Filling Old Screw Holes in Console

[stunsm]

Q1: what resin or other material should be used to fill small holes in a console and will match the color of the console gel coat on a 1991 OUTRAGE [of unspecified model]?

BACKSTORY
After removing a few old accessories and replacing a fish finder, I have a few small holes I'd like to fill in the top of the console in a 1991 OUTRAGE [of unspecified model]. The largest hole is 0.5-inch diameter, and the others are from screw fasteners. All holes on the top of the console.

[jimh]

If the area to repair is on the top of the center console and will be highly visible, the surface layer of the repair should be done with a color-match gel coat resin.

If the unused mounting holes will be covered by new equipment and will not be in view, you can just use epoxy with thickener to fill them. The WEST System Epoxy repair kit is a good source of everything you will need to fill many old fastener holes.

In either case, you can use a thickened and tinted epoxy resin to initially fill the holes, but because epoxy resin will tend to yellow with exposure to sunlight, you should not use epoxy resin for the surface layer if the holes will be in prominent view.

The 0.5-inch diameter hole may need some high-density filler for the resin and some fiberglass cloth material on the back side.

When using gel coat resin for a repair, the resin should have a wax additive and be in the form of a paste consistency. The wax is need because usually a polyester resin will not cure to a hard surface if it is exposed to air. Alternatively regular polyester resin (without wax) can be covered with a layer of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to keep out the air.

For details on the process of using epoxy and gel coat resin together, see

The Epoxy Cure
https://continuouswave.com/maintenance-logs/epoxy/

You can purchase small quantities of repair gel coat resin paste material (at crazily high prices) from Spectrum. Read about an alternative source at

Alternative Source for Color-Matched Gel Coat Resin with Wax
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewto ... f=6#p50373

Or you can use normal polyester gel coat resin and tint it yourself to match the color, then spray PVA to enable a hard cure.

Your success at tinting white resin to match DESERT TAN or OUTRAGE GRAY gel coat will depend on the acuity of your color vision.

The original gel coat finish on the console should be washed to remove all dirt, any oxidation in the surface resin removed, and the surface buffed to a gloss finish; in this way you will be able to see the true color of the original surface.

A simpler and much faster approach to filling unused old fastener holes is simply to put a new stainless steel screw into them. Unless there are multiple holes and in highly visible locations, a random machine screw head appearing in a console surface is not a particularly unusual visual element.

[stunsm]

Great info, thanks!

[MarkCz]

I also removed some older electronics from the top of my console. I used the previously removed electronics holes to mount a piece of Starboard and then mounted the new electronics to the starboard using T nuts that were recessed into the bottom of the starboard so new holes in the console were not needed.

[jimh]

I also removed some older electronics from the top of my console. I used the previously removed electronics holes to mount a piece of KING StarBoard and then mounted the new electronics to the starboard using T-nuts that were recessed into the bottom of the KING StarBoard so new holes in the console were not needed.

If the boat were a classic-era Boston Whaler, you could substitute varnished Teak for the KING StarBoard and maintain a classic appearance.

[MarkCz]

Agreed, my boat was a 1987 with the fiberglass console. Now that I have experience doing gel coat repairs I mighy have just fixed the holes properly, but at that time I did not have the necessary knowledge.

[angrygiraffe]

For your 0.5-inch holes and screw fastener voids, I'd suggest using a ‌two-part marine-grade epoxy putty‌ with color-matching capability.