I used the recommended contact cement, and put down what I thought was a good amount on the underside of the foam seats, then weighted it down with some bricks to ensure full contact, but it came right off. I’m assuming I’m being too sparing with the contact cement and I really need to flood it but I wanted to ask the experts here for any advice to make sure that’s the right path before a second attempt.
I don’t know much about contact cement and nothing about the wood duck but generally, when adhesives or coatings go wrong it’s usually a preparation error. Did you scuff the surface before applying the contact cement. Welcome to the forum, by the way.
Instead of contact cement, I use good industrial grade Velcro to mount my seats as recommended by Nick Schade. The biggest advantage is that you can easily change and/or move seats which is harder with contact cement.
You did not say which seat you are using, but I would not use the foam one that comes with the kit. There is not much cushion with those and most of us replace them after only a couple of uses. The Happy Bottom from CLC is pretty good and relatively inexpensive. If you plan to paddle longer distances, check out the custom seat by Redfish Kayaks. Very expensive but worth it.
Pictures of the three different seats in my boats, all are mounted with Velcro.
Redfish seat in the Aluetesque.
Guillemot seat in the Decked Spindrift
Happy Bottom in a Pygmy Osprey.
Did you apply it to both surfaces, let it dry and then put the seat onto the floor? Contact cement is different that way. It must be dry to bond. If you just paint it on and immediately stick the seat into the boat it won’t bond. Because there’s no access to air, it won’t dry in any reasonable length of time, either. It also bonds instantly when correctly used. When the 2 dried layers touch, they immediately bond.
And it needs to be put on sparingly, otherwise the solvents won’t evaporate and the stuff won’t dry and it won’t bond.
- Apply sparingly to both surfaces
- Wait until both surfaces are dry
- Put the seat into the boat but be careful. It will bond instantly. You get one try at this.
Dried unbonded cement can be removed by rubbing it. It will form little balls like the stuff that comes off rubber erasers.
I would strongly recommend practicing using contact cement with scrap wood, paper, or whatever to get a feel for how it works.
Laszlo
Interesting, maybe I misunderstood the instructions. Weird that the other seat bonded seemingly securely but not this one.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the tip. I’m very familiar with VHB tapes and I’m assuming you’re using something similar? Do you have a specific brand recommendation? I am using the stock seats and had thought about upgrading them but I mostly want to get this thing in the water before deciding what else I want to spend money on.
I use the 3M product that is waterproof. Available on Amazon.
I had a similar problem. I was using contact cement to glue Velcro to the seat bottom and hull. It glued great everywhere but the hull. I’m sure it’s because I did not fill the weave on the interior hull and it was just too coarse a surface.