Foam Backed Vinyl

[SteveIOW]

Has anyone out there used heavy duty double sided tape to bond foam backed vinyl to inside of their GRP hull / undersides of deck... If so has it proved successful?

I've used contact adhesives in liquid & spray form as recomended by Hawke House in the past and though it's worked ok it's not a job I enjoy. Can be very messy. Tools (brushes, spreaders, roller applicators) end up getting thrown away. When you go back to use a previously opened tin of glue you have trouble getting the lid off and when you do you find the glue has thickened to the point that it can't be poured or spread out.

 

[TradewindSailor]

I've never used double-sided tape. I don't think it would work.

I would used the contact adhesive in a spray can for the foam-vinyl and the structure; but use brush on in the difficult to reach areas.

A word of warning .... I don't know whether they have changed the formulation of the foam, but it used to break down and give off a poisonous gas ... formaldehyde? I know a delivery crew that were hospitalised because of it. I use fibre backed vinyl now.

 

[Graham_Wright]

Has anyone out there used heavy duty double sided tape to bond foam backed vinyl to inside of their GRP hull / undersides of deck... If so has it proved successful?

I've used contact adhesives in liquid & spray form as recomended by Hawke House in the past and though it's worked ok it's not a job I enjoy. Can be very messy. Tools (brushes, spreaders, roller applicators) end up getting thrown away. When you go back to use a previously opened tin of glue you have trouble getting the lid off and when you do you find the glue has thickened to the point that it can't be poured or spread out.

We use it extensively while machining flat materials. It is also used to stick on car number plates. I tried a bit on the transom - devil to remove.

………Go for it!

 

[PCUK]

It will fall off very quickly unless you spend hours cleaning, degreasing and dusting the surface. Even then it will fall off as the localised strain on the foam will soon pull it apart. Also, it's slightly larger than a car number plate!

 

[Nicholas123]

I used double sided tape stuff to try & stick my engine sound insulation foam back on.Dead loss.

 

[philwebb]

Engine sound insulation foam

I used double sided tape stuff to try & stick my engine sound insulation foam back on.Dead loss.

Nicholas- try using Gripfill to stick on this foam it worked well with my insulation panels. Cheap and cheerful from your
local builders merchant. I used a bit on the edge of my headlining where it was peeling away and it has done the job.
Could be worth trying for headlining, but you have to put it on in lines, so they might show up. Good adhesion to GRP
for wooden pads etc.

 

[Nicholas123]

Nicholas- try using Gripfill to stick on this foam it worked well with my insulation panels. Cheap and cheerful from your
local builders merchant. I used a bit on the edge of my headlining where it was peeling away and it has done the job.
Could be worth trying for headlining, but you have to put it on in lines, so they might show up. Good adhesion to GRP
for wooden pads etc.

Why do you have to put it on in lines,why can't you spread it out with your finger?

Good tip I shall invest in some & try it for both my sound insulation foam & diabolical headlining mess.Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Why do you have to put it on in lines,why can't you spread it out with your finger?

Good tip I shall invest in some & try it for both my sound insulation foam & diabolical headlining mess.Thanks.

The purpose of the lines is so that the line of glue spreads out when compressed into the space between the lines.

 

[lustyd]

I used the double sided closed cell foam from Hawke House and normal vinyl which was very successful and much easier than glue. It's also worth mentioning that the closed cell foam is a better insulator than the open cell stuff which comes on foam backed vinyl.
Cheers
Dave

 

[philwebb]

Spreading gripfill

Why do you have to put it on in lines,why can't you spread it out with your finger?

Good tip I shall invest in some & try it for both my sound insulation foam & diabolical headlining mess.Thanks.

Nicholas- try to keep the gripfill off your hands, its hard to get off!!

 

[SteveIOW]

I used the double sided closed cell foam from Hawke House and normal vinyl which was very successful and much easier than glue. It's also worth mentioning that the closed cell foam is a better insulator than the open cell stuff which comes on foam backed vinyl.
Cheers
Dave

Thanks Dave. This was a method I was consdering and glad to hear you had a good result. The double sided closed cell foam is quite expensive and you still need to purchase vinyl without foam to finish the job. Even so it is probably the route I would go down if I didn't already have a large(ish) roll of foam backed vinyl in the loft which I purchased a couple of years ago.

I'm still thinking of using double side tape though. Screwfix (and others) sell heavy duty double sided tape for use on rough and even dusty surface. This must be superior to the test I've just conducted using the thin, narrow (multiple, parallel strips required) of double sided tape that my wife uses to make birthday cards. Even that gave suprisingly good adhesion.

Steve

 

[lustyd]

It's really not expensive at all when you do a little more maths. The sheets are wider than the foam back vinyl and you'll have far less wasted foam because joins are hidden. There is no need to buy glue or tools either, just a sharp knife and you're good to go. This method is also considerably less likely to go wrong as you lay all of the foam in one go and then come back with a big sheet of vinyl and peel off the backing in strips. This means you definitely won't get glue on the good side of any of the vinyl - don't underestimate how hard it is to control a 6m long sheet of vinyl, or even how hard it is to unroll it in a boat! I will warn you though, be certain you want to stick it to anything you let it touch because it will grip like SH** on a blanket!
Lastly, there is the warmth of the closed cell, the better sunlight blocking, and the better longevity (it won't turn to dust like others do).

I've no connection but having used this stuff I certainly wouldn't go back, and I had the same cost worry as you do until HH explained to me as above and then I did the maths and realised they were probably right.

 

[lustyd]

Even that gave suprisingly good adhesion.

Sorry only saw this after posting - it did stick well, but did it stay stuck when you warm the GRP below it (english summer) and when you froze the GRP (english winter) and will it stay stuck for years to come? Other than those concerns it may be worth a punt and certainly nicer than glue.

 

[timmygobang]

Has anyone out there used heavy duty double sided tape to bond foam backed vinyl to inside of their GRP hull / undersides of deck... If so has it proved successful?

I've used contact adhesives in liquid & spray form as recomended by Hawke House in the past and though it's worked ok it's not a job I enjoy. Can be very messy. Tools (brushes, spreaders, roller applicators) end up getting thrown away. When you go back to use a previously opened tin of glue you have trouble getting the lid off and when you do you find the glue has thickened to the point that it can't be poured or spread out.

How did you get on Steve? Looking to insulate my boat and saw your thread.

Thanks

Tim

 

[SteveIOW]

How did you get on Steve? Looking to insulate my boat and saw your thread.

Thanks

Tim

Tim,

Have only tried using Screwfix Heavy Duty Double Sided Tape on small area inside a locker. Tape adhered well to GRP hull but not so well to the foam on the back of the vinyl. It didn't help that I finished one edge of the vinyl on the external corner of a hull stiffener so the vinyl was trying to return to is previous flat state. The most frustrating bit was trying to remove the backing from the double sided tape before applying the foam back vinyl. It just didn't want to come away from the tape. Unfortunately double sided tape has not proved to be a great success story, so far.

Steve