What do you all think of "Flex Seal"

[taxwizz]

Originally Posted by dduresky

Tried Flex Seal. Two years later... no leaks. YMMV but I love the stuff

YMMV ??
What is YMMV ??
Sorry...I am an old guy.

[Wheels53]

I used the flex seal tape to repair a small hole in my Avon Inflatable Dinghy (Hypalon fabric). It seems to have worked very well. Did the repair 3 weeks ago and have not had to pump up the dinghy since.

[taxwizz]

What I take away from this discussion is that Flex Seal works pretty well....for a while.
But the leak will require a more permanent solution within a year or two.
But it is still good for emergencies.

[LifePart2]

Originally Posted by taxwizz

YMMV ??
What is YMMV ??
Sorry...I am an old guy.

YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary -i.e. that was my experience, but you might get different results

[JBsurfin]

Originally Posted by Rohan

If you haven't seen the ads, Flex seal is basically a group of products that claim to provide a flexible, water tight seal, applicable with a spray can, tape, or caulk type gun. https://www.flexsealproducts.com/

I have seen a lot of these commercials, including where this guy makes a functioning boat out of the product, but normally I don't pay that much attention to TV.

There are many other sealants on the market. But the commercial claims it even hardens UNDER WATER, and that got my attention. That is a big deal, and something that I could have really used in the past. (previously, the only product I knew of that would fix a leak underwater was this stuff for swimming pools and it was actually two different types of paste that you had to mix together just prior to applying). So using Flex Tape, for example, you could theoretically patch a small leak on your boat, or use the Flex glue or Flex Shot to repair through hull seals, even if they are underwater.

So I bought some flex glue. At the moment, I don't really have anything critical to use it on so I made a small test, deliberately as difficult as possible. I filled a bucket with cold water. Then put two pieces of very smooth plastic under the water and glued them together. I really didn't think this would work, but I felt a grip on it right away. The product says it takes 24-48 hours to fully cure (underwater might be different, I don't know). But about 12 hours later I checked it, and they were holding together pretty strongly. That's amazing!! I have never seen anything do that before.

On the other hand, not all reviews are positive. The most common complaint on web sites seem to be that the stuff requires a special type of caulk gun and is sometimes too difficult to push out of the tube (apparently it has a shelf life of 24 months and older product apparently is very thick and more difficult to apply than when it is fresh)

Have any of you tried this? What do you all think of its potential?

I bought the parches for my boating buddies as a xmass gift a couple yrs back. One guy had a 1" hole punched into his hull. He threw one on the inside and one on the outside and its stopped the leak. Was able to get back to his marina for a hail out. UL did a verification on this product and verified it does what it says. It will adhere underwater.. My buddy was proof enough for me.

[JBsurfin]

Originally Posted by Ndavies

My friend had some damage the other day while we were at sea due to an overtopping wave damaging his da it supports. He tried to seal a small hole with flex seal tape....but found it won’t stick to fiberglass when wet. So much for the ads!

I gave patches to boating friends, one guy had a 1" hole punched in.. His stuck solid to fiberglass. placed on inside, another on the outside. made it back to port.

[kvstein]

Flex Seal was of no help when I tried to reseal the windows on my C&C 41. But then again nothing worked. I had to fiberglass the whole area and cut out hatches for windows from New Found Metals.

[zboss]

Flex Seal Tape was recommended by my rigger for the mast partner on our keel stepped mast and it works really well. Cheap and if it fails I can pick up a new roll cheaply at Home Depot.

[rwaldrop13]

While I haven't used it on a boat yet, I had to purchase the dinosaur tape for an emergency repair on my wife's Saturn Ion. The top of the windshield has a gasket that almost looks cosmetic, but actually keeps rain and dirt out of the windshield mounting trough. While in transit between NC and FL, the gasket came out - age of the car I guess. I went to the nearest auto parts store and purchased a roll of the tape, and laid it across the windshield and gasket. It holds beautifully and is showing no signs of letting go. The tape actually blends well with the gasket and the only reason for actually removing it would be to replace the original gasket.

[tomtriad]

I used some Gorilla flex tape (1/2 price of Flex) to patch a 2' long crack along the keel of my Sunfish as a temporary fix. Worked great, stayed put for 2 months. Keel split open about 1/4 to 1/2" wide. Had to be careful launching from dock to not peel the end off. Had good results with Locktite marine adhesive, good down to 32 degrees F provided surface was dry - careful to examine/squeeze tube to make sure it hadnt kicked on the shelf at HD.

[verb88]

ditto for my dink, but it was PVC, seams & tubes to fiberglass bottom. wassnt pretty but it worked - 2 plus years and counting

[Deep.blue]

Used the flex seal spray (recommended by my custom installer) around a leaking ceiling vent on my RV. Sprayed on in a rain storm. One year later, still working 100% under full sun exposure.

[piloto]

For what it’s worth, I’ve been painting the stuff on my ancient (thread bare, in some places) hypalon dinghy and it stops the leaks for the season in the Carribean. Seems to work quite well.

[AJA]

I have used flex seal, to seal a leak around my mizzen mast. It worked ok, although it took 5 or 6 coats to build up. The problem is that it broke down ( stopped being flexible) after one season.

[Cynara]

I had good success with flex glue mounting a flag pole. Obviously not a critical boat project. The key is drying time. The tube said let dry for 7 days.

For seriously critical applications be careful.