I remember reading the post but I can't seem to find it.
I think it was Finding 41 that found it at Rona or Home Depot?
A friend who used to be in the boat repair business told me that "butyl tape is butyl tape" and being a 100 percent rubber product, the marine stuff was only different by its price.
Chris
Unfortunately you were given some misleading information. There are literally hundreds of formulations of "butyl tape" out there and finding one that is of good quality, for marine use, is not the easiest task. Much of the stuff you find today is actually made in China and chuck full of solvents and fillers to bring the cost down.
The entire reason I spent about two years researching this is because I wrote an article on the use of butyl tape in re-bedding and then began getting email from readers who recognized the stuff they bought was pure junk. I began ordering and ordering and ordering butyl tapes and began contacting manufacturers and researching durometer ratings, ingredients, hot and cold performance and bleed rate etc. etc.. and found that all butyl tape is not created the same. Even when I wrote that article I assumed it was all pretty much the same, like your friend. I was shocked at what I found.
I tested nearly 40 products before I finally had to have one made to the specifications I wanted in a butyl suitable for bedding deck fittings. The old formulation butyl that was used in the 70's had changed rather dramatically, from the 70's formulations, due to EPA regs. I actually sent some off to a lab (read $$$$) from a boat built in the 70's to have it analyzed to come up with the formulation I wanted.
There are any number of ingredients used to make "butyl tape" cheaper such as fillers, solvents, recycled content etc. but they don't make it better only poorer. Just like polyurethane sealants there are differences between products.
For example I would LOVE to offer a white butyl tape but as of yet every white or off white product I have tested fails my standards miserably. I have been working with my extruder on a white tape but as of yet it is elusive if I want it to hit my standards.
Heck I have even had people send me stuff that was sold as "butyl tape" that was not even close to butyl tape and more like plumbers putty on a roll.... One guy even had his "butyl tape" wash out from between the deck and fitting over a few month period. These cases were not as rare as one might think.
There is even a company out there re-selling a product I tested and found unsuitable. They are selling of for the same price as Bed-It Tape. I can buy that product for about 4X less than I pay for the Bed-It Tape. It's all about the ingredients and "fillers"..
When you find a tape it should not come off on your fingers when working with it. A simple 1" or 2" piece should be able to slowly stretch many feet without fracturing. It should be dense and very uniform in extrusion. High quality tapes extrude cleaner. On-line I found you often can't go by pictures because what they show may not even be close to what they ship you. Even some manufactuers selling a butyl putty tape leave out the "putty" part of the description..
A good high quality butyl tape is a tremendous value when compared to any marine sealant that will kick off once opened.
