fergie_mac66
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the welcome electrosys. The last tub of Cascamite I bought was just from the local building supplies place but other than being in a plastic tub seems to still be essentially the same stuff as came in a tin years ago. Easy enough to come by so never tried the 'soundalike' products. Works best in a thin sheen when there is a lot of surface area in contact (like dinghy chines and gunwales or laminating). You need to make sure that all the powder's properly mixed to a consistent paste. Mop up any drips asap because it sets solid. As already said though, it does chip and shatter, and isn't going to stand up to all conditions. For interior work and dinghies it's been good enough for the job. Similarly my tiller's laminated up using cascamite, but again it's not permanently exposed to the ravages of the British weather.
Never used Balcotan / Collano Semparoc etc but did use something similar once to make up a replacement chain locker lid from ply and softwood after the original GRP one was lost in the sea. Those bonds still seemed to be okay after four years of exposure to salt water and rain. I do remember it as being relatively expensive and quite nasty stuff though. Bizarrely, some of the most stubborn bonds I've come across recently are those where building products have been used - gripfill, no more nails kind of things. I'm not sure what some bright spark stuck a thick chipboard kitchen worktop onto the GRP galley moulding with on my boat but I don't think even Armageddon would shift it.
somebody had used something like that to glue a shelf to our vinyl headlining !