sail repair glue

[pauldoody]

Has anyone got any experience in repairing sails with glue instead of stitching. I recieved a tip from a Kiwi friend that 3M 5200 is used, but it looks like sikaflex consistency, also he said it was a spray on glue, which the 5200 is not.
I had a small tear in my main this summer on the way to Ibiza and have carried out a repair both stitching and glueing using a bostik adhesive and so far it has held up well. i have used this Bostik contact adhesive to carry out repairs to my spray hood and it has been very effective.
I reckon that stitching put stress points all along the edge of a repair, whereas glue spreads the load evenly all over the patch. I want to stock up with some in case it rips again and to carrye out other repairs. ( the lazy way)

 

[White Horse]

Think the problem is you are trying to glue to something that is not very absorbent. My old North Sails had the seams stuck together using a double sided tape and then stitched to hold it together. I know they stick planes together with glue now days but this is done under controlled conditions in a factory. Their panels don't flex as much as a sail does either. They have been stitching patches on sails for years. If there was another way it would be in the Chandlers. Spinnaker repair tape will work for a quick repair. Round off all the corners and stick both sides. Got some red tape stuck on the boom and it hasn't come off in 4 years.

 

[pauldoody]

Yes I know it is not really absorbent, but plastic to plastic is not absorbent and it is done all the time. The guy that gave me the tip got it from his son who is a sail manager on an Americas cup team and a sailmaker by trade. The flexibility of the surface is a problem and I think that is why he said to use a spray on glue.
And I have used the bostik adhesive which has held for about I,000 miles of sailing so far. the problem with it is it is brown coloured, and I reckon that technology has mastered these problems. Maybe the sailmakers don't want us to know about the stitchless seam!

 

[OldBawley]

Having tan sails and the mainsail becoming 30 years old, the yarn was at the end of its life due to chafe and Mediterranean sun. Until recently tan sails were unknown in Greece- Turkey so I had to repair the sails myself. Resewing the seams is a huge job and I had the suspect that making all those little holes with a stitcher did no good to the strength of the sail. So I cut 6 centimetre wide bands out of a torn mainsail and glued these on both sides over the old seams using brown Sikaflex and later brown polyurethane for car repair ( 2 € / Tube )
Managed to do six more years with the old sails. The slight colour difference of the seambands looks even high tech.
Last year, I had to buy 4 new sails, the sun had also destroyed the cloth.

 

[Poignard]

. . suspect that making all those little holes with a stitcher . .

Speedy Stitcher? I bought one recently and I'm impressed if you sewed a mainsail with one because although it makes neat job it is very slow. Must have taken forever.

 

[OldBawley]

Last spring it took me two weeks, 5h/day just to repair the anti UV protection of the roller jib. Had to sew trough 6 to 7 layers of heavy cloth. Even the stitcher had to be helped with punching holes in the many layers of cloth with a hammer and awl. Slow, but better than any Turkish sail maker would have done. Time is free for us cruising liveaboards.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Has anyone got any experience in repairing sails with glue instead of stitching. I received a tip from a Kiwi friend that 3M 5200 is used, but it looks like sikaflex consistency, also he said it was a spray on glue, which the 5200 is not.
I had a small tear in my main this summer on the way to Ibiza and have carried out a repair both stitching and gluing using a bostik adhesive and so far it has held up well. i have used this Bostik contact adhesive to carry out repairs to my spray hood and it has been very effective.
I reckon that stitching put stress points all along the edge of a repair, whereas glue spreads the load evenly all over the patch. I want to stock up with some in case it rips again and to carry out other repairs. ( the lazy way)

Years ago there was a glue designed for material, I think it was called "Croyde glue "

 

[grafozz]

sail glue

I have made a few repairs to both dacron and mylar sails using superglue .
It is a permanent fix , I even use it to adhere genoa/jib tell tales .

 

[estarzinger]

I recieved a tip from a Kiwi friend that 3M 5200 is used, but it looks like sikaflex consistency, also he said it was a spray on glue, which the 5200 is not.

you are probably looking for one of the 3m spray contact adhesives, like: 3M™ Hi-Strength 90 Spray Adhesive or 3M™ Hi-Tack 76 Spray Adhesive, or 3M™ Super 77™ Multipurpose Spray Adhesive. They all make a nice clean bond. Loctite also makes similar products - Loctite® Stik’n Seal® Extreme Conditions is good stuff.

3m 5200 will work if you squeegee it real thin, but it usually makes a very strong bond (stronger than the above) but is a messy, heavy and not so nice looking repair.

In any case, you want to clean the cloth before you put the adhesive on - an acetone wipe down will do the trick. Sewing the edges is very useful, even with the best adhesives.