Once again, adhesive confused.

[Caroline94535-ND]

Greetings from North Dakota. I’m expecting “my” Martins back between April 15-30.

I know I’ve asked before, and I appreciate all the answers, but I still have questions.

I understand Lexel is a great adhesive. But which Lexel formula should I get?

I have porches to add to gourds and I’m ready to make a few repairs on other gourds.

Could someone please post a photo of the exact Lexel product I need to purchase or order.

Is “caulk” the same as “adhesive?”

If I use an “adhesive” do I need to caulk over it?

I’m sorry if My questions sound dense, but it’s still winter here, 28° today, gloomy, cloudy, and house bound. My mind is rebelling.

[Dave Duit]

Here is an image of what you need. It is a great product that I use on all my purple martin gourd stuff like porches, etc...You don't need to caulk over it. Lexel is like caulk and silicone and adhesive all in one. It has qualities that are unique, it is extremely flexible and it acts as a strong adhesive. You will be safe to use this with your project, but I would add a mechanical type connection in addition to the lexel; like a slot or screws, etc...

[Brad Biddle]

Lexel is just Lexel. It's a caulk and adhesive. There aren't different formulas. AFAIK, it only comes in clear, or white. However, I don't know that it's the right product to adhere a porch to a gourd, unless you're cutting a slot into the gourd for the porch to slide into. Then it would be a perfect choice. Lexel remains somewhat flexible after curing and I think the porch would sag over time and just get worse and worse.

I like a mechanical bond whenever possible when attaching anything to a gourd. One exception to that is when I put tunnels in plastic gourds. I cut the hole as tight as possible and then use only Lexel to hold them in. I've had some hanging round the clock, 365 days a year for maybe 15 years without a failure.

So, if you cut a thin slot in the gourd, to slide the porch tightly into, then I think Lexel will work fine. If you're not going to do that, then I'd try to figure out a way to use a screw or pop rivet to hold it on, then use Lexel to fill any gaps.

[TerryW]

Guys, I wonder if she is bychance working with natural gourds, probably not. I suppose your answers would be the same either way?

I have to still say that I can make the Alex Plus Dap, with silicone, paintable, so smooth that the piece that is added looks like it "grew" on the piece to which it is attached, and it is flexible and long lasting too. Also, with Lexel one had better do some practicing smoothing the surface on a test piece because the first attempt or two is apt to look a bit rough. Dap smooths out very nicely with the water-wetted finger, even if one is inexperienced, but Dap doesn't adhere too well to poly plastic gourds, it adheres pretty nicely to pvc and natural gourds, especially if one roughs up the mating surfaces. Roughing up the mating surface serves the Lexel well also.

Added this morning 3/26/2020:
And both these materials rely on a mechanical bond only, not chemical, and that is why a person should rough up the mating surfaces to improve the mechanical bond. I recently read that one can epoxy glue together two pieces of poly plastic if one heat treats the mating surfaces, and reasoned that it should also help Dap and Lexel. I tried it and it did appear to help the Dap adhere better, didn't try Lexel because I'm a Dap person. Guess I could have tried epoxy but I hate working with that stuff.

[Rodger Drye]

Caroline,

Basically everything all these folks have said is true and accurate. I use the white Lexel when modifying my “White Gourd’s”.
However, I do like to use a stainless steel application in the form of nuts and bolts if necessary. Sometimes you have to use a piece of Aluminum bent at a 90* angle to add strength.
I’ve modified both porches & entrances and clean out/inspection ports to satisfaction using this method.

I hope you get your Martin’s in real soon.!

Rodger

[Brad Biddle]

Terry, if she is working with natural gourds then I would definitely recommend DAP Alex Plus. I still wouldn't recommend it in an application where there isn't some sort of mechanical bond, or either a slot cut through for the porch to go in.

On plastic I'd recommend Lexel 100 times out of 100.

EDIT: Let me clarify a little.... I use to add rain caps on my natural gourds using nothing but DAP and that worked fine. I never had one fall or get knocked off. I installed very few porches directly on natural gourds. I used tunnels pretty much from the beginning. IIRC, when I did put a porch directly on the gourd, I bent a lip on the porch, where it met the gourd and used a couple of short wood screws to attach the porch, then used DAP to fill any gaps.

Which reminds me. I sure do like plastic gourds.

[TerryW]

Brad, as you can see I have a bit of inertia. Perhaps had I been here all along and not disappeared, I may have made the change and be up with where you are. Since I am sort of the lone holdout, I am gonna give you and others the benefit of the doubt. I am still playing around with stuff in the shop and am just about out of Dap. When I go to town next, I will buy some Lexel, and I will keep an open mind, okay.

Trouble is with this stupid Corona Virus, I have to sneak away to go get it. My wife may whap me if I do that, and it'll be on you, you know! I noticed the picture up above is a squeeze out tube, do you buy it that way or if it comes in a tube for a caulking gun, is that what you buy? I like using my caulk gun, but have to confess I still get it all over...

I love my plastic too, but I, uh...sort of like to modify stuff, maybe a bit too much. If Johnny Gerber could remember where he took all my old stuff, we could find out if my Dap joints of 15 years ago on SuperGourds held up. Must have installed tunnels on 20, 25 of them. One was done in front of the gathering at Finger, MS...haha, took my jig saw to the entrance of a James Hill III SuperGourd right in front of him...got a laugh out of the crowd doing that,

Indulge me one last question, though...what are you Lexel guys doing around your plastic bathtubs and sinks? Heck, you probably don't have any...age is a terrible thing to be subjected to.

[Brad Biddle]

Terry, it comes in a caulk tube too and that's what I buy. You can smooth Lexel a little (despite some of the photos that I've posted) but it doesn't "flow" like DAP does. You have to coat your finger with mineral spirits and coat it often. Lexel also shrinks some as it cures so the finished product is smoother than it is when it's applied. If this makes any sense, it shrinks in thickness, but not in width. It doesn't pull back on the edges or distort anything as it cures. I always wear latex/nitrile gloves when applying Lexel, because it doesn't like to come off anything, including your skin.

I used Lexel when I did my last shower door install. The clear Lexel is as clear as glass.

[TerryW]

Dang, Brad, you just pointed out all the reasons I won't like it, ugly and it shrinks...hahaha

And you're alright with my blaming you when I go to town?..

[Brad Biddle]

And you're alright with my blaming you when I go to town?..

Absolutely!

[Caroline94535-ND]

I’m so sorry for the delay in getting back to this question.

I thank all of you for the wonderful information.

We’ve been busy getting my current gourds hung today. I try to always have them up by April 15. My PMs usually arrive by April 23.

Once the temperatures warm up - it’s 23° F right now and has been spitting snow all day - I will get to work adding porches and/or tunnels to a few Excluder, Super, and natural gourds.

I do attach the porches with small nuts and bolts before “caulking.”