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Plastic Welding
We do a lot of polypropylene welding at work, and while I have never welded on a kayak, I think that most of the principles hold true. I agree with all of the above, and would just add that I believe resin is VERY important, to the extent that I would get welding plastic right from the boat manufacturer or from a donor boat of same make and color. At work we have also had problems with welds being contaminated because the surfaces were not cleaned properly prior to welding. Surfaces really need to be as clean as possible, and weld contamination will weaken even the best weld. While welding (I would use a forced hot air wellder on a boat) If you see smoke, you are too hot, and contaminating your weld. Lastly, in our buisness, we fill out finished tanks with water and beat all of our weld seams with a rubber mallet to stress test... If I had a welded boat, I would want to make damn sure it was strong before I relied on it in water of any consequence...
My 2 cents... Best of luck!
Tim
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