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I'm installing a new transom mount transducer on my Sea Pro. What should I use to fill the screw holes from the the transducer that I removed. There are four holes less than quarter inch dia. each. I'm thinking I should use something stronger and harder than silicone(?).
Well, I can tell you how I do it. I rinse the area and the holes with acetone first. I mix up a little bit of epoxy first and take a toothpick or Q-Tip and swab the screw hole to wet it out just a very little bit. Then I mix in enough of West Systems #404 High Density Filler with the rest of the epoxy to give it a consistancy a little looser than peanut butter. I then suck that up into a syringe (no needle of any type) and use it to squirt the mix in from the back side of the hole. When the hole is full I wipe the outside real quick with acetone and then slap a piece of duct tape over it. Come back the next day and remove the duct tape, take a sanding block and some 240 grit wet paper and clean it up, then a quick swipe with some 600 and followup with rubbing compound. Pretty simple really and its waterproof along with being in there for life. The color won't match but it won't look bad, particularly if you go to the trouble of drilling out the hole first (not a bad idea at all) to clean it all up.
By the way, you could do the same thing with that 5-minute epoxy (the 20 minute version would be better) that comes in the little matched tubes or bottles if you wanted to.
Then tape up the back side. The point is to first wet out the hole for a secure bond and then to make sure the hole - be it partial or complete - is completely filled with a reinforced epoxy.
The problems with a lot of repairs, or simply squirting some calking compound of whatever sort on the hole is that most of them fall out or lift and leak sooner or later. With the long-term integrity of the transom at stake sealing holes is something that should be taken seriously. At least that's how I see it.
Another small trick.... if the hole does not go all the way through.
After filling the whole with the peanut butter mix, so it looks like your done (hoel filled), stick a pin or tooth pick all the way into the hole as deep as it will go and pull it out. Then fill the hole again, this will ensure there is no air bubble in the back of the hole.
I usually pull the plunger and fill them from the back too, but sometime I plain mix it up to thick and have to start over.
The syringes I use are 1 ml. in size. I wouldn't know how to describe them other than to say that the lady at the medical unit where I work gave me a hand full of them a couple of years ago and I haven't used them all up yet. They are throw-aways but if you just suck up and squirt out a few shots with acetone when you get done using them and then pull the plunger out they last for a couple of uses. She gave me a few of a larger size too, and I liked them even better, but I don't have any left. Hmmmmm, maybe I can do something about that tomorrow.
Filling Holes
photob
ucket.com
