The carpet on the sides of my boat is coming loose. What adhesive should I use to glue it back in place?

 

 

 

Either any carpet adhesive rated for outdoor use or just Liquid Nails.

I lean towards liquid nails for boat-sized repair projects. Be advised that if prepped correctly, it will never come off. 

I’d get a can of Weldwood Contact Cement for that repair. It’s not as finicky about the old glue on the backing as some other adhesives. 

As a former carpet installer, I would recommend contact cement. Some are water based and others aren't. Be advised that those that aren't water based are flammable and the fumes will kill a moose. No flames and well ventilated are keys. Apply with a brush to both sides and allow to "dry". After the carpet is put back in place, allow to gas out. It'll still smell a bit. I'm not sure what current contact cements are available now as I've been retired from the trade for quite a while but a waterproof contact cement as others have mentioned is the ticket.

This has worked well for me and doesn’t have the fumes as some others do.

I have used lacquer thinner to remove old contact cement on some of my recarpeting.

Will the Liquid Nails come up with the rest of the contact cement when the boat is re-carpeted in the future?  

6 minutes ago, Bolar said:

Will the Liquid Nails come up with the rest of the contact cement when the boat is re-carpeted in the future?  

It will, but it’s a pretty good fight. Goo Gone will soften it, but it still sticks pretty hard in places.

 

 

22 hours ago, ElGuapo928 said:

It will, but it’s a pretty good fight. Goo Gone will soften it, but it still sticks pretty hard in places.

 

 

OK, I have never tried to dissolve Liquid Nails once dried.  I always figured it was a forever thing.  

If the substrate is metal, removal is best accomplished by using an oscillating tool with the correct blade.

Here's a video about direct cement carpet removal. Although he's using a commercial floor stripper, the same principals apply if one was to use an oscillating tool. If the carpet was cemented to wood, be prepared  for some of the layers of wood to come up. It usually is brutal work. Wear a respirator.

Using chemicals makes a really messy operation even more mess,y if that is possible.

 

 

I've been following this thread and just want to point out one thing about liquid nails.

 

LN's has good adhesion properties, but the glue itself is the problem.

 

What I mean is, it is the glue itself that is falling apart. LN's turns brittle and it breaks apart. It crumbles easily.

 

I bought a house the previous owner used LN's in and I am having to repair things like shelving they used LN's to attach to a wall.

 

When it breaks apart the glue remains on both surfaces, but the break is within the glue itself. So on my shelves glue remains firmly attached to the wall and firmly attached to the shelves. No problem with adhesion. The main problem is LN's is not a structurally sound glue for long term.

 

In the OP's photos above I see the same thing. I see glue still firmly attached to the hull and the backside of the carpet. So what gave way? It looks like another case of the glue itself breaking up and falling apart.

 

This is why I will no longer use or purchase any LN products. It works for awhile, but always breaks up down the road.

 

I would use a glue that remains flexible once dry. Not a silicone, but something that does not break apart and remains flexible and pliable. If contact cement does that then fine. But there are other adhesives used in marine applications like E6000 or 3M marine adhesive 5200 or 4000. These adhesives are very strong and very durable. Permanent might be a good word to describe them. So they may not be a best choice. Something that can be removed down the road and replaced may be best in this situation.

 

I no longer glue any carpet down in my boat. I use velcro around the edges and can remove and replace my carpet pieces easily. I do this to prevent mold underneath because my carpet is designed for a putt putt golf course and has 1/4" foam backing for comfortable barefoot standing when fishing. If I glued that type of carpet down it would be the foam backing that is the weak link leading to separation issues. And the velcro is easy to fix too. And if I get water in the boat I can quickly remove all the pieces and hang them over the fence to dry out.

 

That said, all of my carpet pieces lay flat and none climb up the sides of the hull like the photo above shows so I am not sure if velcro is a viable alternative for his situation.

 

Just beware of LN's breaking apart over time and crumbling leading to failure. Just too brittle. I'd use something more flexible and pliable is the point of this comment. And maybe not so permanent.

1 hour ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

I've been following this thread and just want to point out one thing about liquid nails.

 

LN's has good adhesion properties, but the glue itself is the problem.

 

What I mean is, it is the glue itself that is falling apart. LN's turns brittle and it breaks apart. It crumbles easily.

 

I bought a house the previous owner used LN's in and I am having to repair things like shelving they used LN's to attach to a wall.

 

When it breaks apart the glue remains on both surfaces, but the break is within the glue itself. So on my shelves glue remains firmly attached to the wall and firmly attached to the shelves. No problem with adhesion. The main problem is LN's is not a structurally sound glue for long term.

 

In the OP's photos above I see the same thing. I see glue still firmly attached to the hull and the backside of the carpet. So what gave way? It looks like another case of the glue itself breaking up and falling apart.

 

This is why I will no longer use or purchase any LN products. It works for awhile, but always breaks up down the road.

 

I would use a glue that remains flexible once dry. Not a silicon, but something that does not break apart and remains flexible and pliable. If contact cement does that then fine. But there are other adhesives used in marine applications like E6000 or 3M marine adhesive 5200 or 4000. These adhesives are very strong and very durable. Permanent might be a good word to describe them. So they may not be a best choice. Something that can be removed down the road and replaced may be best in this situation.

 

I no longer glue any carpet down in my boat. I use velcro around the edges and can remove and replace my carpet pieces easily. I do this to prevent mold underneath because my carpet is designed for a putt putt golf course and has 1/4" foam backing for comfortable barefoot standing when fishing. If I glued that type of carpet down it would be the foam backing that is the weak link leading to separation issues. And the velcro is easy to fix too. And if I get water in the boat I can quickly remove all the pieces and hang them over the fence to dry out.

 

That said, all of my carpet pieces lay flat and none climb up the sides of the hull like the photo above shows so I am not sure if velcro is a viable alternative for his situation.

 

Just beware of LN's breaking apart over time and crumbling leading to failure. Just too brittle. I'd use something more flexible and pliable is the point of this comment. And maybe not so permanent.

Very good information. It would be interesting to find out what exactly would be the average service life of LN, although I'm sure environmental conditions would impact that greatly.

 

Liquid nails is made as a construction adhesive, bonding wood subfloors to wood stringers. It absorbs into the wood to form a solid bond when added mechanical devices (screws, nails) are used.

It does dry out to a brittle cake when there is not two absorption materials and a mechanical device to aid its connection capability.

 

Would never recommend for aluminum or metal. It would create a gigantic mess when try to re-carpet.

 

Contact adhesive is the way to go like the product @Jig Man posted or Wellwood contact adhesive is a brand @Crow Horse and @FloridaFishinFool noted.

Another thing I should’ve brought up but didn’t, check the condition of the carpet backing really good before gluing it back. If it is failing at all, consider a spray on contact adhesive like 3M 77. It tacks up faster than the brush on and won’t leach through the cracks in the backing as bad. 
 

We’ve been working on a buddy’s Tracker restoration project, and it had a lot of sections where bleed through had happened. We have probably used 10 gallons of acetone getting these spots softened up enough to remove without destroying the aluminum underneath.

Another consideration came to mind. If using contact cement, test it on the backing of the carpet to make sure it doesn't react adversely to it. Do this to play it safe.

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'm going to try contact cement rather than liquid nails, even though I already have a tube of liquid nails. The point about it getting brittle squares with my experiences using it in the past.