holes in cabin interior

[Tim Ward]

I am getting ready to paint the fiberglass interior cabin walls.

Before I start I need to fill in the holes left behind from the screws that held up the old curtain tracks, about 20 holes that measure 1/8 inch in diameter.

Is there a product that I could squirt into the holes, let harden, and then sand smooth.? I asked my local West Marine store and to my surprise that did not have an answer for me. Told me to go to the hardware store down the street.

Any help would be appreciated.

Tim

[Jim Davis]

Or any other epoxy filler. I would say JB Weld Quick, but it is dark gray in color. Mix, fill and put regular Scotch Tape over it. When cured pull the tape and sand.

[John Vigor]

Tim, West Marine should be ashamed of themselves. As Jim says, any marine epoxy putty will do it, but they cure very hard and can be difficult to sand.

I don't know how your old screw holes are situated, but you might want to cover them with a thin strip of varnished teak, which can look very classy and shouldn't be too expensive.

If that won't work, I personally would use epoxy resin mixed with microballoons to a consistency of thick peanut butter to fill the holes. Apply it with a flexible putty knife. Then place the knife halfway across the filled hole and draw it away to one side, flush with the rest of the fiberglass. Then place the knife halfway across the hole again and draw it to the other side.

If you simply swipe the knife from one side clean across to the other, you tend to pull the filler away from the first edge of the hole. But if you do it from the middle outward toward the edges, you will push the putty onto both edges for good contact.

The reason for using a microballoon filler is that it sands very easily when cured, unlike marine epoxy putty. Use a small block of wood and wrap 220-grit sandpaper around it to make everything smooth
for painting.

Cheers,

John V.

[Cathy Monaghan]

For this particular application you can use anything like 3M Lightweight Body Filler, Bondo Lightweight Filler or Marine Tex White (don't use the Gray).

Since it's going to be used inside, way above the waterline, isn't structural, and is going to be painted over anyway, go with the Bondo or whichever is cheapest. The Bondo and the 3M product should be easy to sand.

Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[sfreihofer]

Tim:

My recommendation in two words: Marine Tex. You can get it in white. It's expensive, but for patching screw holes etc., you don't need much. I find an old credit card makes a great applicator and will minimize sanding. It's a two part epoxy based filler. It has worked well for me.

I agree with Jim Davis. If you put tape over it and remove the tape after it hardens, you will generally get a nice smooth surface that also helps minimize sanding. I use masking tape instead of scotch tape, and it works very well also.

Stan

[Kevin Kaldenbach]

I would also consider using a large drill bit to taper the holes. This gives more area for the epoxy to adhere to. It may make it easier for you to feather the patch jobs.