Re: Sealant/Glue for Bindings... and other mounting secrets.
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2022 12:34 pm
Manufacturer advice seems to run the range from wood glue to hot glue to polyurethane glue. The common goal appears to be to keep moisture out of the substrate of the ski.
For this reason, I’m not a big fan of wood glue because it is usually water soluble. I’ve used hot glue before, which seems to work. Hot glue doesn’t expand or crystallize, so screws can be removed more easily without damaging the ski.
I’d certainly be open to a drop of polyurethane glue (like Gorilla Glue) provided that the hole was swabbed out with a damp Q tip (dampness activates poly glues). Poly glues will crystallize and harden, so removing screws later without damaging the ski might be an issue.
I’m very familiar with helicoil (am a vintage car owner). It works great in metal for situations in which fastening and unfastening is essential. I don’t think it is necessarily the best choice for a ski though. My concern would be loosening of the coil because of the grossly dissimilar expansion qualifies of metal and wood/Fiberglas. The screw might also back out, unless Loctite was applied. Once you go down that road, however, you might as well use polyurethane glue.
For this reason, I’m not a big fan of wood glue because it is usually water soluble. I’ve used hot glue before, which seems to work. Hot glue doesn’t expand or crystallize, so screws can be removed more easily without damaging the ski.
I’d certainly be open to a drop of polyurethane glue (like Gorilla Glue) provided that the hole was swabbed out with a damp Q tip (dampness activates poly glues). Poly glues will crystallize and harden, so removing screws later without damaging the ski might be an issue.
I’m very familiar with helicoil (am a vintage car owner). It works great in metal for situations in which fastening and unfastening is essential. I don’t think it is necessarily the best choice for a ski though. My concern would be loosening of the coil because of the grossly dissimilar expansion qualifies of metal and wood/Fiberglas. The screw might also back out, unless Loctite was applied. Once you go down that road, however, you might as well use polyurethane glue.