How to fill holes in Pop-Top

[scmatthew]

Hello All,
The PO of my Westy drilled a bunch of holes in the top to mount old solar panels. I'd love to fill these and get rid of the panels. I was wondering if anyone had a cool idea. Epoxy? Bolt with a washer? Silicone?
Thanks for any help.
Matt

[RBEmerson]

First and foremost, do not use silicone. Once it's on the surface, you can never get it all off. If you want to paint the pop-top and you have silicone on it, you'll see why it's a Bad Thing (no adhesion).

Bolts and washers, sealed with a polysulphide caulk (e.g., BoatLife LifeCaulk, SikaFlex), will work well. You can finish the interior end of the bolt with acorn nuts, which look "finished".

You can also glue small metal disks with 3M 5200 (permanent bond) or 3M 4200 (some hope of breaking the bond).

But don't use silicone.

DISCLAIMER: I have no connection, save as a customer, with any of the companies mentioned above.
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Lord, give me coffee to change the things I can change, and wine to accept the things I can't change.

[mightyart]

fiberglass repair kit, fix it for good.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Bondo-Fiberglass-Resin-Repair-Kit-1-2pt/17056867

[MarkWard]

For filling small holes and cracks in fiberglass, I use this product. It is easy to apply and sand. It is called Duraglass. http://www.toolsource.com/duraglas-fiberglass-fill...d=googleps

You will need to prime and paint your repairs though.

Another option is a product called Marine Tex. It comes in white. http://www.marinetex.com/marinetexepoxyputty.html

Both products are good quality. I have no affilitation with either.
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☮️

[61Scout]

Fiberglass for fiberglass. Small holes can just be filled with resin.

One trick I learned from a guy who repairs boats is that fiberglass will not stick to plastic. I was watching him one day while he was doing some small hole repairs and he used a sheet plastic (like the kind teachers used to use for overhead projectors) cut to the hole size and taped well to the surface. Then he put some cardboard over that and taped that down, I assume to maintain the profile and not let the resin sag. Then from the other side he filled in with resin. I happened to be in that shop a few days later and the boat he was repairing was still there for work... you absolutely could not tell where he filled in.

On a related subject, I learned another trick by watching this guy on a different occasion. He was cutting some fiberglass matting, the kind that looks like burlap. Before he cut it he pulled out a couple of the strands. This gave him a nice clear path to cut and also naturally feathered the edge.

Kevin
_________________
1986 Westfalia Weekender Wolfsburg, RJE 2.3
1985 Tin Top, Subie 2.2 + 5MT
Floppy Mirrors no more: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=653018&highlight=
Remove the front spindle nut with ease: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=679567&highlight=
Remove the rear wheel bearing housing without messing with the big 46mm nut: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=679507&highlight=

-Nec Spe, Nec Metu

[RBEmerson]

[RBEmerson]

FWIW, when we bought our Westy, the PO kept his bicycle rack but left the mounting points on the side of the top. I've since pulled them. The holes are filled with white LifeCaulk. It's watertight (even through a car wash) but white stands out on the "white" top.
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Lord, give me coffee to change the things I can change, and wine to accept the things I can't change.

[t3 kopf]

a trick i use on small holes in composite material is to mix some finely cut strands of fiberglass into 5 minute epoxy and apply it. it will sand and will hold just fine.
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'90 Carat w/ '95 phase 1 EJ22 OBD2 conversion

[hiram6]

Easiest way to fiberglass the repairs is right here ---> http://www.cleanlinesurf.com/products.php?product=...7Aod_TYAUw

No mixing, no mess, easy as can be. Sandable after it cures, and accepts paint nicely. I repaired 8 holes where the PO had Yakima gutter mounts, sanded then painted the entire top with a marine paint made for boat decks. Came out really nice.
_________________
1985 Westy, 1.9L automatic (Daisy)
1996 Mazda Miata
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited

You can't lie around on the beach and drink rum all day.................unless you start first thing in the morning.

[SSWesty]

I had some extra holes when I got my westy and used this stuff to fill them http://www.fisheriessupply.com/hardman-epoxy-hardman-epoxy-pouches-04001 I've used it many times for small repairs and have always had good luck.

One trick I've learned from working with boats is to taper the hole so the outside or the upside of the hole is larger than the inside. The filler then becomes a cone shaped plug rather than a straight cylinder. The pop top is pretty thin but you can still get a bit of a taper on a hole by using a larger drill bit. For example for a 1/4" hole try a 3/8" bit to taper the hole. Since the top is so thin I'd just spin the bit in reverse on the hole so it grinds away a little fiberglass to taper the hole.

I've had good luck using tape on the inside of the hole to contain epoxy from getting everwhere. Then the epoxy dries you can pull the tape of and end up with a pretty clean look on the inside.

The last point is to get a coat of paint on epoxy to protect it from the sun. The sun will break down epoxy over time.