Minor repair to PVC dinghy puncture

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richard77777

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My small PVC dinghy is in good condition but has two small punctures. Last summer, I made temporary repairs using small patches and one part glue which seemed to hold fine until the end of the season.
On inflating the dinghy now, I've noticed that both repairs are leaking very slightly and so I'm going to make what I hope will be a more permanent and careful repair with new patches and two part glue.
I assume that when I remove the old patches, it will leave a glue residue which I need to remove before brushing on the new two part glue. My question for the experts is: what is the best way to remove the old glue please? I understand that MEK will do the job, but I'm a bit worried it may damage the PVC if I get it wrong. Would I be better to use sandpaper?
Any tips or advice generally re possible pitfalls would be much appreciated.
Many thanks.
 
Use the correct solvent/primer ( Polymarine 2903 ) which is a mixture of MEK and tetrahydrofuran (THF) , not just MEK
( THF is a powerful solvent for PVC)

It will reactivate remaining old adhesive

User guide for PVC adhesive here http://polymarine.com/pdfs/Polymarine-PVC-Adhesive-Use-Guide.pdf.

Follow the advice from Polymarine carefully.

BTW you may have difficulty obtaining materials at the moment ( Not available directly from Polymarine due to coronavirus restrictions )
 
Before removing your repair I would suggest you try some Sealflex Sealflex 500ml - Polymarine RIB Inflatable boat repair
It's a bit like the stuff that you put inside a car tyre when there is a puncture. You put it into the boat and inflte, and then roll around so the liquid can come out the hole. As it comes out it hardens and plugs the hole. I used it on an old dinghy with several tiny leaks on the seam and it worked well.
TudorSailor
 
Acetone works well and did for me last year when I did some major repairs on the floor seam. If I remember correctly, polymarine suggest it if you don't have available their product.
 
I have just removed a patch I used unsuccessfully to repair a leak last year. I used acetone and light sand paper to clean the surface and used a larger patch with standard PVC glue. It seems to have held. This was my first major repair of my dinghy and I think the problem occurred because the patch had to overlap a seam. I hadn’t squeezed out all of the air. I was more careful second time around.
 
Apologies, this isn't strictly relevant to the question, but I have leaks in the seams of an otherwise sound, robust, very old hypalon Avon.

I bought an approved puncture-repair kit that cost nearly as much as the dinghy, but it's not plain to see how to fix a leak that can't be patched.

Is it a matter of injecting the adhesive between the seams where the Fairy liquid bubbles appear? Or is my best bet Tudorsailor's Polymarine plug technique?
 
dancrane said:
Apologies, this isn't strictly relevant to the question, but I have leaks in the seams of an otherwise sound, robust, very old hypalon Avon.

I bought an approved puncture-repair kit that cost nearly as much as the dinghy, but it's not plain to see how to fix a leak that can't be patched.

Is it a matter of injecting the adhesive between the seams where the Fairy liquid bubbles appear? Or is my best bet Tudorsailor's Polymarine plug technique?
Click to expand...

I found just gluing the seam with polymarine two pack Adhesive did not completely fix the leak. So, I bought pvc strips about 55mm wide and applied to the entire seam, and on the corners (stern and bow) applied a disc shape patches over the top of the new seam to add additional strength. On the inside which is tricky, applied black Sealant/adhensive (from toolstation) in any gaps, end result no leaks so far for over a year. This saved me for now buying a new tender.
 
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