Looking for Alternative to HH-66 Adhesive

smartialarts on 19/11/2024 - 14:21
Last edited 19/11/2024 - 14:22

Don't get me wrong, HH-66 if effin awesome, but it's made in the US and for a tiny can you pay like $70 here in AU.

I was not able to find anything as remotely good as it is, especially for fixing high-pressure inflatables (SUPs, kayaks etc). Vinyl adhesives don't work as well. PVC cement & primer for pipes doesn't come close either.

This HH-66 thing cures to a v tough, yet flexible state.

It is based on methyl ethyl ketone, and I can see that thing is being sold on its own as a solvent, but that's not enough, there's more to it.

Wonder if anyone looked into it.

Thanks!

Home & Garden Adhesive

Comments

  • mskeggs on 19/11/2024 - 14:59

    AliExpress has a number of cheap listings for vinyl/inflatable glue. Worth a try.

    • smartialarts on 19/11/2024 - 15:37

      Tried those, not the same thing.

  • brendanm on 19/11/2024 - 17:46
    +1

    It's 260ml or so, surely you must get about 50 repairs out of that amount? Seems good value for something you know works perfectly.

    • smartialarts on 19/11/2024 - 21:40

      Some repairs need a lot of it.

  • indemnity on 20/11/2024 - 13:54
    +1

    The active ingredient is polyester resin, despite the name vinyl cement.

    Niche products such as hiking or tent repair kits are incredibly marked up because of the small pack size and niche high spend market. They sit on the shelf for a long time. Seam repair is similar.

    Pretty much any polyester resin adhesive will work the same. Even polyester floor compound. Just make sure it's designed to go into wet areas. You can buy a 25 kg bucket for patching fibreglass boats.

    Surface preparation is the single most important part of HH-66. The methyl ethyl ketone, toluene and acetone are the solvents. The MEK and acetone soften the substrate and make handholds for the polyester glue to grab into. The toluene is there to make the resin soluble.

    Buy some MEK from Bunnings, usually sold as PVC pipe primer. Use that to clean the surface and wearing gloves, touch the surface of the substrate and it will feel tacky, because your are slightly dissolving it. Then apply any polyester adhesive and you are done.

    Something to keep in mind is you cannot stick polyester to itself. You can't put a patch on a patch. At that point you want to swap to an epoxy adhesive.

    • smartialarts on 20/11/2024 - 14:10

      Thanks for the in-depth explanation.

      I will give this a shot!

    • smartialarts on 20/11/2024 - 21:46

      Just reading about curing polyester resins, and the impression I get they cure to form solid, not flexible, material.

      Is that your impression as well?

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