Half Cab console tidy up & refilling drill holes fibreglass

[smidsy]

Hi All,

I want to tidy up my dash, as its starting to look like a termite home with all the drill holes from previous owners items.

As its vertical, and a small area, what's the best way to refill the holes. And how do you finish it off ?

Will it look like its got a bad case of small pox with the new white dots on old skin ?


Also, the previous owner screwed a heavy AM/FM radio, and a CB radio, below the rear cover, whatever its called ??

Anyway, whatever was holding this cover up obviously failed with the extra weight, and he randomly drilled screws all over the place, like a f'ing idiot >:(

I intend to remove the AM/FM radio, flush mount the VHF, remove the engine guard(just behind the wheel), and flush mount a circular radio I bought on ebay.

Once the extra weight is gone, how is this back instrument panel cover actually meant to be secured ?

It needs to be easily removable in case I need to change a fuse or anything like that at sea, preferably without tools ??

Anyone got an examples ?

Thanks !!

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[stevej]

The door would have had a captive bolt fiberglassed in and a wing init would have held the hatch closed

if the face is perfectly flat go to a plastics place and get them to cut something to shape and bevel the edges a few evenly placed riv nuts means the whole thing would be removable again easily in the future

can add a rubber gasket cut from a sheet from one of those rubber places as the riv nuts means it will sit a few mm proud of the old dash

neat and tidy and no fibreglass work

[Dignity]

The door would have had a captive bolt fiberglassed in and a wing init would have held the hatch closed

if the face is perfectly flat go to a plastics place and get them to cut something to shape and bevel the edges a few evenly placed riv nuts means the whole thing would be removable again easily in the future

can add a rubber gasket cut from a sheet from one of those rubber places as the riv nuts means it will sit a few mm proud of the old dash

neat and tidy and no fibreglass work

When I changed motors and all new gauges that is what I did, did mine in a deep smokey colour.

[smidsy]

The door would have had a captive bolt fiberglassed in and a wing init would have held the hatch closed

if the face is perfectly flat go to a plastics place and get them to cut something to shape and bevel the edges a few evenly placed riv nuts means the whole thing would be removable again easily in the future

can add a rubber gasket cut from a sheet from one of those rubber places as the riv nuts means it will sit a few mm proud of the old dash

neat and tidy and no fibreglass work

Thanks stevej!

I'm guessing the "wing init" is a mistyping and you meant a wing nut ? That makes sense on the top, as there is a bolt fibreglassed in, which is different to the others. Not sure how the bottom is held up though.

I've not familiar with riv nuts before, so not sure there, will have to look that up! Actually, Im a bit confused, your referring to the back bit right?

[smidsy]

When I changed motors and all new gauges that is what I did, did mine in a deep smokey colour.

Dont suppose you got a pic ? Cant get my head around it.

[Dignity]

Smidsy, I was referring to the face panel. Mine had 5 holes from previous gauges. I just screwed a sheet of poly carbonate direct to the dash and used a sealant (forgotten the name) which is strip like and looks and feels like blue tack to seal it, better than sika etc. In a previous boat I'd replaced the cabin windows in a similar way as the old ones were alum framed and it was going to cost the earth to replace, made it look so much better and more modern.

I used a hole saw to cut plugs for the original holes and just did a couple of sheets of fibreglass underneath, that way new holes would have support. You won't need to do that as yours is purely for cosmetic sake.
I'm not a fan of rivnuts (blind fixing, has a nut at the end and is fixed using a tool similar to a pop riveter), if they don't grip well initially they are painful to remove and in fibreglass I've found vibration causes them to loosen. Also very expensive in SS. Just use a SS screw and lock nut.
When I'm back home I'll see if I can get a photo for you.

[stevet]

I also had the same issue when repowering needing to cover up old holes that were for speedo, rpm. 2 x volts and trim tabs.

The easy way is to shape a cover plate over the holes.

The photo with the red masking tape is a carboard template I made to fit the required shape. The cover plate can be made out of numerous material eg perspex, starboard or metal. The plate/board can be covered with a multitude of finishes from original material finish, wrapped, powder coated or in my case aqua-dipped.

My process involved:

making the template, including all fixing holes etc
transferring the template to an electronic file for water blasting cutting,
as I wanted the fixing screws hidden, having stainless steel bolts welded onto the plate that resulted in the outer face having a smooth finish with no fixing screws evident
trail fitted etc - got it right
aqua dipped for the end result


total cost the stainless steel plate ready for aqua dipping $190
aqua dipping $300

there are cheaper solutions - I got the finish i was looking for to modernize the dash appearance. The up side is that it can be modified and refinished if necessary
Cheers
stevet

[Ducksnutz]

I also had the same issue when repowering needing to cover up old holes that were for speedo, rpm. 2 x volts and trim tabs.

The easy way is to shape a cover plate over the holes.

The photo with the red masking tape is a carboard template I made to fit the required shape. The cover plate can be made out of numerous material eg perspex, starboard or metal. The plate/board can be covered with a multitude of finishes from original material finish, wrapped, powder coated or in my case aqua-dipped.

My process involved:

making the template, including all fixing holes etc
transferring the template to an electronic file for water blasting cutting,
as I wanted the fixing screws hidden, having stainless steel bolts welded onto the plate that resulted in the outer face having a smooth finish with no fixing screws evident
trail fitted etc - got it right
aqua dipped for the end result


total cost the stainless steel plate ready for aqua dipping $190
aqua dipping $300

there are cheaper solutions - I got the finish i was looking for to modernize the dash appearance. The up side is that it can be modified and refinished if necessary
Cheers
stevet
Bloody nice job mate!👍

[Dignity]

I also had the same issue when repowering needing to cover up old holes that were for speedo, rpm. 2 x volts and trim tabs.

The easy way is to shape a cover plate over the holes.

The photo with the red masking tape is a carboard template I made to fit the required shape. The cover plate can be made out of numerous material eg perspex, starboard or metal. The plate/board can be covered with a multitude of finishes from original material finish, wrapped, powder coated or in my case aqua-dipped.

My process involved:

making the template, including all fixing holes etc
transferring the template to an electronic file for water blasting cutting,
as I wanted the fixing screws hidden, having stainless steel bolts welded onto the plate that resulted in the outer face having a smooth finish with no fixing screws evident
trail fitted etc - got it right
aqua dipped for the end result


total cost the stainless steel plate ready for aqua dipping $190
aqua dipping $300

there are cheaper solutions - I got the finish i was looking for to modernize the dash appearance. The up side is that it can be modified and refinished if necessary
Cheers
stevet

That looks great, pity the aqua dipping is so expensive in regards to the actual work of making the panel, but I like it.
I guess it depends on Smidsy budget, a sheet of poly carbonate would be significantly less.

I have a tendency to do the work then realise I should have done a "before" photo.

[stevet]

That looks great, pity the aqua dipping is so expensive in regards to the actual work of making the panel, but I like it.
I guess it depends on Smidsy budget, a sheet of poly carbonate would be significantly less.

Wrapped Poly carbonate would have been my next option.

[smidsy]

Thanks for the ideas everyone, its starting to come along, but please see below. So, plan is.... open up with a countersink drill bit. Masking tape on the back, put a bit of epoxy to fill the whole a bit. Then Septone gel coat repair to top it off, and sand down to smooth. Problem is, wont it look like she's got small pox, with all the new white patches in the aged gel coat ? How do I fix that ?

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Progress so far...


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I just simplified it. VHF is going on the port side, and a 3 inch circular am/fm radio ( https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/113902912191 ) is going to be mounted on the side of the console, for better use of space, but also so people can play with it while I'm driving. The back panel is quite snug and should go on with some basic butterfly fittings. Ill have a better idea once all cables are tidy etc.

Also, got one of these on the way.
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[Lovey80]

Depending on how aged the gel coat is you may never perfectly patch it. Others are more experienced with this than me but depending on how thing the gel coat is. You can rub back the entire surface with say 360 grit wet and dry to take back that top layer that’s been most affected by UV. Once the holes have been filled you can then go up through the grades so it’s really shiny before compound and buffing.

From there It’s just a hope that the newer gel coat fades a bit quicker and in a year or so you won’t notice it unless you’re looking for it. It works the same way for boats and stickers that have been on there a long time. There’s a “shadow” when you remove the sticker.

[Dignity]

Smidsy, you will need to get a bit of tinting from your local supplier, yellow or ivory depending on how aged your panel is. Tint in very small quantities as it goes a long way, dont add the hardener yet. Mix well, put a drop on the existing panel and smear it a little, add more tint if necessary, just a touch at a time, if you end up too much then just add more flowcoat. The drops will clean off with thinners or acetone. Being near vertical you can add Cabosil to stop it running but for such small amounts hardly worth it, you can tape some clear plastic underneath, use a syringe to push the flowcoat in and quickly close off with the plastic.

You will then need to sand flush, the issue being that you will need to do the entire panel and the existing finish may/will lighten up.
Got a photo of my polycarbonate job, all up was around $40 and you can easily fill those holes with a bit of bog if you want to. Just add talc powder to the flowcoat.
There is a significant amount of work in filling holes, more so than you would think.

[smidsy]

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This is how she ended up. It's not perfect, but its not bad. I sanded back the whole area, and she came up a clean white, slightly whiter than the filler.

I took the sticker off the bottom left, and found a further 6 holes::)

Steering wheel on the way. I'll fit that, then I think I'll live with it as is.

Significant improvement over the original.