Marine Tex for filling screw holes

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Ocean Alexander 38'
The railings up to the fly bridge are pulling loose and need to be re-set. I have pulled them off, reemed the holes and had planned to fill with thickened epoxy, re-drill, bed the plates in 4200 and re-install the screws. The local marine supply house recommends Marine Tex for this instead of thickened epoxy. Opinions?
 
When we did this in the past, always used thickened epoxy. One advantage of that approach is that you can vary the consistency. We generally use epoxy syringes to squirt in some unthickended epoxy first, then suck out any extra. This allows it to penetrate the core somewhat. Next, mix the thickened and insert with the syringe. As for marine tex, I don't think it is going to flow well into the holes and is very hard to drill the new holes. Assuming no need for adhesive properties (i.e., anything with a mechanical attachment) we also use only butyl rubber to seal all our deck hardware above the waterline (but not for anything near a fuel fill). See recent threads on this topic. If you can change from screws to thru bolts with backing plates, even better.
 
The railings up to the fly bridge are pulling loose and need to be re-set. I have pulled them off, reemed the holes and had planned to fill with thickened epoxy, re-drill, bed the plates in 4200 and re-install the screws. The local marine supply house recommends Marine Tex for this instead of thickened epoxy. Opinions?


I used thicked epoxy.
 
Marine Tex is thickened epoxy and usually is fine for filling screw holes.

It has been used to repair all kinds of things and isn't too finicky for the user.
 
Another method is to drill the hole to the diameter of a wood plug, quarter inch for example. Epoxy the plug in place, trim, sand flush, drill and replace your hardware.
 
MarineTex is a brand, but many of us often think of it as one product - a 2-part putty like substance that hardens like JB Weld.

There are different MarineTex products. This putty

MTEpoxyPutty.jpg


and this epoxy.

rapidSet.gif


I'd be more inclined to use the epoxy for the above stated reasons.
 
This is a contrarian view of using MarineTex on a frp boat

Unless you are very skilled at filling and fairing on frp do not use MT. The problem is that MT is so much harder than the surrounding frp that a new user will almost always end up going low around the repair causing the MT to remain somewhat proud.

The more you sand the worse it gets.

Use epoxy with a filler such as Q cells.

One boaters view.

Mike
 
Complete novices have been using MT for 40+ years that I have been dealing with boats...for ALL kind of serious repairs....repairing screw holes is different than filling unused screw holes and final finishing.

While it's not my first choice....it's because I have 40+ years working with other fillers, epoxies and polyesters and most likely have them on hand.

Hard to beat fixing the occasional screw hole with anything else unless you have a boat or shed full of repair materials.
 
psneeld wrote

“Complete novices have been using MT for 40+ years that I have been dealing with boats...for ALL kind of serious repairs”

First of all thank you for you service as a USCG helo pilot. Our nation has benefited from your service.

Second I disagree. I see badly done MT repairs in every marina I’m in.

Your experience may differ.

I stand by my criticism of MT. Do not use it - use epoxy and a suitable filler.

Mike
 
psneeld wrote

“Complete novices have been using MT for 40+ years that I have been dealing with boats...for ALL kind of serious repairs”

First of all thank you for you service as a USCG helo pilot. Our nation has benefited from your service.

Second I disagree. I see badly done MT repairs in every marina I’m in.

Your experience may differ.

I stand by my criticism of MT. Do not use it - use epoxy and a suitable filler.

Mike

Thanks for the recognition.

Fine...but if the repair is covered back up...you'll never see it.

I see badly done repairs with everything under the sun...ya gotta at some point be careful.
 
Here's what I'm dealing with. The repairs will be covered.


I was able to through-bolt the top rail posts The overhang of the flybridge is solid at the back two bolts and pretty stout at the front. Wouldn't do this in the field unless you could open it up and solid block it.

The center pic shows the holes I want to fill and re-drill
 

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IF the boat deck is GRP it wont matter.

If the deck is "Chinese Composite" ,,house plywood with a thin layer of GRP, I would prefer Git Rot as it will penetrate further into the ply core than any thickened goop.
 
the big issue is the thickener. Assume the epoxy has crap as a filler.

Instead use something like wet dry 700 epoxy paste with is thickened with kevlar and feldspar ceramic. Another trick is to use fine sand in the epoxy...

finally coat the bolts /screws with grease and insert into the wet epoxy. When the epoxy sets you can unscrew the screws and have a perfectly threaded hole.
 
I've used git rot and it works fine for soaking into the core, but you will still need expoxy to fill the holes. Having seen the pics and based on my experience, I would stick to my previous comments. Basically, over drill the holes slightly (but make sure you don't go so large that the repair won't be covered by the fitting). Insert some neat epoxy (I like West Systems, but lots of other options out there for less money). Suck that out, then fill with thickened epoxy. Since the repair is on an angle, you will need to thicken it up a bit more than I usually would. A great thickener is fumed silica like cab-o-sil (that is just one brand name). I'd also suggest putting duct tape over the bottom 2/3 of the hole before inserting the epoxy to help prevent it flowing out. The hardest part is getting just the right consistency - enough flow to insert with a syringe, but not so thin that it flows right back out. As soon as it is filled, cover the rest of the hole with tape until it hardens. If you don't think you will have a need for extra epoxy resin, hardener and thickener, then you could try West Systems Six10 product. It comes in smaller syringes and mixes as it comes out of the tube. I haven't used it, but it got good reviews from several dockmates with smaller projects like yours. If you want to get real fancy, you could try to insert a threaded bolt that is covered with wax in the hole before inserting the epoxy - the wax allows you to unscrew the bolt after the epoxy sets. This gives you a very strong threaded insert to screw into, much stronger than self tapping screws. Otherwise, just drill one size smaller than the self tapping screw and you are done. Still recomend butyl rubber for sealing. Good luck - as fiberglass repairs go, this one looks pretty simple.
 
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I would think putting sand in the mix would play hob with your drill bits. Just a thought...
 
yes - no drilling if you use sand! - use the greased bolts in the wet epoxy
 
I gave it a shot wth the Marime Tex. Way too thick and not able to get it to "flow" into holes at all. Will give it a go with the thickened epoxy.
 
Carolena - I like the waxed bolt idea, but I'm not sure how to go about it. Dragging the bolt across a crayon like a file was my first thought, but then you've filled the lands with wax. How is this done ?
 
Carolena - I like the waxed bolt idea, but I'm not sure how to go about it. Dragging the bolt across a crayon like a file was my first thought, but then you've filled the lands with wax. How is this done ?

Coat the screw/bolt with heavy paste wax (something like Colonite will work). I've also heard of using cooking spray, but haven't tried it. You may also want to take at look at this tutorial: Sealing Deck Penetrations to Prevent Core Rot Photo Gallery by Compass Marine at pbase.com

Also, second to last post on this page addresses waxing the screws: Seacock Backing Plates / Alternate Method / No Through Bolts Photo Gallery by Compass Marine at pbase.com

Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss.
 
Just checked out the Compass site - really appreciate your tips and direction to that site, Carolena! Thanks, again.
 
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