DIY Aluminum Brazing holes in canoe / boat with Blue Demon Triple Play / aluminum solder & welding

DIY Boat repair: Today we are doing Aluminum welding, aluminum soldering, or more technically aluminum brazing some holes in the bottom of a vintage Grumman canoe. This aluminum boat has been out in the elements for over 50 years and the salty air has done a bit of damage. We need to do a vintage canoe restoration.We will do aluminum welding or aluminum brazing to patch some old leaks. It's aluminum solder in a sense. This repair is better than epoxies like JB weld because it bonds to the metal and doesn't degrade in the sun.

First clean the area of paint, oxidation and other debris with an aggressive stainless steel wire wheel on an angle grinder. We then use Blue Demon BDTP-125-01T Triple Play Low Temp Aluminum-Zinc Brazing Rod 1/8" x 18" and heat it with a Bernzomatic Map gas torch. This rod may be similar to Alumaloy, Super Alloy, or other multi metal rods for aluminum repair. The metal heats up and the rod melts in and flows and pools much like solder.
The repairs can be left alone or ground flush as desired. I will be coating them with aluminum paint to protect and match the rest of the boat.
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[paulcanon]

You make it look like even I could do it. Thanks from Texas!

[johnspruit]

Excellent job .Bring that old boat back to usable condition for many more years. Ontario Canada.

[flarpification]

There are a lot of commenters here who are disturbed about the presence of the rubber under that puddle of filler rod metal. I think that as long as you succeeded, then you know what you're doing and it's just another way of doing things. But to satisfy that contingent, I suppose another way to do it would be to apply a patch that covers the entire area and only braze the edges, so that the heat is away from the rubber.

[adamsell]

Nice work!! I just started learning on my canoe and its definitely a skill to be able to do this. Thanks for the video.

[silvervespa]

At about 9:20 I would have tapped the strip down again. Instead of using the rod like filler .
Just leaving room for faster corroding later.
What ever can seep in from the

[carlschmiedeke]

You remind me of Bob Ross, the way you sound & you stroking your rod, like he did his brush

[misterbulger]

Perfect! Turns out my new jon boat was only $50 because it leaks lol. Ill defintely try these out.

[kevindouglas]

If I ever fix up another old boat I'm going to try your way. I've got an old $20 rowboat that I "repaired" about 30 years ago. I used patches bolts and caulk. It still floats okay but doesn't look very professional. I like your way much better, although it's probably more expensive and certainly takes longer.

[MER]

Some friendly advice, cut the aluminum out of the bottom add a screen door and smother it with flex seal. Like new!

[silvervespa]

I wonder if the old trick of putting lines of bar soap next to the area being heated would give easier indication of the surface temp .
As used by people bending and shaping aluminum .
Sometimes it's nessasary to heat thin aluminum before bending to prevent it just cracking.
The soap blackens as the aluminum reaches working temp.
Might help with when to bring in the welding rod saving the poking proding method . Just dry bar soap draw a line say half inch from where your going to weld .
Then start heating your repair target area and watching for the soap to go brown . Then see if the aluminum rod melts more readily when touched to the work area.
Could be simple aid to the anticipating surface temp
A real visual indicator of the surface temp. Just regular household bar soap.

[yvesf]

I THINK YOU ID A REAL GOOD JOB EXPLAINING THANK YOU,

[michaelszczys]

Had some weird aluminum brazing material in the 1980s . You had to get a puddle formed then scrape the surface under liquid braze with stainless steel. Very hard to use. This stuff is much newer and looks like it works a lot better. I need something to try where I can’t use any electric or even acetylene set up

[losonsrenoster]

This video adds to my list of to-do ideas, thanks.

[scottmurphy]

I would think the expansion and contraction of the materials would make the rivets next to your repair begin to leak

[BruceLyeg]

I had just started to watch your video in my caravan I had towed by a lorry to the lake, when a band of local ruffians hoisted the tongue of my trailer and Bob's you're uncle, they wheeled me lodgings right into the sea. I must have floated along for nearly seven minutes watching this video on my iPad before I noticed my caravan was taking on water and I was now around 20 knots off the shore of Liverpool! As I type this comment, I'm typing with one hand and bailing with another. All the while praying to Ganesh that the battery in my laptop will last long enough for me to get these, my last final words out. You see, I cannot swim. It's very likely that as you are reading this, my bloated corpse is sitting on the bottom of the big pond, possible becoming fish food, perhaps even a shark.
Allow me to say, this is the finest video I have ever had the pleasure of viewing and am chuffed like a kipper that I may have made it long enough to let you know.
Good life to all, I may not go down in history, but I will go down with this ship.
Ahoy me mateys! And, Gramma? get your ass into that great big kitchen in the sky, because this lad is coming home to meet his maker and to eat some of your fried chicken!

[leonardsmith]

I noticed you said that the screw was stainless steel. You get a dissimilar metal reaction between stainless steel and aluminum. Effectively the aluminum will corrode away from the stainless steel . Always place an inert separator between stainless steel and aluminum e.g nylon or PTFE washer.

[seanruddy]

Why not drill and put rivets back in along where the old rubber is?

[chrismiller]

I think that such projects may have a smoother result by using an aluminum flux. The flux will greatly help combat the rapidly forming oxide layer and allow rapid wetting of the surface.

[patrickpeterman]

VERY INFORMATIVE THANKS I , M GOING TO GIVE IT A SHOT !!

[outboardfixer]

Great, helpful vid for the beginner. Who knew!