i have a crack in my bowmar plexi hatch. not urprisingly bowmar suggests a new hatch, including drilling a new hole for my nicro fan. not surprisingly i'd rather not. anyone know what kind of glue i can use to seal the crack? i don't mind a slight scar compared to making bowmar rich.
cracked hatch
- Thread starter mortyd
- Start date
If it is possible to replace the plastic I would suggest that approach. Go to your local glass shop with the bad piece and see what they want to cut a new one out of LEXAN (unbreakable). I just ordered 2 sliders for my companionway from my glass shop. Chief
actually, i just spoke to nicro, who was as courteous as bowmar was not, and they suggest liquid tape. anyone know about this tape?
Yes, I have a can of white to dip my line ends in but was unaware it was all that strong.
The way I look at these things is try it and if it doesn't work your no worse off than before. Oh! windshield adhesive used to bond down a new windshield is tough as can be but it is black.
Chief
The way I look at these things is try it and if it doesn't work your no worse off than before. Oh! windshield adhesive used to bond down a new windshield is tough as can be but it is black.
Chief
thanks. strong may not matter that much as long as it keeps the water out of my v berth. the hatch itself seems structurally sound since the crack only goes radially from one side of the fan.
A break tells you that the plastic is Acrylic and not Lexan. It is not wise to put holes in Acrylic as it breaks! Chief
BTW Lexan can & will crack. We used to have an O'Day 35 will large aft Lexan glass fixed ports. They cracked along the screw holes made to secure the perimeter of the ports. We replaced them with official Lexan poly, & low & behold they indeed cracked again within about 2 years later. Very frustrating. Also had an S 2 with smoked Lexan ports that cracked at the corners. Didn't bother replacing them.
We just used a very thin bead of clear 100 % silicone caulking & it worked great to repair the crack for years. It also stays fairly flexible & didn't dry out & leak after several years. The clear silicone is almost invisible, & doesn't make a messy repair. We applied the thin bead inside & outside of the crack for better coverage. Knowing now how easy it is to potential stress crack Plexiglass & Lexan, I would never drill it in the future.
We just used a very thin bead of clear 100 % silicone caulking & it worked great to repair the crack for years. It also stays fairly flexible & didn't dry out & leak after several years. The clear silicone is almost invisible, & doesn't make a messy repair. We applied the thin bead inside & outside of the crack for better coverage. Knowing now how easy it is to potential stress crack Plexiglass & Lexan, I would never drill it in the future.
One of my 4 Industrial Technology BA minors is plastics. Do not know what you bought but it was not Lexan! Lexan is the bullet proof plastic used for car windows in armored cars. Chief,IE,EE,ET