Yet another thread about Butyl rubber...

Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
Bed-It sounds like great stuff to use but I have a couple of concerns/questions. I'm interested in comments from @Maine Sail as well as unbiased opinions from others
  • When fittings are tightened the butyl rubber will squeeze out. Will it reach a point where the butyl rubber cannot compress any further? I would assume so because if you squeeze it all out it would no longer form a seal
  • One comment on the site mentioned that the Bed-It never stopped squeezing out. Has anyone experienced this? I've used the automotive grade butyl rubber and its very messy stuff
"One problem I've encountered, however, is that the "squeeze-out" phase never seems to end. I have fittings that I bedded 3 years ago that are still slowly pushing out excess tape. I clean off the excess with a razor, and yet within a few months there's more that's squeezed out.
I'm not hugely concerned about the appearances, but once this stuff comes loose, it tends to spread around the boat. You get a loose bit on a control line, or a deck shoe, and the next thing you know there are little bits here and there..."
 

Gunni

.
Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
My experience with butyl gasket tape is the opposite of your concern - it doesn’t compress much unless you work it down to a thin application. This can complicate attachments where you have little room on fastener threads to accommodate a 3/16 butyl gasket. The stuff has limited compressability under the load of most fasteners. It does create a flexible seal but no, it does not squeeze out. A couple of year or so ago I rebuilt my rope clutches, including the halyard for my 65’ mast. I formed up a butyl gasket, bolted it down and cleaned up the “squeeze” with a plastic putty knife. The clutch takes a massive load and it has not moved or pushed any of the butyl gasket out. Truly a break-through bedding product.
 
Apr 8, 2010
1,942
Ericson Yachts Olson 34 28400 Portland OR
Since in real life the two surfaces being bolted together are never going to be totally parallel (like the head-and-block on your engine) the sealant is there to fill in the microscopic gaps and prevent moisture from getting into the joint. So the material Will stop squeezing out after some time passes, mostly. Note that this material is Really (!) viscous. It may slightly show up years after the last time the joint was torqued down. I like to use it where both surfaces are hard enough to take some tightening, like an SS base against an FRP surface.
I first learned about it while owning our Niagara sailboat for a decade. Hinterhoeller Yachts had bedded everything (!) including the hull-to-deck joint with butyl rubber. When the boat was 15 years old I could still find a tiny bit of it at the edge the aluminum toe rail, full length..... and that scrapped off quick and clean with a plastic scrapper. Never a leak from any fitting and the deck coring was always dry.
Not the only "right answer" but a pretty good one.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Please read this, it will explain it in-depth: https://marinehowto.com/bed-it-tape/


Bed-It sounds like great stuff to use but I have a couple of concerns/questions. I'm interested in comments from @Maine Sail as well as unbiased opinions from others
  • When fittings are tightened the butyl rubber will squeeze out. Will it reach a point where the butyl rubber cannot compress any further? I would assume so because if you squeeze it all out it would no longer form a seal
  • One comment on the site mentioned that the Bed-It never stopped squeezing out. Has anyone experienced this? I've used the automotive grade butyl rubber and its very messy stuff
"One problem I've encountered, however, is that the "squeeze-out" phase never seems to end. I have fittings that I bedded 3 years ago that are still slowly pushing out excess tape. I clean off the excess with a razor, and yet within a few months there's more that's squeezed out.
I'm not hugely concerned about the appearances, but once this stuff comes loose, it tends to spread around the boat. You get a loose bit on a control line, or a deck shoe, and the next thing you know there are little bits here and there..."
Based on a database search the person who posted that comment had not purchased Bed-It Tape from us when that comment was made. Usually when I see complaints about "butyl" it is not from a person who's used Bed-It Tape. Bed-It is not a straight "butyl tape" it's a hybrid product, with butyl as a main ingredient. We specifically formulated & tailored its properties to minimize creep & cold flow and to have better resistance to the cleaning products often used on boats.

We have shipped Bed-It Tape it all over the globe, this morning we have a package going to Whangarei New Zealand and one to Izmir Turkey. Even in these hot tropical locations we are not getting complaints about cold flow / creep. You don't even have to buy it direct.. Hamilton Marine sells Bed-It Tape as does Marine Outfitters in Canada. Hamilton can often beat us on shipping..

FWIW the cleat in that linked article, on the polycarbonate/Lexan, has been stored in the second story of our shop. It's an non-insulated storage room with a black asphalt roof so it gets pretty hot in the summer.. It has experienced no oooze since placed there nearly ten years ago.
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
I left a partially used roll of Bed-It in the Mac I sold. The new owners were new to sailing. I doubt they could appreciate the "gift". I still have a roll.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Are there any applications where 4200/5200 would be more appropriate?
Of course... Below water fittings and the keel joint... There are also uses for silicone such as Beckon plastic parts or bedding acrylic or polycarbonate dead lights...
 
Mar 26, 2011
3,399
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
In fact, I find it to be the neatest product to work with. Tighten once, tighten again a little later if needed (depends on gasket area to fastener tension ratio), and trim with a plastic knife.

AND you can keep it in your kit on the boat and it never goes bad. Very handy for small maintenance jobs, like replacing or rebuilding a cam cleat.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Simply put.. It is a great tool for a boat owner to use.
Like all tools it is not the tool but the craftsman. So yes the countersink is a Best Practice.
I have a box on my boat and it is the bedding material of choice for all deck hardware that may move and I do not want to leak.

To give you a statement that "XYZ PRODUCT IS THE ONLY THING YOU WILL EVER NEED" would be disingenuous hype.

I would suggest your statement "Bed-It sounds like great stuff to use..." was a good understanding of the issue. And that you will be happy to have it available and in your tool box on a boat.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,321
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
A bit of Bed-it Tape stuck to the end of a long screwdriver or stick works to retrieve nuts and bolts lost to the nether worlds of your boat. And it can used to attach a screw to the screwdriver for those hard to reach places.
 
Mar 26, 2011
3,399
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
It would be pretty easy to say that polyurethane (3M, Sika, Locktite) is the messiest thing every. I'm sure every user has sworn at it a few times. And you can learn to work neatly with it and it is the best thing for certain jobs.
 
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Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
It would be pretty easy to say that polyurethane (3M, Sika, Locktite) is the messiest thing every. I'm sure every user has sworn at it a few times. And you can learn to work neatly with it and it is the best thing for certain jobs.
The adhesive caulk at home depot specifically for plastic is by far the messiest I've used. It's a very thin consistency.

I've found that I get a clean bead by pushing a caulk gun instead of pulling. I usually cut the tip at an angle but I doubt that makes much of a difference
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Laying caulk down is a learned skill. Yes it is probably easier to get a consistent bead by pushing. This also helps to get the caulk into the little voids and indents that occur than trying to pull the caulk. More often than not trying to pull the caulk gets you an inconsistent bead. Usually at the end I run a moist finger over the bead to trim the excess and assure a smooth seal.
 
Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
I usually end up making a mess when I try to run my finger over it so pushing works well for those with little practice. I never thought about wetting my finger before hand. Thanks for the tip!
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
I usually end up making a mess when I try to run my finger over it so pushing works well for those with little practice. I never thought about wetting my finger before hand. Thanks for the tip!
Try taping the edges of the seam then using a DAP CAP.. (Image - Home Depot)
 

gdudik

.
Oct 25, 2017
87
Catalina 22 Vancouver, WA
I sealed all the fittings with Bed-It on my foredeck after the deck material rotted and I replaced it. Oozed out a little on first tightening, removed with a razor, retightened, removed with a razor, that was it. Raced all season, now boat is back on my driveway. We’ve had our first freeze and thaw, and then a rainstorm. Still no leaks!