Zodiac Futura S repair . New original questions ( I hope ! )

Joined
Oct 19, 2017
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Hello everybody . I am a recent Zodiac Futura S 2001 owner , but very disappointed with the defects found later. Encouraged by this forum and the help given by its members, I have decided to make it back. Have a few questions: 1. Can the glue be removed today with MEK and start applying the new glue over a few days or weeks when I have time? 2. I have problems mainly with the floor, a few inches apart. Should I get down all the floor? 3. There are some detachments in the material areas that support the speed tubes. I do not know what the material is. Does it seem to be rubber bonded to pvc. Can it be fused with the same type of adhesive used only for pvc? 4.What do you think about HH 66? 5.What do you think about hot pvc soldering after correct glue removal, obviously?
Thank you in advance !
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
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Jul 23, 2011
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47,306
Welcome aboard

unfortunately you bought a 17 year old boat that has a 10-15 year life expectancy before the seams, glue, and even the fabric have deteriorated to the point of not being safe.
 

Sea Rider

Supreme Mariner
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Sep 20, 2008
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If one part from tubes, floor, rubber strake, handles becomes unglued, the entire part will follow. You can re glue the entire external inflatable parts except internal baffles which are placed and glued when the tubes are being assembled at the factory. When buying old inflatables usually pull hard on all glued parts, if anyone of them unglues will simply walk away..

Post some pics of the issues you want to restore. Zodiac Futura are PVC referred with a fancy french name called Strong something...

Happy Boating
 
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Oct 19, 2017
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Thank you Scott and Sea Rider ! I know the forums are the good part of a confused world like today....I realized the defects after I bought it , being hidden by the seller ...I bought SH one of money reasons and the good part ot this is maybe a better quality of production until 2010 , except the glue of the floor, but I know this problem after...One week ago I was a newbie , but after a lot of searching I drew the following conclusions :
1. The best solvent for the removal of old glue is MEK
2..I choose the new glue to be HH 66 , a very praised , yet underrated glue .
Now I would like to appeal to you and advice on the following issues :
3.The sib looks very good as the colour of the PVC fabric and very STRONG bonded , except one meter of the bow floor , both sides of that ''V'' . The transom area is very well preserved as well . As you can see in the attach . The floor is detached and there are two ribbons that have been attached at the bow , I do not know whether they are original or reinforcements of the owner . I detached them. Can I just stick to the portions with problems , because it is a shame to remove entire floor , being VERY WELL glued To my surprise , there is a big difference in sticking between that area of floor bow and the rest of the boat ! At the boundary I can say it is impossible to detach the floor and the pontoon.
4.Also there are two rounded patches perfectly glued on the bottom (externally ). Can I keep them and stick the rest to them ?
Through all this , I want to be as conservative as possible,but not to affect the quality of the floor renovation. Thank you in advance Depend on your answer I will please you with other questions..I can not upload attach..I will try again
 

Sea Rider

Supreme Mariner
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Sep 20, 2008
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Clean well with Mek all portions to be reglued, no old glue leftovers are allowed. If floor fabric is in good shape, just re glue the portions that have become un glued. It's a hell of labor and time doing the full floor fabric. If floor patches are holding well, leave them alone.

Happy Boating
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2017
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There are encouraging news ! Tell me please :
1.Can I do separate stages (days , weeks ) between MEK cleaning and glue application or must be done one after another ?
2.Is this good order : MEK cleaning - abrasive sandpaper -dry cleaning of debris with a a little brush - glue application ?
3.It is necessary to apply 2 layers of glue ? I will use HH 66 .
4.Even if the transom is in good condition , could I do a maintenance treatment and what paint to use and what would be the steps ( decreasing , what solvent , application,etc )?
 

Sea Rider

Supreme Mariner
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Sep 20, 2008
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Answering your points:

1-Clean with Mek, remove mechanically with something that scrapes gently the fabric to get rid of all old glue leftovers. bear in mind that Mek if abused when cleaning will end dissolving upper fabric, so don't use a lot when cleaning. It's better to clean and reglue soon afterwords.

2-Mek cleaning, remove old glue, sandpaper, apply glue.

3-Don't know HH 66, is it a 2 part glue ? Anyway when using 2 part glue, apply one coat, let dry till feels stick to finger, apply a second coat same way, join fabric to be re glued on top of each other and with a metal roller roll firmly downwards several times to have a non bubbles excellent joined surface.

4-Sand well old transom paint and re paint with any polyurethane good quality paint, apply at least 2 coats. Let dry between each coat.

Happy Boating
 
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Oct 19, 2017
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HH 66 is a one part glue . But how am I going to stick a longer length , let s say 2 meters, for glue drying reasons ? How should we do the operation : step by step, say 30 cm to apply the glue,wait for 5 minutes to dry , stick the parts , then move to another 30 cm and so on , or apply the glue all the distance of 2 meters and then start joining the parts ? How to handle this last situation , if that is correct , to reactivate the glue that has dried too much in the front portions I have to solder ?
 

Sea Rider

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Sep 20, 2008
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Which 2 meter part needs to be re glued, is it the side > floor fabric that bonds to lower tubes ? A s you will be using a one part product ask what's the best way to apply it, only work with 2 part ones which could differ the application method. Don't apply any type of heat direct on fabric when re gluing, if too much temp will screw, even blister the fabric.

Need to apply glue to the whole section to be re glued, just till bit tacky to fingernail, then other coat, joining parts must be well aligned together following their contours, shapes, whatever as peeling them off for correction could be very tricky once glued firm.

Happy Boating
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2017
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Let's say I have to apply glue over 1 meter long , between pontoon and floor , without interruptions. . I wanted to say that the time required to apply the glue on both sides take too long - maybe 15-20 minutes - during which the glue becomes too dry until the attachment of the parts begins , at least at the first centimeters with which I started . It s a glue that applies in one layer . Excuse me , but I did not understand how do I go for longer distance for bounding as an order of operations...
 

Sea Rider

Supreme Mariner
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Sep 20, 2008
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When applying 2 part glue, use a small container filled with sufficient glue and a small/medium round brush to extend glue throughout the entire lenght of the part that needs to be reglued, extend glue fast like painting something.

Contact product manufacturer and ask them how to apply product properly...

Happy Boating
 

jbcurt00

Moderator
Staff member
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Oct 25, 2011
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Mac, avoid posting in inactive topics like Billy Boatings pvc glue topic about the project he abandoned.

Just post a BillyBoating in your topic to notify him you'd like help about your project. It should works w all members user names.

Keeps the discussion about your projwct in your topic, not his.
 

Bonaventure

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 3, 2016
Messages
167
I applied a cemented on metal D ring to my Mariner 4 last spring. When it came to sanding I used a 2 inch diameter grinding stone which had stick on sandpaper attached to the flat face of the stone.. I did NOT use a power tool, just held the stone and hand sanded the area. I had marked the round area that was to take the piece I was putting in place with a marker. By having this stiff sanding device in hand I could very accuratly sand the material I needed. The sandpaper was trimmed to the edge of the Grinding Stone.

There are some screw on disks made by 3M that when attached to their backing plate would do the same type of job. Used as a hand sanding device.

I used a spray can Machinist Ink Remover to clean the area.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2017
Messages
18
Today I started detaching the pieces around the transom and found a complicated joint that I would like to replace, it's that white strap (photo ). Other ideas for transom holder on pontoons and possibly pictures?
In some areas where the old glue is not so obvious it's hard to see if you cleaned up well with MEK . How can you know that the area has been thoroughly cleaned if it is difficult to see the color change by removing the glue? IBOATS 1.jpg
 
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