right Caulking
- Thread starter Adirondack Bob
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The right caulking
Bob, Don't use 5200. 5200 is good, but if you ever have to remove something that has been adhered with it, you'll wind up breaking it. They make a silicon 4200 that's a lot easier to remove if you ever have to, but I'd go with a Polysulfide boat caulking like Boat life Boat Caulking, or 3-M. Joe
Bob, Don't use 5200. 5200 is good, but if you ever have to remove something that has been adhered with it, you'll wind up breaking it. They make a silicon 4200 that's a lot easier to remove if you ever have to, but I'd go with a Polysulfide boat caulking like Boat life Boat Caulking, or 3-M. Joe
Thanks
Thanks to both of you. My sense of this was to avoid the 5200, but the West Marine guy was pretty insistent, which gave me pause. The weather's too cold here to do the job now anyway, but I want to have everything ready for when it warms up again. Bob
Thanks to both of you. My sense of this was to avoid the 5200, but the West Marine guy was pretty insistent, which gave me pause. The weather's too cold here to do the job now anyway, but I want to have everything ready for when it warms up again. Bob
Caulking shelf life
Bob, Don't buy the caulking until you're ready to do the job. The shelf life on some of the different brands, aren't that great. I bought a brand new tube of Boat Life one day from a local boat dealer and supply, and the stuff had set up while it was on his shelf. He gave me a new tube, but I had already ruined my caulking gun trying to get the caulking out of the old tube. I've been storing the 3-M Boat caulking down my cellar where it's cool, and it seems to be still good. The stuff is so expensive that it pays to just buy as much as you think that you're going to use, and buy it about the time when you're going to use it. Joe
Bob, Don't buy the caulking until you're ready to do the job. The shelf life on some of the different brands, aren't that great. I bought a brand new tube of Boat Life one day from a local boat dealer and supply, and the stuff had set up while it was on his shelf. He gave me a new tube, but I had already ruined my caulking gun trying to get the caulking out of the old tube. I've been storing the 3-M Boat caulking down my cellar where it's cool, and it seems to be still good. The stuff is so expensive that it pays to just buy as much as you think that you're going to use, and buy it about the time when you're going to use it. Joe
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