SoCal Jet Boats
Tech Talk => Gelcoat / Paint / Fireberglass Repair => Topic started by: challenger76 on April 27, 2014, 02:43:47 PM
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What's the best way to fill guage holes and bilge holes I want to paint my boat and start with a fresh complete hull any ideas
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You want to completely fill in the intake opening and transom cutout? Do you have wood laminated behind the gauges? If so, are you willing to replace the wood or do you just want to fill the holes in the wood and glass them over?
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I just want to fill in the dash. And small holes in the transom cable and bilge dump hole not intake opening
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I just want to fill in the dash. And small holes in the transom cable and bilge dump hole not intake opening
Gotcha!
Grind / feather back the openings, build up with layers of glass, and finish smooth. If you do this on both sides, it will prevent future cracking. If you need to fill gauge holes in the dash that has wood laminated on the back side, you can use plugs made from correspondingly thick plywood cut with an appropriately sized hole saw.
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Just make sure that your repairs carry out into the good existing glass and use as coarse an abrasive as possible to provide a strong mechanical bond by the new glass laminations. The last thing you want is for all the repairs to crack when you hit some chop on your maiden voyage.
For large openings where some support is required to prevent sagging of the wetted glass, use thin aluminum sheet, formed over the visible side, as a temporary mold spanned across the opening. Masking tape can also be used and resin doesn’t stick to the adhesive side. Coat the aluminum with mold release wax for easy removal. The aluminum provides a straight smooth surface to laminate on and resins don’t stick well to untreated aluminum, making it easy to remove. I really recommend PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol) mold release film because it is easier to clean off (with soapy water) and is less likely to contaminate future laminations compared to mold release paste wax.
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Good luck,
Joe
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that's a lot I appreciate the info ill have to take my time thanx again
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for the dash i would cut the underside glass out, and remove the wood. cut a new piece, use thickened resin and clamp it in and put a few layers of glass across the rear again. then for the front fill the holes with glass and sand smooth. "patching" a bunch of 2 1/16" holes is not going to be fun. plus the wood is probably due to be replaced anyways.