Quote:
Originally Posted by onetriphudson
This last week I installed a FF using 3M 5200 and was really surprised that it has taken 5 full days to set. The 5200 was still tacky as of yesterday afternoon and I put it on last Thursday. I'm hoping that it will be completely cured by this evening so that I can put the kayak in it's rack. The label says it should cure in 24 hours but it was still just goo. This is after I dragged the kayak into the yard Saturday so it would get air, and then when I moved it (delicately) back into the garage that evening I put a fan blowing air through it (just in case this was an issue with circulation). This was a sponge mount cut-away method for the transducer thru-hull.
I used 5200 on a Prowler 13 FF install a few years back and don't remember it taking this long.
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It may be possible that you have the slow cure version, or you allowed alcohol/acetone or another solvent to come in contact with the 5200, which will inhibit curing. Did you clean the area you were using it on with any solvents? If not, check the color of your 5200 label. Red = Fast, Blue = Slow.
3M™ Marine Adhesive/Sealant 5200
This high-performance polyurethane adhesive/sealant becomes tack free in 48 hours, completely cures in 5-7 days with no shrinkage.
3M™ Marine Adhesive/Sealant Fast Cure 5200
This high-performance polyurethane becomes tack free in one hour and fully cures in approximately 24 hours.
Slower cure has higher bonding strength, but not by a huge amount. Both versions aren't really recommended for plastics, and have relatively poor bonding strength to most plastics. But, in most yak applications the 5200 is being used as a sealant, and not a true adhesive, so its not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. Especially since the areas we seal below the waterline on kayaks are only a few inches deep, so the water pressure isn't that great to begin with.
Potato, Potahtoe.