Cruising Sailors Forum Archive

Re: Bedding a stanchion base? Minimising mess

We bed everything in lots of Sikaflex. I guess 4200 is just as good
I find that many pros are stingy with the goop to minimise cleanup but we have an easy solution

We first bolt the item in place, the smear Vaseline over it and the surrounding deck
Then unbolt, goop-a-plenty and reinstall.
Next day a light knife cut round the edge and the cured excess goop lifts off.
The goop does not go under the Vaseline the way it goes under masking tape, and smearing the grease is a LOT faster than masking complex shapes.
Vaseline cleans off with strong detergent, but can still gather dirt for a week or two before another cleaning.
We sometimes use cooking fat or butter, because it is easier to wash off.

If we want to be able to remove the item later, we put s thin smear of Vaseline on the bottom of it to minimise adhesion.

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