See full version: How to Fix a Screw Hole in Gelcoat
Once you have filled the hole with paste, leave it for around a day, and then apply some sandpaper to the edge of the dried paste. You should try and sand your repair down so that it is completely level with the rest of the gelcoat. Once the sanding has been done, you can take a few moments to buff your new gelcoat so that it appears to be the same as the rest of your boat. [links]
If you have used Gelcoat on your boat, then you may find that removing any screws from the decking will result in an extra-large and visible hole. Most people are unwilling to have a large and unsightly screw hole in their boat deck, so it is clear that it needs to be removed before it can spread into a crack in the gelcoat. You can have the deck sanded by a professional, but if you are a keen home improvements buff, then you may enjoy attempting to repair the device on your own. Follow a few simple rules to get the job done quickly and effortlessly.
Most stores will provide a little item known as a gelcoat repair kit. This product is a pigmented paste which will cost around $10 for a tin. Marine centers and some home improvement stores will stock this item. Use it much as you would a caulk on dry land. Take a small piece of the paste, and spread it over the hole using your putty knife. Some recommend placing a layer of masking take over the paste while it dries, in order to keep water out of it, but you don't have to do this if you are in a dry dock, or the screw hole is high above the water line. here
The first thing that you need to do is to prepare the hole which you need to fill. Sweep out the hole to make sure there are no bits of wood or fiberglass in the hole, which can inhibit binding. You should then take a small piece of sandpaper, and rub this briskly against the sides of the hole. This helps to provide a slightly rough edge which will help the gelcoat repair putty to cling more tightly to the space. here
If, while sanding down the screw hole, you discover that there is a crack along the same part of the boat, you will need to use your sandpaper to widen the crack a little, and then add some of your paste to the gap you have made. Leave it to dry along with the rest of your repair, and then sand flat as before. With a larger amount of the paste, you may want to consider making the color closer to that of the rest of your gelcoat; for example, pigmenting a white repair paste slightly yellow to match the effects of aging on your boat deck. more
Re: Repairing Stripped Screw Holes in Fiberglass
fill em and redrill em!<br />cheers [links]
Re: Repairing Stripped Screw Holes in Fiberglass [links]
The highest strength option, it turns out, is reinforcing the epoxy with fiberglass cloth. This combines the strength and bubble-free consistency of epoxy with the toughness and high strength of fiberglass, yielding the highest possible strength. In every test, the plug pulled out before the threads stripped. But are you better off with a stripped screw or a thumb-sized hole in the skin of the deck? You will have to answer that question, based on the nature of the installation.
Use slow epoxy systems. The plug is large enough for West Systems Fast Hardener (205) and all 5-minute epoxies to build heat and make bubbles (exotherm). This results in a weak plug.
The generally poor performance of fillers derives from a variety of factors. In the case of sawdust and micro-ballons, they are fundamentally weak. In principle, epoxy thickened with colloidal silica should be 10-30 percent stronger, stiffer, and harder than straight epoxy. In fact, however, the presence of fillers increases retention of micron-sized air bubbles, originating from the air trapped within the filler itself.
Additionally, screws were also set in the skin-only, a pine board, and solid fiberglass sheet for comparison. In all cases, a pilot hole matching the core diameter of the screw was used.
This is asking for a wet core and should only be practiced in dry areas. Strength depends entirely on the original layup and is poor, even for light duty use. more
Fill holes when the temperature is steady or falling. If a cored structure is filled when the temperature is rising, expanding air will come out through the hole, creating bubbles and a weak plug.
Theres no place for screws in glasswork, it needs to be thru-bolted with backing plate and washer.
http://www.yachtsurvey.com/hardware_attachments.htm more
Ok thanks. He's never worked with epoxy before. Maybe I can pump some of mine into those plastic squeeze bottles and give to him so he won't have to buy any.
If he wants a PERMANENT attachment. re-install the screws into the marine bondo epoxy before it dries but there is the chance he may have to do damage to remove them in the future. more
Re: Screw hole in fiberglass stripped out. here