TOPIC: Sealant?

The nearest place to get the 3M sealant everyone recommends is about 65 miles away. Is there anything at Home Depot, Lowe's or even Wal-Mart that can be subbed in? Those stores are only a few miles away from me.

What are you using the sealant for?? Are you talking about 3-M 5200??

Our Wal-Marts here, Ace Hardware, and some sporting goods stores sell 3-M Sealants... but this is a 'boat' area.

There is a construction ADHESIVE made by Loctite that is used a lot in building and repair work on boats- Lots of people use it for bonding plywood for transoms, etc... It is a polyurethane-

www.lowes.com/pd_153963-69-1447063_0__?productId=3307446&Ntt=pl+adhesive&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dpl%2Badhesive&facetInfo=

It might be a substitute for what you're doing.

But- It might be worth the time/effort to get the right stuff and do it RIGHT... Always cheaper to do it right the first time than to have to re do it later!!

Home Depot carries the 3M 5200 here in the Atlanta area, in the small tubes. It's in the paint dept., adhesive/sealer/caulk section. I'm dying to try the new "fast cure" stuff now out, as the regular takes 7 days to cure completely, stays sticky for at least a couple days especially in cool weather.

(Not that I'm in that big of a hurry, but it increases my already high chances of making a bigger mess, and that stuff is almost impossible to get out of clothes, hair, etc.... )

Many places here in the desert don't carry things that would normally be sold in boating areas. I was going to use it for screws for the pitot housing, bolts for mounting the motor etc...

If you are using the sealant above the water line the locktite or others will probably be ok. The 5200 is designed to use underwater as well as above that's why it's recommended for wood boat bottom sealing. West Marine handles it and also you can price shop around the net (go for free shipping) Seven years ago I paid $18 a tube and bought three cases. The price has gone down now but West Marine still charges about $13 for a small squeeze tube.

Here is a link to a PL product that is supposed to be just as good as the 5200 but not recommended for underwater use. As long as you stay above the waterline you should be good.
www.simplicityboats.com/pl_premium.htm

West Marine still charges about $13 for a small squeeze tube.

I think I paid about $6 and change at HD. www.wholesalemarine.com has some great prices as well, and the more you buy the better the shipping rate is. Of course Jamestown Distributors is a sponsor, so I try to use them whenever possible too.

I know it's considered a major "No-No" to use silicone sealant on boats, but before I knew any better, I used to use it on john boats all the time, (motor mount bolts, transducer mount screws, etc...) and successfully I might add. (Not sure why it's bad to use it, but I don't question the experts!) You would think modern technology would come up with something a little more "user friendly" than what we have to work with these days. Having said that, I should admit I have not tried the other brands of Boat Caulk, Life Caulk, or whatever it's called.

Mark, it was Jamestown that I got the 5200 from way back when. Good people to work with.

I have also purchased from Wholesale Marine and they do have great prices.... it is actually right up the road from me...but I always have to pay shipping, no pick up allowed (even though they run it out of Hern Marine 20 feet from their showroom) but they ship quickly!
Phil

5200 is the best I've found. I had a leak in my rubrail near the transome. The rubrail, which is below the waterline the last foot, has no access from the inside. I sealed the last four feet of the rail and no leak. I believe in the stuff. Just had to stare at the boat for three days while it dried.

5200 is the best I've found. I had a leak in my rubrail near the transome. The rubrail, which is below the waterline the last foot, has no access from the inside. I sealed the last four feet of the rail and no leak. I believe in the stuff. Just had to stare at the boat for three days while it dried.

5200 is great stuff, but I wouldn't want to use it for something you might want to remove at some point. It's pretty much permanent. 4200 is better for that stuff.

I agree that 5200 is some great stuff- BUT- It is probably the most over used product in the boating industry today... We used to call it the 'aspirin' of boat repair. No matter what's wrong- 5200 will fix it!

5200 is used in a LOT of inappropriate place- So think twice before using it! Ask yourself this- Is there ANY earthly reason that I might ever want to take these two things apart?? EVER? if so- Use something else. The bond is likely to be stronger than the substrate, meaning that if/when you try to get it apart, the stuff you stuck together with it will break first.

In many applications, 4200 is the way to go- And in others, you want something even softer. 5200 is an adhesive more so than a sealant, Even 3-M's charts reflect this- But they are more than happy to sell you a tube for whatever application you desire

-Andrew