Edge loosened up - fixing with epoxy?

[Monoclist]

Hey chaps! I’ve just inspected my gear (can’t wait for the season to start..) and found that an inch or two of the edge on the tip of my Scott Rock’Air’s have loosened a bit, seethe image - gap between edge and the red material.

I would’ve just scratched all the debris out and then glued it back up with epoxy - or do you have any other suggestions?

Cheers,
Andy

 

[Eleeski]

JB Weld works well for that repair. Make sure it's clean (no wax - use a wax removing solvent) and dry. Apply the epoxy and use a heat gun to get it to wick into the delamination. Since it is on the tip, clamping is not critical but a little pressure will squeeze the epoxy around nicely. No fancy leveling clamps needed there. Definitely a worthwhile fix.

Wait, the skis are shot. Send them to me for proper disposal.

Eric

 

[Monster]

I've had good luck with cyano - superglue - but the good stuff (not that crap in the tiny tubes from the local deli) on that sort of repair. If you care to track them down (like from McMaster) and have the bits and countersinks, there are some nice stainless hex drive machine screws and flush-mount nuts that can add some mechanical strengthening against de-lam to the tips as well. The sort of thing you see on factory skis holding tip guards on - they're also binding the laminate layers together. I'd use 3 or four on those tips.

 

[Doug Briggs]

I use West System epoxy in the shop to fix those. They should be good and dry by now, right? Moisture and dirt are your biggest concerns. Use masking tape to help the adhesive stay in the gap by if you don't clamp it tight. And even if you do.

The tape will help the adhesive fill the inevitable gap between the layers by preventing it from draining away. It will also help you keep your workspace and ski cleaner so there is less cleanup. I like the epoxy to coat the layers by overfilling the space between the tape and the repair so that when I file/grind/sand the epoxy smooth, I have a nice filled in joint with no voids. Voids will catch on things and of course, where there is a void, there is no adhesion.

It is good that you caught this before the edge had a chance to get caught on something and get bent. They are much harder to repair when bent.

I agree with @Monster about the nuts and screws. This type of damage is caused by the ski bouncing/vibrating and a mechanical solution will aid in preventing its return. As a prophylactic measure and to balance the weight (admittedly insignificant) and appearance of the skis, you can 'repair' the undamaged tip with the screws and nuts as well.

No @Philpug , my MXs don't need a repair. This is just a demonstration. This is only a demonstration.

 

[Eleeski]

Cyanoacrylate (super glue) needs water to bond. But it is not waterproof and will degrade with water contact over time. California skiing is wet. Also it is quite brittle. Not my first choice for glue but appropriate in some cases (like if it's wet deep inside and too hard to dry).

Epoxies can either be laminating epoxies or adhesive epoxies.

Laminating epoxy (like West Epoxy) will penetrate deeply into the delamination. But it is a bit brittle and a new delamination is possible.

JB Weld is more of an adhesive epoxy. It has a lot of fillers to make it thick and strong so the heat gun to thin it out to wick into a delamination is necessary. Pure adhesive resins (3M makes a good one) would be better but hard to find. The adhesive resins will resist the vibration that caused the delaminations.

Of course, as correctly noted, A mechanical bolt or rivet will help a lot - even if the resin isn't perfect. But it might be overkill for the tiny delamination in the pictures - but a bolt will keep it from spreading.

Eric

 

[Doug Briggs]

As usual, PugSki.com is a wealth of information.

I prefer the long cure hardener West System but don't often have the luxury of a long cure time so use the medium.

I recently got Loctite EA 608 adhesive to repair a delamination on my Bent Chettlers. I haven't used them enough to say it worked better than the usual Devcon 2 Ton 1 hour epoxy I use at home, but they haven't begun to delaminate. I got this at Tognar.com.

 

[Eleeski]

@Doug Briggs Where did you find that? Good stuff!

Quicker cure epoxies aren't as brittle as the longer cure. I get better results with JB Quik than long cure JB weld when installing inserts in my skis. But it doesn't sand very well.

Eric

 

[Doug Briggs]

@Doug Briggs Where did you find that? Good stuff!

Quicker cure epoxies aren't as brittle as the longer cure. I get better results with JB Quik than long cure JB weld when installing inserts in my skis. But it doesn't sand very well.

Eric

Loctite® 608 Hysol Epoxy Clear

So far, I'm very pleased with it. I've never used JB Weld. I guess I'm going to have to get me some.

 

[dan ross]

I can’t say enough good things about West System G/650.
It comes in two viscosities and Is flexible and will bond to almost anything including polyethylene.
Look up thier tech info on bonding prep by material before hand . Also, it can be had in small quantities.
I’m a long time user of West System products having built two boats with a variety of their products and they are first rate.