Does this resin stick to timber?

[Burnerman]

I'm restoring a 62 year old sailing dingy, constructed from mahogany and marine ply.
I need to inject something into a gap between the keel and the ply bottom, as a filler.....it just needs to stick firmly in the gap prior to me fibre glassing over the top.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/rawlplug...V6YBQBh07ggafEAQYAyABEgLswvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I realise it isn't recommended for timber, but it hardly would be.....any comments anyone?
Thanks
John

 

[catlad]

Epoxy car body filler would spring to my mind first but the picture on the front does look like it is going through a garage door?

 

[Burnerman]

Thanks for your reply! I intend to use car filler for screw holes and suchlike, but on the keel I need to inject something to a depth of around 45mm - hence this product I'm pondering about.
John

 

[blup]

This says it does stick to wood, but suggests epoxy rather than polyester based resin for a better fix.

Polyester or Epoxy? How to choose your Resin (fibreglassdirect.co.uk)

Blup

 

[Burnerman]

Many thanks for your input!
I have around 30 feet of gap to inject, making epoxy resin somewhat prohibitive price wise but if the Screwfix stuff will actually adhere I could be on to a winner.
John

 

[Deleted member 174758]

My experience is that it sticks to pretty much everything that isn't greasy or dusty. It is, however, quite viscous, so I'd recommend getting a heavy duty caulking gun (Tajima, Cox, Ox, etc) if you don't already possess one.

 

[Burnerman]

Useful tips, thanks
John

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Haven't used it on wood per se, John, but I seem to have used way more resin than I wanted to over the last few years on listed building refurbs (although we generally use the thicker tubes which require their own special resin gun - Cox, Fisher or Hilti).and if anyone gets careless and drops some onto timber you have the devil's own job to get it off once it has set

Reference was made to types above. I don't know about what is going to be best in your environment, but vinylester resins (like Fisher FIS VL, also available at SFX) are supposedly the best option for use in corrosive environment such as salt water. I believe it is styrene-free, allowing application in enclosed spaces and it is suitable for use in wet or flooded environments and filing holes in timber. On reflection what I am less certain of is whether or not your application would permit a rigid resin to be used as opposed to a flexible one, so you may be best talking to Fisher technical about this before you buy

 

[Burnerman]

For sure, there’s food for thought there.....time for some more investigation and research I think.
Much appreciated!
John

 

[catlad]

Can't you just pour some resin into the crack/gap and stuff some matting/rope in the larger gaps if necessary.

 

[Burnerman]

Sadly, my projects are rarely straightforward!
At present the boat is inverted so I can work on the keel. Unfortunately this means that I have to inject any resin solution slightly uphill.....if gravity was in my favour I would have poured activated fibreglass resin into the join, but hence my need to inject so I can get the resin deep inside the gap.
John

 

[opps]

Wouldn't the cheapest option (by far) be expanding foam? So long as you spray a mist of water in to the gaps it will stick to the timber and is waterproof, and allows for movement. Excess foam can be cut and sanded back. I would recommend paying a little extra for the minimal expanding foam and a fiver or so for the gun cleaner (acetone) if you need to wipe away any "mistakes".

UV light makes the surface foam brittle but you are going to cover it anyway.

The bolt fix stuff is extremely messy to work with, especially upside down. If you use that and it slumps out it will be a mare to clean up. That said, I have only ever used it for bolt fixing and window sill stitching. When using it helifix bars on sills, I always leave it a few mm below the surface and then use 2 pack over the top. I recently did a job where someone else fixed the helifix bars with the bolt fix resin. It took me ages to chisel away the excess resin.

At a guess, I would say that the foam will be up to 10(?) times cheaper.

 

[Burnerman]

Many thanks for your input appreciated!
My reasoning for using resin is because I fear that the plywood hull edge, capped externally by a timber keel is somewhat compromised due to age and maybe some rot. Therefore hopefully the resin will inject some strength into that area as well as holding the hull and keel together.
Replacement of the ply hull at this point is nigh on impossible as I don’t want to interfere with the keel any more than necessary.
Realistically this dingy is rather past it, but it was purchased by a son for his parents a few years ago. Sadly the son died from motor neurone disease recently, hence I have to give it a go.
John