Fixing small holes topside

[osixnineonenine]

Im redoing my 79 Apollo and over the years the various owners have added and removed hardware and boatcovers that snap on. I've removed all the snaps and hardware and am left with a mess of holes. My question is how should I go about fixing these before I paint? I know bondo is a no no but is there a product like it that will work for this application? Thank you for any input. Joe

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Fixing small holes topside

Bondo actually makes a 2 part marine epoxy stick. tear off a piece and knead it then force it into the holes. Send when dry and the hole is filled.

Best part about that epoxy is that it will cure underwater ...... I carry a stick for emergency repairs.

The other alernative is to fill the holes with a fiberglass peanut butter. Do a seach here in the restoration section for recipies.

Welcome to iboats!!!

 

[jonesg]

Re: Fixing small holes topside

auto bondo contains talc, it sucks up water.
marine bondo doesn't, it contains cabosil and glass pulp.

but to kill 2 birds, get some gelcoat in the right color and just thicken it with cabosil to make a gelcoat putty.
Use a dremel or similar with a bullet shaped grinding stone, scallop out the hole and apply the gel putty, fair as smooth as possible and cover with plastic so it sets tac free, with a bit of luck you'll be set with minimal finishing.

if you don't scallop out the hole you'll get a dirt ring, only takes 2 seconds with the dremel.

 

[osixnineonenine]

Re: Fixing small holes topside

Thanks guys for your help. Question about wood flower? Is it merely fine sawdust? Ideally I would like to use one of your suggested methods but my gelcoat is in pretty ruff shape anyway and there is no place to get cabosil where I live. I was thinking of using the resin and wood flower only because I have a woodworking shop and its readily available and I?m impatient and I don?t want to wait the for the cabosil.


P.S This is a fantastic site! The information just doesent end.

Joe

 

[jonesg]

Re: Fixing small holes topside

Yeh but it isn't white unless you get white oak wood flour.
What about talking to a paint shop, they might have something you can use.

If you can get marine tex, thats good stuff if a bit pricey.
I've seen marine tex in hardware stores.

btw, if you get frsh wood flour, dry it out in the oven at 150F for a couple hrs.

 

[osixnineonenine]

Re: Fixing small holes topside

i'll look into the marine tex idea. Thanks for the wood flower tip!

 

[Mark42]

Re: Fixing small holes topside

Yeh but it isn't white unless you get white oak wood flour.
What about talking to a paint shop, they might have something you can use.

If you can get marine tex, thats good stuff if a bit pricey.
I've seen marine tex in hardware stores.

btw, if you get frsh wood flour, dry it out in the oven at 150F for a couple hrs.

If you use wheat flour, it will be white and no drying needed.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Fixing small holes topside

nah, I'm a baker and I can tell ya wheat flour contains a lot of moisture, recipes can vary as much as 1 quart of water due to the moisture in any bag of flour. It also contains oil and monosaccarides (simple sugars) and natural yeasts. I'd use talcum powder before flour. Smells better too.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Fixing small holes topside

nah, I'm a baker and I can tell ya wheat flour contains a lot of moisture, recipes can vary as much as 1 quart of water due to the moisture in any bag of flour. It also contains oil and monosaccarides (simple sugars) and natural yeasts. I'd use talcum powder before flour. Smells better too.

That may be true, but its what a lot of boat builder use. I've been using it more frequently after reading about the wood boat builders preferring it over wood flour because it makes better fillets.

At any rate, there is not enough water in wheat flour to have any negative impact on that repair.

 

[osixnineonenine]

Re: Fixing small holes topside

what about MDF powder you get from sanding it? its very fine very dry ( so it seems) but its held together by some sort of glue. Has anyone tried it?

Plus its the right color I need.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Fixing small holes topside

Yeh that'll work , at least better than using something edible.