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Best method to fill old holes in deck


CG RYAN

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Hey guys, I am getting ready to mount my new xi5 and I will have the old holes exposed from my current motorguide. I plan to eventually have all the little cosmetic things patched up but for the time being I am looking for ideas to fill the holes. I know I could use the same hardware and just add a finish washer but I was hoping to use a gelcoat repair kit or possibly marine-tex but I am not sure which route is preferred. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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I filled in some nice size holes with the West System than covered them with gel coat.  I have pictures of the process I will try to get up later today.  The tough part is going to be matching the non-skid which I am sure can be done if you play with it for a bit.

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While a more expensive route, I purchased the color matched gel coat (with wax) from Minicraft as I had a few holes to patch on the console and non-skid (as well as a few dings on the keel). Fortunately most of these were small holes, approx 3/16", so I mixed in cabosil to thicken the gelcoat, placed a piece of masking tape on the backside and filled with a small squeegee. For the console where I needed a smooth finish I used a piece of cellophane tape on the outside of the hole to get a smooth and (almost) flat surface. Still had to do some wet sanding and polishing but was minimal. Push on the repair while still wet to make sure you don't have any air bubbles.

For the non-skid in the deck I was able to access the back side in some cases so could use masking tape behind the hole. Where I could not access the backside I balled up a small piece of tape and pushed it well down into the hole. I also used cabosiI to thicken the gelcoat and then filled the hole most of the way and let it cure and then came back with a second application of thickened gelcoat and used a small foam roller to get the non-skid pattern. Came out pretty close.

I don't recommend using epoxy fillers (including Marine-Tex) as I believe most of the boats were built with polyester resin. Epoxy will stick to polyester very well but polyester will not form a strong bond to epoxy. Gelcoats are polyester. A small hole may not matter but would be concerned over time.

I know you can buy gelcoat repair kits for less cost than matched gelcoat so can be an option if you are patient with matching the gelcoat.

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57 minutes ago, RobVan said:

While a more expensive route, I purchased the color matched gel coat (with wax) from Minicraft as I had a few holes to patch on the console and non-skid (as well as a few dings on the keel). Fortunately most of these were small holes, approx 3/16", so I mixed in cabosil to thicken the gelcoat, placed a piece of masking tape on the backside and filled with a small squeegee. For the console where I needed a smooth finish I used a piece of cellophane tape on the outside of the hole to get a smooth and (almost) flat surface. Still had to do some wet sanding and polishing but was minimal. Push on the repair while still wet to make sure you don't have any air bubbles.

For the non-skid in the deck I was able to access the back side in some cases so could use masking tape behind the hole. Where I could not access the backside I balled up a small piece of tape and pushed it well down into the hole. I also used cabosiI to thicken the gelcoat and then filled the hole most of the way and let it cure and then came back with a second application of thickened gelcoat and used a small foam roller to get the non-skid pattern. Came out pretty close.

I don't recommend using epoxy fillers (including Marine-Tex) as I believe most of the boats were built with polyester resin. Epoxy will stick to polyester very well but polyester will not form a strong bond to epoxy. Gelcoats are polyester. A small hole may not matter but would be concerned over time.

I know you can buy gelcoat repair kits for less cost than matched gelcoat so can be an option if you are patient with matching the gelcoat.

Thanks for the replies. I should be able to get to the back of all the holes and will probably try your method. 

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