After all of the lectures about the importance of good surface prep, we had a hard time believing we could get a good bond under water. So we had to test. Underwater epoxies are super sticky; a strong grab is vital when working underwater. Wet your hands frequently to prevent this. Mix by rolling between palms or folding back and forth, but always keep it moving. The corollary is that you must press and kneed the products on to the surface for several minutes to force the water out and create a bond. Just keep rubbing until it sticks. Following this procedure, we never experienced a failure to bond, not even crawling in the bilge fighting active leaks.

1. The test setup: Water (in plastic container, partially visible) is for wetting hands before working, the fiberglass coupons are ready for gluing, and the test epoxies are lined up and ready to apply.



2. The stick products are very firm and are mixed by repetitive folding and kneading. Tub products are softer and are best mixed by rolling a ball between moistened palms, as shown here.



3. Some products, such as the Pettit Splash Zone A-788 allow bare hands, but our testers wore gloves. The gloves are stickier than hands, but as long as they were kept wet, this was not a big problem.