General Purpose Sealant?

[SKMT]

What's a good general purpose sealant for most everything that's not below or near the waterline?

Currently, I'm attaching angle moulding to my hardtop as a water collection lip and need to seal the edge. Also need to reseal leaky windows.

[mike d.]

Butyl Tape ! Never dries out, and you can always get the part off ! More important is it will/should never leak if done right !

[Patrigo]

Google 'Soudal T Rex'. The strongest adhesive/sealant on the planet. It STICKS!!

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Patrigo

Google 'Soudal T Rex'. The strongest adhesive/sealant on the planet. It STICKS!!

My experience with this product was not particularly good. I found that it has little long term UV stability, perhaps good where there is no UV exposure.

[Allied39]

There is no such thing.
Something designed to do two things does neither well.
Leaky windows is a totally different animal than bedding deck hardware.
Just sayin.
Not interested in arguing or dealing with trolls.

[sailah]

I'm a big fan of 3M 4000 UV silicone. Seals well, sets fast, won't fade. Just applied a bunch today to seal my console down on the Whaler. It's not the same permanent strength as 5200, but I like to think of the next person that will eventually need to undo my work. I've been cursed enough in this lifetime, no sense adding to my tally in the next.

https://www.jamestowndistributors.co...t+Cure+Sealant

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Allied39

There is no such thing.
Something designed to do two things does neither well.
Leaky windows is a totally different animal than bedding deck hardware.
Just sayin.
Not interested in arguing or dealing with trolls.

This^^.

Dow 795 is the leader for glazing. Sika 291 if used with the correct primer.

Butyl is great for things that are through bolted, like winches, but if some adhesive value is needed, not so much. It can also cause crazing if in direct contact with polycarbonate.

3M 4000 UV, 3M 4200, Sika 295, and Locktite PL S40 are all good choices, plus many others. They won't be easy to remove, of course. 3M 5200 is very difficult to remove and is not what you want IMO.

Good luck. The left overs keep pretty well in the fridge if you seal and bag them. Otherwise, they will be solid in a few weeks after opening.

[slug]

Yah 4200 and Sika are the industry standard

Stay away from silicone ...it’s s special situation bedding

Butyl tape is overrated .. it’s another special situation bedding

[SKMT]

So many choices...and doesn't seem to be a consensus.

What are your opinions on Loctite Marine?

[slug]

Originally Posted by SKMT

So many choices...and doesn't seem to be a consensus.

What are your opinions on Loctite Marine?

Loctite is Henkel ... a huge industrial sealant company

I’m sure they have suitable products I just have never used them

3m and Sika market heavily to the marine industry so are widely available on the waterfront

[coopec43]

Maybe this would help?


https://www.pbo.co.uk/gear/which-adh...-is-best-20877

[Sailguy61]

3M 4000 UV It's strong, stands up well in the sun, and can be removed if needed.

[mvweebles]

I keep a small tube of LifeCaulk in my tool drawer for small bedding such as replacing a broken snap fastener. The reason I keep it around is the tube seems to stay usable for many months after opening whereas other types dry-out and are hard to re-use even if stored with a cap on and/or a long screw down the nozzle.

As you can see from the table below from Practical Sailor in 2017, they seem to like other types. Sika 291 comes to mind which I use a lot. Practical Sailor likes the Loctite Marine brand.

Peter

[s/v Jedi]

Lifecaulk is a polysulfide which is a very good sealant but not an adhesive. Much like butyl. 3M used to have it and it was called 101. I believe they discontinued it in order to sell the other products.

We have had big problems with 3M4000UV which, in the shade, was breaking down after less than a year. Apparently, 3M had all kinds of excuses like bad batches, formulation errors etc. but the end result was hours of work to get rid of it. I never tried it again.

I use LifeCaulk, Rod Collins’ butyl tape and 5200. For heads/galley/countertops etc. I still use a mildew free silicone.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Lifecaulk is a polysulfide which is a very good sealant but not an adhesive.

I use LifeCaulk, Rod Collins’ butyl tape and 5200. For heads/galley/countertops etc. I still use a mildew free silicone.

Probably explains the long shelf-life once opened. BTW - has anyone had problems with Silicone - soft, non-cured - going bad once opened for a while, as in a couple months? You know the drill, you just need a smidgen for a small non-critical project and dig-out an old tube where the nozzle has long ago hardened so you bust-open the carcass or cut the nozzle all the way off to reveal non-cured sealant. Sealant is still soft, but a bit granular and never (NEVER!) hardens. I'd never had that problem before moving to hot/humid Florida.

Thoughts?

Peter