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Author Topic:   Replacement Foam

aquaholic3720 posted 02-23-2009 01:08 PM ET (US)
I have been reading all I could in this great website. Everyone is so helpful, and thank you Jim H, all the moderators, and contributors for your help. I am attempting to restore a 1961 SPORT 13. I have had to cut out several pieces of the inner deck due to bad glass. I have removed the rotten foam and now need to replace what was removed. The two-part mix foam is very pricey and I do not need all that much. Someone stated that they had tried the spray foam from Home Depot ("Great Stuff" I believe). I was wondering if this would be a viable alternative to the more expensive two-part mix? I am not sure if it will work for this application. I did try the can of spray foam from DAP; it did not set up very well so it has since been removed. Any help would be appreciated. I have two of these 1961 Sports with the original Mercury 35-HP engines, and I am just thinking about selling both as a package deal. Let's see what the replies are for the foam and maybe I will put them in the classified section as my health issues do not allow me to work on them much. Thanks for listening to the ramblings of an old man. Have a great day !
Tohsgib posted 02-23-2009 01:15 PM ET (US)
That Great Stuff is pretty good stuff...maybe even great. I would give it a go for few bucks and see.
macfam posted 02-23-2009 08:17 PM ET (US)
A couple of years ago in the fall, I pulled my Sur-Mor mooring ball to install my winter stick. I had noticed how the ball was not as buoyant as before, and was heavy. Upon further examination, the ball was full of saltwater. I drilled several holes in the top and bottom to let it drain. After several weeks I injected Great Stuff into the bottom holes until it expanded out the top holes. Believe me, that stuff keeps expanding and expanding out the top (sprue) holes. It is extremely sticky stuff too, and wearing disposable gloves is the way to go. After it set, I trimmed the foam, and pushed the foam a bit into the holes and filled the top with Marine-Tex. Good as new. No problems after two seasons.
I think it could be used for a Whaler as well. Be sure to have a release sprue hole at the other end of the void area. Inject foam, and let it expand. Clean up as you go. Let expand fully and cure. Push a small amount of the cured foam back into the hole. Finish with Marine-Tex and/or Spectrum patch.
pglein posted 02-24-2009 01:02 PM ET (US)
I've used the Great Stuff for minor repairs to low-impact areas of the hull on my 13'. It worked great for that. However, I would be careful using it in high traffic areas of the floor, or in high-impact areas of the hull. I don't think it has the same density of the foam used by Whaler, so it will be more prone to compression and expansion than the original foam. At the very least, this would suggest the need for a thicker, stronger layup of glass over the repair, possibly with some structural elements added if the size is larger than a few inches. Great Stuff comes in two versions; one for big gaps, and one for small gaps. I'm not sure of the charachteristics of each, but I would buy a can of each and test them out to see which gives a more dense, stronger, and water-resistant final product. If someone wanted to take on this project for the entire group, that would be very valuable.
I would suggest taking both products, as well as perhaps some other products, and creating a couple sample laminations. Take each product and sandwich it between a couple pieces of plastic sheet. Measure the thickness immediately after application, then measure it a day later, after it has cured to determine the latent expansion. Then place a prescribed amount of weight on it (say, 100#) and measure how much it compresses. Weigh the pieces, and sumberge them in a bucket of water and leave it overnight. Weigh them in the morning. Then repeat the test with the addition of repeated cycles of addition and removal of weight. Weigh them to determine the extent of water intrustion, and evaluate their condition.
I would think the results might be somewhat interesting.
towboater posted 02-24-2009 11:53 PM ET (US)
Try the plumbers foam. Waterproof, more density. Tho a can cost about the same as OK Stuff, plumbers foam does not expand nearly as much.
OK Stuff soaks up water, plumbers foam does not.
Refs avail.
I will us OK Foam to inject into milk jugs to make cheap buoys but only plumbers foam on my boats.
mk
aquaholic3720 posted 03-21-2009 03:04 AM ET (US)
Just as I thought you whaler guys are the best. There is alot of good info there and I thank all who replied. Can I assume I would get "plumbers foam" at a plumbing supply house ? I will check tomorrow and find out. Thanks again and let the projects continue. Safe boating to all. jon
aquaholic3720 posted 03-26-2009 03:15 PM ET (US)
OK Here is what I found and hopefully it will help someone out. I filled several spots with the "OK" Stuff (lol). #1 spot: I put wax paper and a weighted flat metal plate on top with a vent hole. I used the plate to keep the fill area flat and the wax paper to keep the plate free of the foam. BAD IDEA using the wax paper. The result was a nice flat fill, the foam did vent out the hole as designed but the foam needed the air to set properly. The area was about 3 inches deep, 4" square. The outside seemed to set ok but it was spongy (-2sp) inside and after cutting the wax paper off the top it seemed to harden without an more expansion. Oh I did let the foam set for 24 hours days before cutting the paper off the top. It took another day for the spongy area to harden. Make sure you cut the paper off with a knife and not try to peel it off as the foam will go with it. Enough for this blog. I Will post more later. jon

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Author	Topic: Replacement Foam
aquaholic3720	posted 02-23-2009 01:08 PM ET (US) I have been reading all I could in this great website. Everyone is so helpful, and thank you Jim H, all the moderators, and contributors for your help. I am attempting to restore a 1961 SPORT 13. I have had to cut out several pieces of the inner deck due to bad glass. I have removed the rotten foam and now need to replace what was removed. The two-part mix foam is very pricey and I do not need all that much. Someone stated that they had tried the spray foam from Home Depot ("Great Stuff" I believe). I was wondering if this would be a viable alternative to the more expensive two-part mix? I am not sure if it will work for this application. I did try the can of spray foam from DAP; it did not set up very well so it has since been removed. Any help would be appreciated. I have two of these 1961 Sports with the original Mercury 35-HP engines, and I am just thinking about selling both as a package deal. Let's see what the replies are for the foam and maybe I will put them in the classified section as my health issues do not allow me to work on them much. Thanks for listening to the ramblings of an old man. Have a great day !
Tohsgib	posted 02-23-2009 01:15 PM ET (US) That Great Stuff is pretty good stuff...maybe even great. I would give it a go for few bucks and see.
macfam	posted 02-23-2009 08:17 PM ET (US) A couple of years ago in the fall, I pulled my Sur-Mor mooring ball to install my winter stick. I had noticed how the ball was not as buoyant as before, and was heavy. Upon further examination, the ball was full of saltwater. I drilled several holes in the top and bottom to let it drain. After several weeks I injected Great Stuff into the bottom holes until it expanded out the top holes. Believe me, that stuff keeps expanding and expanding out the top (sprue) holes. It is extremely sticky stuff too, and wearing disposable gloves is the way to go. After it set, I trimmed the foam, and pushed the foam a bit into the holes and filled the top with Marine-Tex. Good as new. No problems after two seasons. I think it could be used for a Whaler as well. Be sure to have a release sprue hole at the other end of the void area. Inject foam, and let it expand. Clean up as you go. Let expand fully and cure. Push a small amount of the cured foam back into the hole. Finish with Marine-Tex and/or Spectrum patch.
pglein	posted 02-24-2009 01:02 PM ET (US) I've used the Great Stuff for minor repairs to low-impact areas of the hull on my 13'. It worked great for that. However, I would be careful using it in high traffic areas of the floor, or in high-impact areas of the hull. I don't think it has the same density of the foam used by Whaler, so it will be more prone to compression and expansion than the original foam. At the very least, this would suggest the need for a thicker, stronger layup of glass over the repair, possibly with some structural elements added if the size is larger than a few inches. Great Stuff comes in two versions; one for big gaps, and one for small gaps. I'm not sure of the charachteristics of each, but I would buy a can of each and test them out to see which gives a more dense, stronger, and water-resistant final product. If someone wanted to take on this project for the entire group, that would be very valuable. I would suggest taking both products, as well as perhaps some other products, and creating a couple sample laminations. Take each product and sandwich it between a couple pieces of plastic sheet. Measure the thickness immediately after application, then measure it a day later, after it has cured to determine the latent expansion. Then place a prescribed amount of weight on it (say, 100#) and measure how much it compresses. Weigh the pieces, and sumberge them in a bucket of water and leave it overnight. Weigh them in the morning. Then repeat the test with the addition of repeated cycles of addition and removal of weight. Weigh them to determine the extent of water intrustion, and evaluate their condition. I would think the results might be somewhat interesting.
towboater	posted 02-24-2009 11:53 PM ET (US) Try the plumbers foam. Waterproof, more density. Tho a can cost about the same as OK Stuff, plumbers foam does not expand nearly as much. OK Stuff soaks up water, plumbers foam does not. Refs avail. I will us OK Foam to inject into milk jugs to make cheap buoys but only plumbers foam on my boats. mk
aquaholic3720	posted 03-21-2009 03:04 AM ET (US) Just as I thought you whaler guys are the best. There is alot of good info there and I thank all who replied. Can I assume I would get "plumbers foam" at a plumbing supply house ? I will check tomorrow and find out. Thanks again and let the projects continue. Safe boating to all. jon
aquaholic3720	posted 03-26-2009 03:15 PM ET (US) OK Here is what I found and hopefully it will help someone out. I filled several spots with the "OK" Stuff (lol). #1 spot: I put wax paper and a weighted flat metal plate on top with a vent hole. I used the plate to keep the fill area flat and the wax paper to keep the plate free of the foam. BAD IDEA using the wax paper. The result was a nice flat fill, the foam did vent out the hole as designed but the foam needed the air to set properly. The area was about 3 inches deep, 4" square. The outside seemed to set ok but it was spongy (-2sp) inside and after cutting the wax paper off the top it seemed to harden without an more expansion. Oh I did let the foam set for 24 hours days before cutting the paper off the top. It took another day for the spongy area to harden. Make sure you cut the paper off with a knife and not try to peel it off as the foam will go with it. Enough for this blog. I Will post more later. jon