Best adhesive for teak?

[SteveB]

Hello!

We recently bought a few teak racks and fixtures that we'd like to add to the interior of our tug. Things like a folding drink holder for the helm seat and a couple of racks to hold binoculars, sunglasses and other loose items.

My question is this: I was planning on using Gorilla Glue to attach these items directly to the interior fiberglass walls of the cabin, since I don't want to drive screws through the cabin walls to attach them. The problem is, Gorilla Glue would last for the rest of my life. I figured I'd ask the more experienced folks for some suggestions for other adhesives that would hold the fixtures nicely but give me some chance of removing them should I ever want to.

On the other hand, Gorilla Glue expands, so it has to be tightly clamped while it dries. Another plus would be a marine adhesive that becomes tacky and can hold the teak items in place by itself while they dry. Or, I suppose I could use a five-minute adhesive in addition.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

-Steve

 

[captain's cat]

Most of the C-Brats that have done this use 3M 5200. Just make sure it's where you want it when that stuff hardens....

Charlie

 

[Andrew Custis]

I agree with Charlie on this one. We use 1100 and if you want it to take the fiberglass off with it when or if you ever want to remove it then use 5200.

 

[Steamboat_Willie]

I've used the ITW Plexus methacrylate glue many times before with all kinds of assorted materials with excellent results. It holds nicely with teak and cures fast. I usually clean the adhesive side of the teak with a solvent like lacquer thinner or naptha just to get rid of any inherent surface wood oil. I've found the Plexus MA-300 adhesive is a good general purpose adhesive and very strong. http://www.itwplexus.com/UserFiles/File/PlexusSelectorGuide.pdf Once it cures and bonds it can't be removed as some of those other adhesives allow. The working time on the MA-300 is about 4-6 minutes. Unfortunately it isn't all that cheap and there aren't alot of "consumer" retailers who sell it. I buy the 1 oz tubes from Jamestown Distributors http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/ Be aware that the larger sized glue tube for this adhesive requires a special adhesive gun as well as some external mixing ratio (10:1) tubes. So the smaller 1 oz tubes are probably more cost effective for our own misc repair usage. Hope this helps.
Ed

 

[j&lgray]

On the Laurie Ann, all the additional teak items were fastened with screws using brass corner brackets into either the teak shelf or the vertical spice rack. Now, two years, 500 hours and 2,500 miles later, they are still rock solid. I have used various adhesives and found that over time and with vibration and the stress of galley use, all of the adhesives would fail and I went back to mechanical fasteners. Gluing to the cabin wall is problematic because you have to remove the fabric liner and if that is not done well, you get to live with the result.