I was thinking it would be a good topic to post the best uses of belzona that you have seen or done.
I've worked with a couple of old professional thirds that would think nothing of stripping a clapped out pump, belzoning the shaft, wear rings and casing, then machining everything to spec. Or rebuilding washing machine pumps to get the last inch of life out of the machine because there was no money to rebuild it.
I have repaired a steam condensor end bell with belzona. We steamed for a couple of years until the ship was decommisioned with the patch holding, Also repaired a steam recip feed pump valve seats with it. The seats were bypassing so badly it was amazing the pump delivered. We used it on the big sea strainer on another ship to fill the pits and then put superglide over that, it lasted until we had a new one fabricated and installed next docking. My favorite is I was driving a clapped out GM that developed a hole in the exhaust. I cut the ends off a soup can (just because it was the same size as the pipe), slit the can lengthwise wired it over the hole and belzoned it. I think if I had used something thicker then a can, I would have sold the car with the repair still intact.

Anyone done any other exotic uses of it?

In my "Sail Army" days, a Mk VIII LCT (ocean going tank landing craft, carried 4 rows of 3 tanks) with a hard chine hull, developed a split on the bottom corner where side met the flat bottom. (no great problem we had 36 ballast tanks and could double as a floating dry dock for smaller craft) It was repaired with 5 gallon drums of Araldite while we were dryed out between tides in Benbecula. (Outer Hebrides missile range) As far as I know, it was still holding when the ship was sold for scrap 12-15 years later!

"Araldite sticks just about anything to just about anything".........including ship's hulls!

I think just about all you couldn't do with Araldite was stick weld it! Machined beautifully, took a great thread, moulded around chicken wire and newspaper to form any shape for any use you wanted, including condenser bell ends and centrifugal pump casings. It was, however, very expensive. Your tax dollars at work!

Incidentally, for a peek at life on an Army LCT running to St, Kilda in the '60s read Atlantic Fury, by Hammond Innes.

Some more uses from our BC rep, Allan, on the main site : http://www.dieselduck.info/library/01%2 ... elzona.htm

Doing my apprenticeship 1960 to 1965 I worked with Belzona a lot. I was put with the local rep who did the work on various fitments and engine parts. The five years done I then started using it on my own. My crowning achievement over the years was a liner flame ring repair, made up a mandrel with a cutting device using the brazed in tips we used to use then in machine cutting tools. Usual story, it's only a temp repair, which of course went on and on throught the years. Every start up thought this is it, but no it went on and on with no problems and only when the engine was due a liner change did it see the daylight. Further more to the story I still have some unopened Belzona kits from the sixties awaiting further repairs !

A true engineer!
50 year old Belzona kits, Just in Case!! LOL

Many years ago I sailed with a Chief who had been a Belzona Rep during one of his many periods ashore, he said his Wife and her friends all wanted the plastic shaping tools for cake decorating....

Where do we start with this...? Band brake surface on large mooring winches (an old 4 point mooring dive ship), diesel engine intercooler end plates, holed pipes, leadscrew repair on a milling machine, water pump scroll casing, main engine seawater inlet elbow coating... all of which were temporary fixes that turned permanent! It is indeed a wonder tool and I always take a kit with me whenever I go to sea.

Had a think about uses of Belzona that I have never done. Thinking hard I reckon a camshaft lobe would be a good place to start. Not a chip out of it but a complete lobe buildup. Used to build them up with cast iron welding but it was not always a complete success, would try using my 1960 's tins left over but can't find the warranty form. Mr Pielstick used to be a likely candidate methinks so any one done one?

The problem with building up a camshaft lobe with Belzona would be machining the correct lobe profile. I'm sure Belzona would be a better base than cast iron welding though.

Agreed but if you are ever stuck on a paradise island in ninety degrees, maker out of stock/gone bust always make sure you take with you your grinderette, Belzona, couple of decent files and something to make up a jig with using one of the other lobes and hope it's not a high lift cam jobby. If you still don't fancy it you could always jump ship and go native

That last sounds more like a solution to the problem!

I have seen contractors use belzona to repair camshafts, during my cadet days. Seemed shady at the time, but have seen it quite often out there

As things seem to be a bit quiet out there at the moment Sunday found me in the South of the UK anchored off in the lee of bum island thinking about Belzona uses. This taking me back to the sixties seemed to stir the old memory into gear and the good and not so good times flooded back over my 5 year apprenticeship as a Marine Engineer. Anyone got any memorable times out there concerning their entrance into this trade? Trawling my mind I find several recalls of interesting times had of which I am going to attempt to recall, from day one of my start out.