repairing plastic decoys

chris k

chris k

Active member
i did a search and found a few things people were saying to try such as filling with foam plastic weld jb weld 4500 just wondering if anyone has come up with a sure fire way to fix plastic decoys i have a few that are brand new and they are cracking by the keel and splitting at the seems. i was suprised to see there isnt a video on youtube for fixing plastic decoys. if i cant get them not leak i was thinking of cutting the bootoms off and making them into shell decoys anyone ever done this? im also going to right the company see if they stand by there product, the first time i used these decoys was november 1st opening day of coastal here in nj.
 
Chris,

I have some Carry Lites from the mid 80's they are loosing their keels and will become shells.

There are simple solder pencils used as plastic welders, they would solve your problem if there is no manufacturer solution.

R.C.
 
Last edited:
Firtst, I would be sending them back, they should not have cracked after that short of use. I have G&H and Carrylites that are 15 years old and not cracked. And they get used heavily,
Baring that, a good strong adhesive sealant for plastic should work, silicone does not work well. Shoe Goo and Aquaseal are ok.
 
What a timely topic... as I have "fixed" plastic decoys... and.. filled with spray foam and my Cans we still "diving"... my advise.. if you use plastic... just buy new... OR.. make your own 2 part Urethane decoys.... the Urethane foam can take being shot at 5 feet and keep floating...
 
I have a few older decoys that needed attention I did a practice with the foam and I have a volcano on my work bench waiting for it to dry and I also used my soldering iron and some plastic I used from a decoy that was completely shot up and welded a keel that was hanging off back on not sure how it will hold up yet but I am definitely going to get in touch with the company. Anyone ever have to deal with tangle free?
 
here is a picture of a water keel i did my practice "plastic weld" on i had to fill two holes near the front then i filled it with sand and capped off the end just to give an idea on how i went about fixing the others except for the brand new decoy that split at the seems still waiting to hear from tangle free on that. the reason i filled these keels is in high winds they spend most of there time on there sides. the one i filled with foam has been a head ache i used to much foam on it it made a complete mess before iwent to bed i was able to scrape off some of the excess foam that was bubbling out. ill find out this afternoon how it came out.

View attachment water keel.jpg
 
Water keel are a pain in the butt unless you hunt small sheltered ponds. Even then you have to place them, can't just toss them out. You only need a squirt or 2 of the great stuff, it expands like crazy as you found out. Like I said if you drill a hole under the tail section most of the excess come right out of that hole and snaps off pretty easily and cleanly.
 
Second try with great stuff came out better still sprayed to much but was able to manage it. The one I did last night needed some cleaning up but it won't leak anymore and didn't take more then some elbow grease to get the excess foam off. As far as the water keels go I no longer have any so I won't have to deal with that problem anymore. Also I finaly got in touch with tangle free I have to send them some pictures of the decoy and what ever info I have from where I bought it and they will let me know what they can do.
 
They should be pretty helpful. All I can say is I had a paint issue with G&H and they told me to cut the keels off and send them the keels. Then they sent me brand new decoys. Excellent service.
 
just got an email back drom tanglefree new decoy is in the mail. they stood by there product and ill be buying more of there decoys
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top