Ideas for durable waterproof tape?

[Boomyal]

I'm looking for ideas to seal my gas tank floor panel to the surrounding floor without making it permanent. The flooring around the gas tank bay will all be screwed and glued and glassed over. The gas tank panel will also be glassed over then counter sunk for screws to affix it over the tank bay. The screws will not be glassed over so as to allow the tank cover to be unscrewed and removed if necessary. The entire floor will then be covered with Nautolex http://www.a1foamandfabrics.com/site/department.cfm?id=11BE5A56-98C1-443E-A01FB5A6B3A61E36 <br />a pebble grain, colored vinyl floor covering.<br /><br />My hopes are to find a durable, non drying, waterproof tape, to apply over the seam between the glassed floor and the glassed tank cover. Should the tank ever need to be accessed, the vinyl flooring could be pulled up, the seam tape removed and the tank panel unscrewed.<br /><br />As usual, any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Peter J Fraser]

Re: Ideas for durable waterproof tape?

Boomyal.<br />I plan on setting my centre floor section down onto a bed of white putty like compound that plumbers use for sealing sink outlets and the like.<br />Stays soft enough that it remains flexible in a joint and can be removed from the surfaces easily later on.<br />No water or dirt will get past it.<br /><br /><br />Peter

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Ideas for durable waterproof tape?

Originally posted by peterf:<br /> Boomyal.<br />I plan on setting my centre floor section down onto a bed of white putty like compound that plumbers use for sealing sink outlets and the like.<br />Stays soft enough that it remains flexible in a joint and can be removed from the surfaces easily later on.<br />No water or dirt will get past it.<br />Peter

Hmmm? It is certainly a possibility, Peter. I'll put it on my list of possibilities. Thanks a bunch.

 

[crab bait]

Re: Ideas for durable waterproof tape?

good idea ,PETE..

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Ideas for durable waterproof tape?

Don’t know if it’s what you had in mind but here it is on my boat… A couple access hatches (big enough for a skinny guy to crawl thru) on the stern deck are made from an aluminum frame, about 2 inches wide. Looks like a flat ring. There is a double row of holes, spaced about every 4 inches, all the way around the frame. Epoxy’d plywood is held in the center (under the frame) by the inside row of screws. A ring of sealant about 1 inch is placed around the deck and the panel fit into place. It is held there by screws all the way around on the outside ring. All the screws are countersunk, filled with silicone and painted over with non-skid. The whole deck is flat except where the two frames stick up about 3/16 inch. If you drag your toes you could stub them on the ring. If just walking about and step on a ring you are aware of the uneven surface but it’s no big deal. If you have stuff to install over this part of your flooring it may not be a good idea.<br /><br />EDIT: Boomyal – I recently read something about paper cups and epoxy. Don’t use Dixie cups if they are wax lined. The wax is broken down by the epoxy chemistry and mixes in. Can cause problems with adhesion in any successive coat of epoxy. Appearance wise, it can create milky rings in the finish. Tried using a plain paper cup to mix cpes. Do I even need to tell you what happened when I put ‘wood penetrating’ epoxy in a ‘paper’ cup? Nothing a lapful of carcinogenic chemicals couldn’t clean up. Guy at the boatyard said cpes is good stuff, uses it all the time, but not very effective on plywood. As per him, great on the edges but only penetrates the first veneer layer of the plywood. Can’t get past the glue inside between the veneer layers.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Ideas for durable waterproof tape?

Originally posted by 18rabbit:<br /> Guy at the boatyard said cpes is good stuff, uses it all the time, but not very effective on plywood. As per him, great on the edges but only penetrates the first veneer layer of the plywood. Can’t get past the glue inside between the veneer layers.

Although I did not think of the glue barrier, I figured it did not penetrate very far thru the surface plys. It sure does drink it up thru the edges though. I think that along with the edge treatment and surface application (CPES) and a rolled on coating of epoxy (both sides and edges) and liberal treatment around any thru holes will still give excellent protection.

 

[agrazela]

Re: Ideas for durable waterproof tape?

Boomyal,<br /><br />Have you ever used Nautolex? Have you purchased it yet?<br /><br />I put Nautolex in my boat and wish I hadn't. I find it tears very easily and isn't particularly non-slip when wet.

 

[Winger Ed.]

Re: Ideas for durable waterproof tape?

Can you post a picture of what you're doing?<br /><br />We all know what your half Aluminum and half epoxy tank looks like...<br /><br />Without a knowelege of the space its going into,<br />its hard to visualize what you're trying to accomplish.<br /><br /><br />Since you've already lost your place in Heaven for using the restored Mustang as a workbench,,,, <br /><br />maybe you could clear everything out of the way,,,, piling it all on the Mustang of course, <br />Tools, misc. pieces & parts, the boat's new carpet, left over sheets of plywood, empty beer cans, accumulated stuff you'll never need but hate to throw away---- toss it all up on the Mustang so the photos can be clear and uncluttered. God is already mad at you anyway, so it won't matter.<br /><br />Then get a picture of where you are going with the tank. That way, we could work with it a bit better in making suggestions.<br /><br />Har, har, har,,,,,,<br /><br />Ed.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Ideas for durable waterproof tape?

Originally posted by agrazela:<br /> Boomyal,<br /><br />Have you ever used Nautolex? Have you purchased it yet?<br /><br />I put Nautolex in my boat and wish I hadn't. I find it tears very easily and isn't particularly non-slip when wet.

agrazela, I was going to order it today, but the gal who handled the internet orders was off today. My '75 boat originally came with Nautolex. Although it was faded, out in the middle, it was still intact when I ripped it out. With all the skiis and such that came in and out of the boat, there were no rips or gouges in it. <br /><br />Did you glue yours down, firmly?

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Ideas for durable waterproof tape?

WE, this is a before picture. The plywood tank cover has been removed. If you look carefully, on the floor around the tank, you can see the outline of some kind of tape that was used by the factory. I could not tell what it was. It came up with the Nautolex mat when I pulled it off of the deck. It had probably long lost it's hold on the plywood decking anyway.<br /><br />

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Since you've already lost your place in Heaven for using the restored Mustang as a workbench,,,, <br /><br />maybe you could clear everything out of the way,,,, piling it all on the Mustang of course, <br />Tools, misc. pieces & parts, the boat's new carpet, left over sheets of plywood, empty beer cans, accumulated stuff you'll never need but hate to throw away---- toss it all up on the Mustang so the photos can be clear and uncluttered. God is already mad at you anyway, so it won't matte

Great suggestion WE, I wondered what I was going to do with all the left over stuff and all of the tools that I'll never figure out where to put them back! <br /><br />I have never spent so much time shifting tools back and forth. Between the boat project and the Pontiac Sunbird project, I haven't been able to process the tools fast enough. Get em out, put em away, get em out, go look for that one you just used yesterday or a minute ago, trip over this pile etc etc. I'm going schizo!