Re-attaching foam headlining

davidpbo

davidpbo

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Boatless in Cheshire. Formerly 23ft Jeanneau Tonic
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The foam is badly deteriorated and the headlining will have to be replaced in the near future. I have used used copydex in the past to stick it back up and it has worked well without too much preparation. Those bits have never come down without assistance.

Does expanding foam give off fumes once cured?

Is there anything else in spray can readily available that is not toooo fussy about surface preparation?

It is a quick temporary fix I need, also copydex is b. expensive retail. Suggestions for a litre or so of an identical generic adhesive ideally from Toolstation would be appreciated. I do have a tube of PU 40 and a tube of Sicaflex 291 most of which will go to waste once I have used the little I need. Is that worth a try?
 
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I think thsi is what I would use ( have used)

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From Hawke house Ltd http://www.hawkehouse.co.uk/default.asp

But you could probably find something similar else where.

But a contact adhesive such as Evosik Impact or Evostik Timebond may well do the trick.

Take care with solvent based adhesives. Good ventilation and the appropriate mask are essential

Once the foam starts to deteriorate its had it.

Searushe's solution using timber battens as support might be something you can consider.

NB on plywood panels you can use a water resistant PVA wood glue. Water based so no solvent problems. Also available from Hawke House
 
expanding foam . no once it's cured it's inert.

I wouldn't use it though. If you think cleaning up contact adhesive ( originally used to apply the headlining ) is difficult thencan based expanding polyurethenr foam will be 10 times worse!
 
Copydex is really just latex. Carpet fitters do or at least did use it a lot, so you may get it from a carpet wholesalers or some such. Very, very much cheaper than Copydex. (used be about the same price for 5 litres as a smallish bottle of copydex)
 
If using spray adhesive make absolutely sure you have no naked lights - there was a couple on a MoBo blew themselves up & burned the boat to the waterline cos their fridge pilot lit the propellant & solvent fumes. They are pretty grim the fumes, mae sure there is loads of ventilation & try to force it with a sail canopy at the upwind end.

Springing battens in place (or even using tiny screws) is dead cheap, easy & neat, plus it lasts for ever, which isn't bad for a temproray bodge! Spending a couple of grand on getting it all professionally renewed will only give yopu 10-15 years, same as when new. The foam lining just reverts to dust & is impossible to glue anyway.

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The boat is in a ventilated barn and I was using a fan to force air through when laminating (Not lamenting as spellcheck originally put and I did not notice, although it was probably quite apt.) inside the cabin. Also have appropriate mask. I will probably just use good old copydex again. Anyone know trade names of equivalent glues ?
 
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We took the headlining down and threw it away... then sanded and filled before simply painting .. It does need more fairing .. but it is clean and simple A bit Bauhaus methinks
 
I've used PVA to keep up headlining. It has to be brushed on (can be messy) but it seems to soak into the foam and stop it disintegrating any further. It doesn't grab so I used thin pieces of ply, shaped as neccessary, propped up with boat hooks and whatever came to hand to hold it in place as the PVA dried.

I was concerned about the condensation but it doesn't seem to affect it.

Spray on contact adhesives will stick on the outer layer of foam, then it will disintegrate again in the lower layers and so back to square one. Never had success with spray on.
 
Try silicone

I have been re-attaching my headlining at edges and even larger areas, every season. Firstly I pull back the loose area and scrape away the crumbling foam from both the lining and the hull (very messy). Then I gun a pattern of cheap builders silicone 'worms' to the hull. Then spread evenly about with a spatula. The lining can then be pressed back into position. The good news is that silicone cures well in a damp environment so no problem if there is some residue dampness about. Also the silicone has good grab so the headlining stays there without much assistance from the first moment.
 
I replaced all my head and side linings, I initially tried spray on tack glue but this did not work once the temperature got up, it just fell away, in the end went with an evo stick type glue, brushed on to both surfaces, waited for it to become tacky and then put them up.
This has lasted and none have come down.
 
I have re head lined a boat and it isn't a nice job once the foam backing has crumbled then it's a loosing battle to re attach it.
Mrs UXB stitched together new headlining and we glued it on- after a crappy few weeks of removing as much of the minging residue of twenty year old glue as we could.

The first few cans of spray contact adhesive gave us a merry day of solvent abuse as we stuck on lovingly stitched panel to ourselves and the boat...the next few cans of less entertaining glue were not as potent or as sticky and after a few months , fell down.

In short, it is a sh 1 ttty job. If you can, make up thin marine ply panels and glue on the lining at home- the right way up- and screw them onto your boat.
 
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