carpet adhesive.

[Luke]

do you all use normal carpet glue or something else?
reason I ask is I ordered the carpet for my Bass Cat from Bass Cat.
parts guy there told me that they use Weldwood Contact Cement at the factory with new boats.
so if I understood him correctly he said to put the contact cement on the back of the carpet as well as the deck area. then put the carpet down as this till give me time to get wrinkles out and so on.
never used the contact cement before so wanted to ask to be sure.

[crank68]

Weldwood...put it on the boat and carpet give it a few mins to set first.

[Luke]

that was how I understood it also. put the cement on both let it dry some and then put it down and smooth the wrinkles out.

[mxmike]

I'm going to be the contrarian here cuz I'm old and slow . WeldWood is good stuff but..... Contact cement is designed to be applied to both surfaces and allow to dry some. Then when both coated surfaces make contact with each other it's Stuck PERIOD and you aint moving it.

IMHO....If you are not doing carpet jobs every day. I would suggest using an outdoor carpet adhesive like Roberts on the large flat areas and the WeldWood contact cement on the compartment lid edges . With the Roberts, you'll need to put some weights on the carpet and let it dry over night. But it is much more forgiving and gives you plenty of time to make adjustments and smooth the carpet out. Just something to think about..

[bassboat1]

Weldwood Outdoor Carpet adhesive. Use the right trowel for your carpet, or you'll be doing it twice.

[Scott S.]

Do you have an air compressor? A weenie ass compressor will do, get a cheap spray gun from Harbor freight, oh get the right weldwood. Dap Weldwood Contact Adhesive - Landau Top and Trim HHR Solvent Type Spray Grade 1 Gallon

It sprays on, just tighten up the spray pattern, your not painting a car. SCREW the trowel, and that other glue mentioned above. I used to work for sea ray, 5 a day, we didn't wait for that shit to dry. Spray it and lay it down, carpet has pinholes in it, the glue will dry. Get a pack of blades, 20-25, keep your cuts clean you don't want shaggy cuts.

[Scott S.]

[Large5513]

Henrys 263 is what i just used.

[TBOGEYBOGEY]

I have done many boats and use weldwood Dap. I do small sections at a time and spray it on. When the carpet touches it is on....it will rip the rubber backing off if you have to peel it up.

[tracer1]

Well, I gonna play the devil's advocate here. I used Weldwood Contact cement (red can ), don't remember the technical term for it. I used a $.69 paint brush from Harbor Freight. Bought about six of them so I could just throw them away. I applied a thin coat to the fiberglass, which I thoroughly cleaned with alcohol to remover any residue. Then rolled the carpet down a small a section at a time. I smoothed it out for no wrinkles, etc, etc. I did not apply it to both sides & let it "cure". I was able to work it somewhat before it dried. If you put it on both sides, let it cure, then put it down, you better make damn sure it's right, because you have what you have. I let mine dry for about 30 minutes before I continued. You could not remove it without tearing the backing off the carpet. I tried this with a sample & it ripped it to pieces. Now I know all you die hard carpet professionals are going to try to rip my way to pieces. This is how I did it & have done it before on my other Ranger 4 years ago. Sold it to a friend of mine & the carpet is still there & looks great. Not saying my way or the highway, just how I did it. Seems like this has been asked a hundred times on here and a hundred difference answers. All of the glues & methods mentioned are good, just depends of how you want to do it. Here is mine finished. Oh, the deck is padded also.


IMG_0278.jpg

[arjone01]

Well, I gonna play the devil's advocate here. I used Weldwood Contact cement (red can ), don't remember the technical term for it. I used a $.69 paint brush from Harbor Freight. Bought about six of them so I could just throw them away. I applied a thin coat to the fiberglass, which I thoroughly cleaned with alcohol to remover any residue. Then rolled the carpet down a small a section at a time. I smoothed it out for no wrinkles, etc, etc. I did not apply it to both sides & let it "cure". I was able to work it somewhat before it dried. If you put it on both sides, let it cure, then put it down, you better make damn sure it's right, because you have what you have. I let mine dry for about 30 minutes before I continued. You could not remove it without tearing the backing off the carpet. I tried this with a sample & it ripped it to pieces. Now I know all you die hard carpet professionals are going to try to rip my way to pieces. This is how I did it & have done it before on my other Ranger 4 years ago. Sold it to a friend of mine & the carpet is still there & looks great. Not saying my way or the highway, just how I did it. Seems like this has been asked a hundred times on here and a hundred difference answers. All of the glues & methods mentioned are good, just depends of how you want to do it. Here is mine finished. Oh, the deck is padded also.


IMG_0278.jpg

Been doing it this way for years. Tried the spray gun. More hassle than help. You’re not as dumb as you think

[SoonerFan]

I'm going to be the contrarian here cuz I'm old and slow . WeldWood is good stuff but..... Contact cement is designed to be applied to both surfaces and allow to dry some. Then when both coated surfaces make contact with each other it's Stuck PERIOD and you aint moving it.

IMHO....If you are not doing carpet jobs every day. I would suggest using an outdoor carpet adhesive like Roberts on the large flat areas and the WeldWood contact cement on the compartment lid edges . With the Roberts, you'll need to put some weights on the carpet and let it dry over night. But it is much more forgiving and gives you plenty of time to make adjustments and smooth the carpet out. Just something to think about..

Mike is correct. I use to rep adhesives and I do not understand the use of contact adhesives on carpet that I see on the board. Done correctly, contact is intended to be an "instant grab" adhesive. It should be allowed to set up to where it's just tacky enough to leg up some and leave a finger print. Once it's set it's only going to be moved with a chisel. I have seen countertop installers lay their laminate into the contact while it's still wet when they had to jockey a backsplash or something like that. I also know the automotive trim people use contact when they want something to stick right now and not have to worry about a piece of carpet trim drooping down.

Everyone can use what they want but in my experience, if it were my boat I would use Roberts (never Weldwood or DAP) exterior grade carpet adhesive.

[Scott S.]

You won't see a boat builder with a trowel of a can. Binks 2 quart pot,Binks 2100 2.8 tip with a 10' fuild/air hose, weldwood sprayable and go to town, the hotter the better, no clamping bullshiat.

[g352nv]

Mike is correct. I use to rep adhesives and I do not understand the use of contact adhesives on carpet that I see on the board. Done correctly, contact is intended to be an "instant grab" adhesive. It should be allowed to set up to where it's just tacky enough to leg up some and leave a finger print. Once it's set it's only going to be moved with a chisel. I have seen countertop installers lay their laminate into the contact while it's still wet when they had to jockey a backsplash or something like that. I also know the automotive trim people use contact when they want something to stick right now and not have to worry about a piece of carpet trim drooping down.

Everyone can use what they want but in my experience, if it were my boat I would use Roberts (never Weldwood or DAP) exterior grade carpet adhesive.

In my shop we used 3m 90 for automotive. Headliners, carpet, custom audio installs ect. Ive used it on two boats now and its worked awesome although the cost is a bit more.

[arjone01]

Mike is correct. I use to rep adhesives and I do not understand the use of contact adhesives on carpet that I see on the board. Done correctly, contact is intended to be an "instant grab" adhesive. It should be allowed to set up to where it's just tacky enough to leg up some and leave a finger print. Once it's set it's only going to be moved with a chisel. I have seen countertop installers lay their laminate into the contact while it's still wet when they had to jockey a backsplash or something like that. I also know the automotive trim people use contact when they want something to stick right now and not have to worry about a piece of carpet trim drooping down.

Everyone can use what they want but in my experience, if it were my boat I would use Roberts (never Weldwood or DAP) exterior grade carpet adhesive.

Because when you carpet more than one, you realize you need a fast setting adhesive that will allow you to work and manage a piece all the while holding in the right places. It’s effective, efficient and takes out a lot of headache. I have tried Henry’s and others and in my opinion the only good application for those types of glue are for the flat deck piece in the floor. Still prefer contact. Lots of round corners and flaps that need to stay in place as you manipulate the carpet to fit perfect. No other glue offers that. You may understand adhesives, but I take it you’ve not carpeted much.

[arjone01]

Best way to use contact cement is brush it onto the hull surfaces heavy and liberally as much as you can on the carpet. You’ll learn the rubber doesn’t want to take the glue as well so don’t waste your time on that. Essentially you’re adding enough glue to the hull surfaces to saturate the hull pieces and carpet. I wait till I can put my finger on it and it strings up wet and not completely tacky. Not to where the glue has dried and turned a flat color. Leaving it tacky and wet will allow you to manipulate the carpet piece and get good saturation on the rubber backing. You’ll learn trying to brush and cover the carpet piece will eat up a whole can of glue and time. After I’ve seated and stretched I’ll pull back a corner to allow air to hit it and speed up the drying process. Continue to rub the carpet pieces down. Been doing it that way for 14 years now.

I used up other carpet adhesives I would try on floor pieces that didn’t require being rolled around corners or manipulation. Once I used those up I went back to contact. Use it wet and apply liberally to the hull pieces.

[arjone01]

Best way to use contact cement is brush it onto the hull surfaces heavy and liberally as much as you can on the carpet. You’ll learn the rubber doesn’t want to take the glue as well so don’t waste your time on that. Essentially you’re adding enough glue to the hull surfaces to saturate the hull pieces and carpet. I wait till I can put my finger on it and it strings up wet and not completely tacky. Not to where the glue has dried and turned a flat color. Leaving it tacky and wet will allow you to manipulate the carpet piece and get good saturation on the rubber backing. You’ll learn trying to brush that it will eat up a whole can of glue and time. After I’ve seated and stretched I’ll pull back a corner to allow air to hit it and speed up the drying process. Continue to rub the carpet pieces down. Been doing it that way for 14 years now.

I used up other carpet adhesives I would try on floor pieces that didn’t require being rolled around corners or manipulation. Once I used those up I went back to contact. Use it wet and apply liberally to the hull pieces.

Ive tried the cheap spray gun (it works but work time with the gun is limited and you need more time in between to work the pieces), I first used birdsong and then Henry’s. Found that it’s good for one flat surface at a time. And when doing seamless corners and working and stretching they’re useless. You literally glue one edge of a piece at a time and wait. He. You have no way to manipulate the carpet to either give for takeaway. You need fast hold and manipulation time to get edges and corners worked out for a clean fit.

[SoonerFan]

Because when you carpet more than one, you realize you need a fast setting adhesive that will allow you to work and manage a piece all the while holding in the right places. It’s effective, efficient and takes out a lot of headache. I have tried Henry’s and others and in my opinion the only good application for those types of glue are for the flat deck piece in the floor. Still prefer contact. Lots of round corners and flaps that need to stay in place as you manipulate the carpet to fit perfect. No other glue offers that. You may understand adhesives, but I take it you’ve not carpeted much.

I see what you’re talking about. All of my experience in adhesive sales was first in floor covering business, selling residential and commercial carpet and vinyl flooring adhesives. I was also the rep for Formica products and all of those clients were contact users. Never had a boat carpet layer client.