Old Gold and WOOD ROT.

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Papax3
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Old Gold and WOOD ROT.

Post by Papax3 »

Hey All !

At 53, my definition of an "old-timer" is forcibly starting to change... I swear that mentally I'm 26 or so, and I just can't seem to believe in the number 53. So.....

Anyway, I ran across a bit of sage-ness from an old-timer, in trying to fix my son's birthday present: a Hobie 18 catamaran. It has a few soft-spots that I'll be looking into. The old timer {in quite the scientific fashion}, showed both scientific studies, and years of experience in the Marine industry, in several examples of the best chemicals to use when coming up against WOOD ROT. Guess what the best chemical was....Ethylene Glycol, otherwise known as Antifreeze. It seems that antifreeze penetrates even better into wood than water, and once in the cellular structure, doesn't leave. His memorable example was that he had a clearly rotted section around a hole that used to hold a bolt in his boat {yeah... THAT never happens). The wood was saturated with water, and terribly punky to touch.
He soaked it in Antifreeze, and in 24 hours, it was completely dry. This confused him a little, until he realized the antifreeze -which loves water- had carried the water further into the wood... into the good wood... so much so, it sucked all moisture out of the rotted area, which was then dry, and crumbled in his hands. The article he presented also illustrated that Antifreeze is one of the few chemicals that will not inhibit glues or epoxies after treatment. Really great information. The other product I keep hearing about is GitRot, which is a ultra thin epoxy that will wick into punky wood by capillary attraction. The larger discussion in the article, was that GitRot won't {stop rot}. It will help the rotted area become solid again, but the Rot itself is an infection... and if untreated, it will continue on. So... first, Antifreeze to kill the infection, then GitRot epoxy to solid it up after the Antifreeze dries it out. *So cool.... the old-timers bring the Gold.

One day ~ahem~ very soon, I may be the guy that brings the Gold :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Thanx!
Bill Williams
We're just about finished with refurbishing our Chrysler 22, she's slipped, and ready for fun!

Lake Quachita, HotSprings Arkansas
Bill Williams
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Papax3
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Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2010 5:07 pm

clarification

Post by Papax3 »

A small clarification:

*nothing helps truly {utterly rotted} wood - it's gotta go.

But... if it has a chance before the rot decimates it:

Saturate in Antifreeze, and that should help dry out the wood.
GitRot won't work on water saturated wood, so using the antifreeze to kill the rot and dry out the wood is step 1. GitRot may help you salvage it thereafter, given that it can now wick into the drier wood. Other helpful hints are: cover the boat/ get it out of the weather, wait until the hot dry summer comes, use a fan in the cabin, and a blow-dryer directly on the site.
If you are going to add plywood reinforcement, or backing to the area, drilling a grid of ventilating holes is not a bad idea, given that it will ventilate and dry out better, and the holes will add some serious contact surface to the epoxy you'll use to apply the plywood backing with.
Gorilla glue also loves water, but the expansion rate of that polyurethane glue must be taken seriously: most folks apply a {thin layer} to a wetted surface, wait 10 minutes, and then clamp the hell out of it. WITH EXPANDING GLUES THE VOLUME OF GLUE YOU USE MUST BE THOUGHT OUT CAREFULLY.... a lot of glue might mean a lot of disaster -
if you use a ton, you will have an exploded mess on your hands.

To increase the cure-rate {and not have to wait 24 hours for Gorilla Glue to work}, use Vinegar and Baking Soda mixed into the glue. Vinegar ratio is half of the amount of glue you are using: 10 parts glue, 5 parts vinegar. once mixed, and ready to go, add 1/8th to 1/4 baking soda, and then apply.
The vinegar and baking soda make a more uniformed pattern of bubbles as the Gorilla Glue expands, and that chemical reaction releases water into the Gorilla Glue (which Gorilla Glue loves). instead of curing only on the surface layer from humidity in the air {and NOT cured on the inside until 24 hours later}, you will find you can have this glue completely set in 45 minutes. If you use the right volume of glue, you can control internal expansion when dealing with soft spots... make several {small} applications, each 45 minutes apart, instead of one large one (large= foam disaster).

Hope it helps.
Bill Williams
We're just about finished with refurbishing our Chrysler 22, she's slipped, and ready for fun!

Lake Quachita, HotSprings Arkansas
Bill Williams
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CaptainScott
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Post by CaptainScott »

interesting information, Love to see photos as you attack your project!

Scott
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