Looking for suggestions for bedding compound... dolphinite?
- Thread starter genec
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LifeSeal has silicon and an adhesive.
Choose your poison. Choose wisely.
A unique combination of marine silicone and polyurethane, formulated especially for fiberglass. LifeSeal® offers a fast-curing, low odor, high adhesion, non-sagging, non-corrosive, non-yellowing formula. It provides a durable permanent watertight seal for joints subject to structural movement. May be used above and below the waterline. Use for sealing decks to hulls, thru-hull fittings, vinyl ports, sealing/glazing windshields and bedding marine hardware. Will adhere to metal, glass, wood, Lexan®, ABS® and certain other materials. Can be removed without damaging gel-coat. Not recommended for ferro cement hulls, impregnated wood or oil-soaked materials. Cures in presence of water. Mildew resistant and acid free. Custom colors available.
LifeCaulk is a polysulfide caulkA long lasting, permanently flexible marine polysulfide sealant which can be sanded, painted***, and used above and below the waterline. Tack-free in 1 to 3 days, excellent resistance to teak oils, gasoline, and diesel fuel. Ideal for teak decks, to bed deck and hull hardware, seal thru-hull fittings, and underwater seams. Will bond to fiberglass, wood, metal, glass, and itself. Cures to a firm flexible rubber seal with excellent waterproofing and adhesion qualities. Can be applied underwater for emergency repairs. Can be applied to damp surfaces.
Choose your poison. Choose wisely.
Correct. "LifeSeal" ... I general use the clear version. It just cleans up a bit better IMHO.
All four of our fixed Lexan fixed ports were bedded with the LifeSeal product over 20 years ago and are still leak free.
Their other product will "eat" plastics. I found that out the hard way a long long time ago!
Get some butyl from marinehowto.com!!! Best ever bedding compound
For sure. Go there and read. Good stuff Maynard.
For sure. Go there and read. Good stuff Maynard.
I'm gonna order some, seems like good stuff for other bedding... but for this specific need... it may not be the right material. I am trying to bed/seal a Perko nav light against Teak, which is on the side of the bow sprit.
This butyl product says nothing about working with wood.
Good plan. If you buy the LEDs, you don’t need to seal the lights, and the butyl will not stop water infiltration into the teak pulpit anyway. Besides, you are going to be stripping and resealing that pulpit occasionally. If the LEDs don’t fit to the side of the pulpit, perhaps mount a small strip of wood underneath to make a complete mounting surface for the lights.
There is already a chunk of wood there... shaped to hold the lights. I've decided to forego the LEDs for the moment as they do not appear to have a good area in their base for the crimp connections and I don't want to dig out the teak and make a void. My night sailing tends to be with the motor on (so I have radar) so power saving is not an issue.
I can still go the LED route in the future... they will only get better.
I can still go the LED route in the future... they will only get better.
Yes, I am replying to myself. Just dawned on me that if I do go the LED route in the future, I can add a thin backing of either wood or starboard, or even make a fiberglass base in which to "bury the wires" and thus not actually change the existing teak at all. I may consider that... as you say, working the teak finish in that area is a regular event... at least every few years.
And certainly making such a base would push out the lights another 1/2 inch or so... gosh, increasing their visibility, eh. GRIN
Yes, vis increased to 2.0000000125 nautical miles!
The wires on the back are about 3” long. Not super long, but if your mounting material is 1/2”, you can push the crimps to the backside of the mount. I just make the hole for the wire big enough for the crimps to slid through one behind the other. I think a 1/4 ” hole is plenty to slide the crimp through.
The wires on the back are about 3” long. Not super long, but if your mounting material is 1/2”, you can push the crimps to the backside of the mount. I just make the hole for the wire big enough for the crimps to slid through one behind the other. I think a 1/4 ” hole is plenty to slide the crimp through.
I hear ya, the increased vis and lower current are good attributes.
But doing what you describe exposes the crimps to the possibility of waves that hit the sprit in the roughest seas. I think the better solution is to add a block or a stand off of say 1/2 to 3/4 in thick, bed the crimps in a hollow in that new added material, and keep the thru hole that exists for the existing insulated cable as small as possible... and pack some sealer around that.
In other words, don't change the existing teak and thru cable, but add a new chunk of material in which to bury the connections and stand off the lights a bit. And pack all that with "bedding."
I use heat shrink glue butt crimps. They are water tight.
This is certainly an application for heat shrink connectors. Get good quality ones, not HF junk.
Exactly. I like having the outer overall insulation right up to the light... and then bury the actual connections in the body of the light, or in a cavity other than the hole the cable came through.