Repaired 3 1/2" Hole in Dash

OllieC

Well-Known Member
SILVER Sponsor
Mar 11, 2013
6,698
N.W. ‘Sconnie
Boat Info
Sara Belle
2005 Weekender 215
Engines
Mercruiser 5.0 mpi, Bravo III
This is something I enjoy doing, repairs to the gelcoat.

About 6 years ago, I wanted to upgrade my sound system from the 2005 Clarion that came with the Weekender. I opted for a Sony head unit with a helm station wired remote. At that time, I really wanted to spend the money on speakers, sub & and amp, which I went with JL Audio M-Series.

The Sony remote required me to drill a 3.5" hole at my helm area. At the time, I was pretty reluctant, but figured I wasn't going to upgrade the sound system anytime soon. Well, that was then and this is now. I've upgraded to a Fusion system with NMEA connections to my chart plotter & a Fusion NMEA remote.

Having really no room anywhere & not wanting to drill "another hole" I wanted put the new remote at the existing remotes location. However the Fusion remote was smaller. The Fusion NRX300 remote fit length wise across the existing 3.5" hole but not the height. I purchased a larger backing plate for the remote, but there was still a gap, so I decided to fill 1/2 of the hole & gelcoat it. I've never gel coated this much area before.

What I did first was cut some rigid plastic packaging material. Luckily I had a 3.75" circle of plastic packaging from green masking tape. I cut the circle in half and taped it behind the helm covering the bottom half of the existing 3.5" hole. I took the other 1/2 of the plastic packaging and taped it where it was originally cut to act as a hinge at the top of the 1/2 circle. I had to trim the piece so it would fit through the 3.5" hole. What this did was keep the six10 epoxy in place so it didn't just fall out the back and over the top. (sorry, no pics)

I then applied West Systems six10 filling the 1/2 hole, adding a little extra exceeding the depth of the hole, but just before it could drip down the front of the helm & out of the hole. I let it dry for 24 hours and then I took my Dremel and sanded it flat the best I could & just below the existing gel coat at the hole. I then sanded around the edge of the existing gel coat so the new gel coat could adhere and blend in better. Once that was finished, I cleaned the area with Acetone.

I purchased the Gel Coat from Marine Max who had the Spectrum Gel Coat color Pearl Ash in stock which is my hull color. The little jar of it seemed to do the trick, but I could have used a little more. I applied my 1st coat. It was runny, so I was sure to have the area masked off. After 24 hours I wet sanded with 400 grit. It took about 30 mins to get it to the existing level of the helm. I noticed some pitting & there were obvious areas that were still below the existing gel coat line, so a 2nd coat was required. Here's some photos. This was after the 2nd coat.

IMG_4501.JPG


Here is the wet sanding. Again, it took about another 1/2 hour. I started with 400, then 600, then 2000.
IMG_4502.JPG


This is the finished area. After the wet sanding, I compounded it and then used 3M's Finesse It. The thing I noticed was I still have some small pin holes, must have been from bubbles, however the gel coat color matches perfectly.

IMG_4503.JPG


If I had some extra, I would have put one more coat to cover the pin holes, however only about a 1/4" would be exposed below the Fusion remote once installed.

This fall, I may purchase another jar of Spectrum and clean up the small holes.

I just thought I'd share my experience.

Ollie
 
IMG_4230.JPG
Looks like a great match. Nice skill to have.
 

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