Shop Tips » Working With Epoxy and Fiberglass

Quick Bonding and Emergency Repairs

On Saturday morning, you eagerly enter your shop, all set to make great progress toward finishing your boat, only to find that you forgot to glue one critical part last weekend. Now you must wait overnight for the epoxy to cure. In the CLC prototype shop, we often use MAS Rapid Cure epoxy to bond parts when we want to continue working. Unlike most 5-minute type epoxies, Rapid Cure is waterproof and strong. It has a pot life of about 3 minutes; parts can be handled in as little as 15 minutes.

Now imagine 2 days into your annual kayak trip, landing through the surf and catching that one sharp hidden rock on the beach. Now your wooden or fiberglass boat has a hairline crack in the hull. In the old days you would have covered it with duct tape and hoped it didn't spread before you got home. With Rapid Cure, though, you can fix the crack permanently. All you need is a little 'glass cloth, a piece of sandpaper, and the epoxy. Simply sand off the paint or varnish around the crack on the inside of the hull (or the outside if you can't reach the inside), fill the crack with epoxy, lay the 'glass cloth over it and spread more epoxy over the cloth. Finally, enjoy a leisurely lunch while the Rapid Cure hardens and off you go, confident that your boat is as strong as ever.

MAS Rapid Cure Mini Kits includes 4 oz. of MAS Epoxy Rapid Cure Resin, 4 oz. of Rapid Cure Hardener, 4 pairs of latex gloves, 4 1-oz. mixing cups, 10 mixing sticks and instructions. Throw in a scrap of 'glass cloth and some sandpaper and you can fix even major boat damage on the beach. We wouldn't take a multi-day trip without one.

Also take a look at the MAS Handy Repair Kit. It includes 16 oz. of MAS Epoxy Resin, 8 oz. of Slow or Medium Hardener, 10 mixing sticks, 4 pairs of latex gloves, 4 2-oz. mixing cups and instructions.