fixing Velcro to Kevlar
 

Hi. I am looking for ways to fix Velcro straps to the hull of a Kevlar Sea
Kayak.
The straps would be to secure lead ballast and other gear
I am thinking of using thickened epoxy or contact cement.


I would greatly appreciate your advice.
Thanks

fixing Velcro to Kevlar
 

Here's an engineering approach: /untested/
find a washer mounted screwed stud or two.
These have a perforated disk or washer with a screw stud welded on.
Assuming the kevlar is epoxy glued, apply a glass patch with
zig-zag edges over the screwed stud with epoxy to the hull.

Now you have a hard point. you could bolt a velcro strip, or a wood
strip and glue velcro etc.....

Brian W

On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 18:48:40 -0000, "job" wrote:

Hi. I am looking for ways to fix Velcro straps to the hull of a Kevlar Sea
Kayak.
The straps would be to secure lead ballast and other gear
I am thinking of using thickened epoxy or contact cement.


I would greatly appreciate your advice.
Thanks

fixing Velcro to Kevlar
 

I have used contact cement for this purpose before with quite good results.
Just make sure your surfaces are very clean before glueing. Roughing up the
surface with a light sanding will also aid the bond and make sure to use a
good brand of marine contact adhesive as some just don't hold up well.

"job" wrote in message
...
Hi. I am looking for ways to fix Velcro straps to the hull of a Kevlar Sea
Kayak.
The straps would be to secure lead ballast and other gear
I am thinking of using thickened epoxy or contact cement.


I would greatly appreciate your advice.
Thanks

fixing Velcro to Kevlar
 

I am looking for ways to fix Velcro straps to the hull of a Kevlar Sea
Kayak.
The straps would be to secure lead ballast and other gear
I am thinking of using thickened epoxy or contact cement

I think you will be bonding to whatever resin was used with the Kevlar, or
perhaps a gelcoat or paint over the resin-Kevlar, rather than directly to the
Kevlar.

Provided the surface is reasonably smooth and clean, I think a
non-water-soluble contact cement will work well. I use contact cement to glue
neoprene strips to gelcoat (or the underlying epoxy) on the gunwales of my
small sailboats (a nice material to keep the trapezing crew's feet from
sliding).




Alexander "Ali" Meller
http://www.sailing.org/int505/

fixing Velcro to Kevlar
 

job wrote:

Hi. I am looking for ways to fix Velcro straps to the hull of a Kevlar Sea
Kayak.
The straps would be to secure lead ballast and other gear
I am thinking of using thickened epoxy or contact cement.

The hook side of Velcro is very difficult to bond to. I don't know for
certain, but it appears to be made of polyethylene, which would explain
the bonding difficulties. Also, Velcro on it's own is not all that
strong and I wouldn't trust it to hold ballast weights without some
reinforcement. Your best bet is to sew the velcro to polyester webbing
(or nylon if you can't find polyester), then epoxy the webbing to the
hull. The webbing will bond well with epoxy. Contact cement will also
work, but it's best used in areas where it's not constantly wet.