Have you seen this commercial for Mighty Putty?

[caguy]

Seems like it might be good for emergency repairs such as a hull leak. I am aware of all the standard emergency fixes such as bees wax and plugs but this stuff looks pretty impressive. Takes 20 min. to cure.Has any one tried this? What did you think?Frank

 

[Hugh4753]

Used a couple of times

I've not used it on the boat, although like you I think it might come in handy for emergency and other repairs. I have used it a couple of times around the house and it works as advertised. Friend of mine has used it alot and agrees. It does seem to take a little longer to cure than they say on the ads but it might be because I don't think I worked it enough to get the green and grey parts completely mixed. Even with that I filled and drilled a broken door and it's stronger than original.

 

[Granfalloon]

Mighty Putty Alternative

The product gets excellent reviews. The shipping & handling costs appear a bit steep. There are alternative products on the market - many you can get at automotive stores. One is J-B Waterweld #8277.

 

[Blake]

I have

I have used similiar products although I don't recall the brand. I have a wood cosine wherry with a fiberglass shell over the carvel planks. I have used this stuff twice to patch small nicks in the fiberglass. I keep some on board both of my boats for emergencies. I think that it could be useful in patching a hole in a fiberglass boat. Maine sail has some valid concerns and I am no expert at fiberglass work, but wouldn't you need to do some grinding and cutting to make permanent repairs to a gash in the hull? If I was sinking I,d rather fix the leak and worry about making it pretty later.

 

[tcbro]

I keep JB Weld on board

Scott from Middle River posts on this board and is in my marina. He showed me the plastic packing gland that he had to fix with JB Weld when it split and he was taking on water. It kept his boat afloat. I ordered a bronze packing gland and picked up some JB Weld for the boat the very next day!

 

[Maine Sail]

My point is..

Let's say you get a chip in the deck and fill it with "silly putty" as a temporary fix. Now a year down the road you decide to fix it properly. You sand and sand but the only thing disappearing rapidly is the gelcoat and fiberglass around the "silly putty" you used. Being MUCH harder and stronger than polyester gelcoat and or fiberglass it DOES NOT and WILL NOT sand out at the same rate and will make future repairs MUCH harder. The only way to remove a patch like that is with a Dremel tool. Once you've carefully ground away only the epoxy patch you can then sand and fair the rest of the surface and it will diminish at the same rate..

 

[Paul Akers]

My only question is...

...what is the shelf life of this stuff? What if I don't use it this year? Am I out the money & shipping costs paid? If, God forbid, that I ever need it, I expect to find it usable.

 

[Ross]

I buy epoxy putty at my plumbing supply house and

use it rarely so it kicks around for a long time. over the years I guess I have used a half dozen sticks and never had any go bad. I would think that five years would be a fair shelf life.

 

[caguy]

The thing that attracted my attention is that it will

stick to a wet surface. It wil also extrude to the shape of an irregular gash. Something that a plug will not do. I was not thinking about repairing a chip in the deck. I was thinking more in line with an interior patch below the water line.Will it really stick to a wet surface? The glass demonstration was a pretty smal hole with dry plastic surrounding it. Can it be used under water or on a damp fiber glass surface?Seems worth experimenting with before hand.Frank

 

[Ross]

I have wrapped it around dripping cracked cast iron

pipe and it stayed in place.

 

[Blake]

Minor repairs

I think Mainsail may have a point concerning it's use in minor repairs. I got to thinking about it, and realised that I have only used the epoxy putty for one repair on my wood/fiberglass boat. The first repair was made with a bondo type product several years ago. I sanded that down and repainted with no problems. There is no gelcoat on this boat. The second repair was with epoxy putty last summer, and it is a raised lump that I have not got around to sanding smooth to repaint. If Mainsail is right, I may be sorry that I used it for that purpose. But I still think that it is worth having on board for true emergency repairs. I am not sure about the expiration date/longgevity of the stuff, but if you buy it from a local hardware store, it is pretty cheap.

 

[Cap'n Ron]

JB Stick

Just used the J B Stick to make repairs on my radiator Saturday. Cured in five minutes, and holds the 15 PSI rad press HOT too!JB Weld is good stuff, so is 5200, 4200 drys a bit faster, but takes hours.You must be thinking of "Flash Zone" (other brands nowdays) which is a good underwater epoxy.Many cruisers carry it, and salvors use it too, and it will seal small holes, patches pretty well FROM THE OUTSIDE. I have not heard of it working from the inside. Have NOT used 'Splash Zone' except for a test.Old towels, cotton is handy when using tapered wooden thru-hull plugs.