Gorilla glue use?

[Einar]

Anyone have experience in using Gorilla glue?

I am doing the annual repairs to a royalex "loaner" after it's difficult day on a low water slalom course. I need to fill a void that tapers down to zero at each end.

I did a test overnight on a couple of moistened scrap vinyl pieces. When the instructions say 3 times expansion they mean it. Got that.

The cured material is hard to work; what tool do do you use? Or do you just trowel it on thinly in layers.
It "seems" to have good compression/crush resistance.
My test didn't have good adhesion, vinyl to vinyl scrap. On what materials do you successfully use it.

Thanks for any replies.

[hazardharry]

i use it to fill the spaces left BTWEEN the layers of royalex where the core has collasped. then close the wound with G-flex. sounds like your repair needs some g-flex. i find soft spots on the hull and with an 1/8" bit make a line of holes an inch apart then purge with clean water then squeeze in some gorrila glue. after it expands and dries sand it down smooth and cover in g-flex. on a recent jobsite steps from the atlantic i noticed the builder was gorilla gluing all the outside woodwork together as it was nailed together.

[pblanc]

I have limited experience with Gorilla Glue. I know that some folks swear by it, but I don't care for it. I don't like how it foams up, or its rather unpredictable expansion, and I agree that it is not that easily faired and shaped. I much prefer just using G Flex, often thickened with silica gel powder to fill in voids. It can be mixed up in very small quantities, does not expand or foam up, and is easily sanded and shaped when cured. And I know for sure that G Flex is going to bond well to G Flex that has been used to fill voids, when the time comes to cover the repair with cloth.

[NickParker]

...My test didn't have good adhesion, vinyl to vinyl scrap. On what materials do you successfully use it...

I think Gorilla Glue has great marketing, for a mediocre product. I bought some once to try out, and after making some test joints (in wood), I threw it in the trash bin. PVA (good old yellow wood glue) is stronger, and cleans up much easier. I later saw a magazine article with some test results that confirmed that PVA makes a stronger wood joint than Gorilla Glue.

Sounds like Harry has found a good use for it though.

[yarnellboat]

Einar,

You try stuff on your Viper. Then, when the time comes, we can do the chines of our Ocoees together, OK? I'll bring you whatever you need while you work! Pat.

[JimW]

Only used Gorilla once, to re-stick an anchor on a hire boat because it's all I thought we had (remembered I had some epoxy sachets to repair another anchor later in the trip). Seemed difficult to work with but it was an old bottle which we ended up cutting open to get it out. The strap anchor held for the rest of the trip - I'm afraid I can't remember how many days in it failed or how many more I used it for. Although it worked, it wouldn't be my glue of choice.

I'd follow pblancs method and use thickened G-flex as a filler, but don't wait for it to cure, scrape it flush as you fill and then apply a layer or 2 of glass tape/cloth pre-wetted with g-flex over the top (best bond is attained when wet resin is applied to wet resin/filler).
To scrape flush work from the middle of the filler to the edge, if you work from the edge you will pull it away from the edge which gets real annoying!

[sbroam]

+1 on what Harry said. I've done the same thing to fill voids between more or less intact layers of ABS that had started to separate / delaminate (the foam had deteriorated). Drilled and injected, kept a sand bag on it (not too heavy). It has held up fine. Cheaper than GFlex - i save that for outer layers.

[Einar]

Thanks

"There is a canoe in there somewhere"

[ezwater]

To replace your pedestal and bulkhead, first glue the gorilla to the bottom of the boat. Board, and yield to his embrace. You paddle, he keeps you centered.