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Removing
dents in Royalex and Royalite canoes with a heat gun
Notes on heating Royalex
/ R-84 material: The foam core in Royalex / R-84 canoes has
a blowing agent in it that heat will activate. This is the
reason dents can be removed or greatly reduced. Many dents
will rise on their own, not requiring hand / glove use. Use
caution when heating the hull. If too much heat is applied, it
can burn or orange peel the hull. Be sure to wave the
heat gun in the dented area, this will allow gradual
heat build up and lessen the chance of damaging the hull.
If an
outside dent is noticeable from the inside of the hull. a heat
gun can be used to remove it. On the other hand, if it does
not show thru to the inside, it might be better to leave it
alone. The reason for this is, if not done with caution. You
can do more damage than good. Use your discretion, as to
what dents you'd like to remove.
You will
need a heat gun with a 300 - 500 degree heat range and
an oven mitt or welding glove. the glove allows you to push
the dent out from the inside with out burning your hand. While
heating the dented area, you should alternate from inside to
outside, concentrating more on the inside, 1-3 minutes are
usually required. As noted above, once the material is
pliable, push it out from the inside with your gloved hand. |
Fixing cosmetic dings and gouges in Royalex and Royalite canoes
Most exterior scratches and gouges are gouges to be cosmetic, meaning no structural damage will come from these blemishes. But it’s a good idea to periodically inspect for and fix the ones that go thru the outer layer and show the next later of substrate.
There are 2 different patch material that can be used, JB Weld for any repair exposed to impact or abrasion (most of the exterior). Or LocTite brand 5 minute epoxy for non critical areas like the interior. The advantage of the 5 min. epoxy is a color pigment can be added while mixing, resulting in a matching color patch material, no painting required. The color pigment is usually available at a marine store like West Marine, Boaters World or Boats U.S.
For the JB Weld patch, sand the area thoroughly with 80 or 100 grit sand paper. Clean the area with 409 or rubbing alcohol to remove all dirt, grease or oil. Mix the JB Weld by squeezing an equal amount of each tube, mix until it’s a solid gray. Support the canoe so the area to be patched is in a horizontal or flat position. JB Weld is a little runny when first mixed, so keeping the area flat allows it to flow smooth thru out the repair area. If you find it to runny you can let it set for a few minutes. Covering with clear tape also prevents running. Keep the fill as low as possible, the closer it is to the height of the original material, the less sanding is necessary and the better it will look. After the JB Weld hardens, sand smooth and touch up with acrylic enamel spray paint.
The procedure for patching with the 5 minute epoxy is the same as above accept while mixing the 2 parts, you add in the color pigment. The other difference will be that while filling the area make all attempts to fill it even with the surrounding area so no sanding is necessary. This allows for a better color match.
If you need to glue something to your Roylex/Royalite canoe we reccomend visiting Ace Hardware and getting you hands on some FLexible Vinyl Mender. It comes in a white tube with purple writing.
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Repairing Royalex and Royalite canoes
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Material list:
Epoxy resin ("West
System" recommended)
Alcohol (
for cleaning)
Epoxy Putty ("JB Weld" is what we use, but others can
be substituted)
10 oz.
fiberglass cloth
Release fabric |
Any of the
materials listed here are available from the
following sources. Some directly from their online
store, and others from their local store located in
your area.
BOAT
U.S. - This link goes to their web site, once
there follow the link for store locations. Or shop
online.
GOUGEON BROTHERS
INT. - Call for a catalog and a list of stocking
dealers. If there are none in your area, they will
sell direct. 517-684-7286
BOATERS
WORLD - Products available thru there
catalog or stores, not online. 1-800-682-2225
WEST
MARINE - Products available thru there catalog or
store, not online. 1-800-262-8464 |
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This
could be damage caused by a cut, rip, gouge or
major abrasion. All would be repaired in about the
same manner. Following is a description of a repair
that we would do on a Royalex or Royalite hull. There are
variations, but the basics are as follows:
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Grind
out the outer substrate and outer layer of vinyl or
Royalite at a very shallow angle. These two layers are
all that your patching material has to bond to, so
it is important to leave as much of this area as
possible.
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Position
the canoe, so the area to be filled, is horizontal.
Clean the area with alcohol. When dry, fill the
lower part of the void with an epoxy putty. JB
Weld works well. Fill it past the foam core, but not
all the way to the outer colored layer. Now let it
cure and harden. NOTE: Some epoxy
putty's are very runny when 1st mixed. It's
sometimes a good idea to let it stand for 5-10 min.
to allow it to thicken a bit before using.
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The
area must now be reground to accept the layers of
fiberglass cloth. Try to keep it as smooth and even
as possible to avoid air bubbles in the laminate.
Also as mentioned earlier, maintain plenty of
material on the outer layers for good bonding of the
fiberglass cloth
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The
cloth patches will be cut and laid up in succession,
from smallest to largest. The smallest patch will be
slightly larger than the diameter of the epoxy putty
fill, the largest would be big enough to cover the
whole repair area. The number of layers is dependant
upon the depth of the area to be patched.
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Before
applying the fiberglass, clean the area with
alcohol and mask off the area to be repaired
with masking tape. Read the directions supplied with
the epoxy resin. Mix accordingly and start applying
the fiberglass layers. Be sure to remove as many of
the air bubbles as possible with the brush. After
the epoxy patch has cured, sand the area smooth
making sure not to damage the existing colored
exterior layer (vinyl or R-84) around the patch.
The use of a
Release fabric (also called Peel Ply) will aid in
the removal of air bubbles and should make the
repair ready to paint with very little sanding.
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To use the Release Fabric: Lay a
piece for Release Fabric approximately 1"
larger than the repair area on the wet epoxy.
Lightly dab the fabric with epoxy only on the repair
area. The wet epoxy on the under side will wick
thru. After drying 8 or more hours, rip the release
fabric off of the repaired area. Saran Wrap can be
substituted, but the results will not be as good.
If
you find you did not us enough layers of fiberglass
to bring the patched area up to the same height of
the surrounding area, epoxy putty can be used
to fill the low spots. Match the color of the
exterior skin using Acrylic Enamel spray paint,
available at most paint or large hardware
chain stores. For smaller areas, it might be easier
to spray the paint on a piece of wax paper and brush
it on the repair with a small brush.
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