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Kahoona · 07-09-2015, 06:52 AM

Hi All
Problem:
Ran into a surprise when I went to tighten the bolts holding my hood on yesterday. They spun. It fell off. Actually it was not really a surprise since that seems to happen every time I tighten any body part

. The latch plates have the same problem. The prop bar falls off and the hood has creeping cracks. So here is the front now

Plan:
Since I hate having these things come loose all of the time I am going to use a favorite fix I learned repairing my boat. I will also repair the holes that hold the latch-plates. I will replace the missing cap fastener on the end of the prop bar. I also want to get some rubber or felt pads for the hood to close against.

Kahoona · 07-09-2015, 07:15 AM

I started yesterday late. I thought I was finished for the day but I wanted to get the first stage in so things could dry. I forgot to take pics till this AM. Here is the hood

It is face down on my outdoor workstation. You can see two much thicker areas on either side. They are hollow pockets into which the lag bolts that hold the hood brackets are screwed. The holes in the fiberglass simply wear oversize in time. One side has already gotten larger lags. If it was built right there would have and may have been a piece of plywood molded into this pocket to give the lags something to bite int. If there was it has long since rotted to bits and run out of the holes. I filler the pockets completely with Dap Daptex foam sealant.
DAP Products - Caulks and Sealants - DAPtex® Plus Multi-Purpose Foam Sealant
which is a good foam that cleans with water and does not expand so much that it blows things apart. Then I knocked off the stuff that came up out of the holes. This is much better than Great Stuff. I also did the same with the place where the latch plates went, even though they did not have wood.

I knocked most of the rust off of the hardware and sprayed them with some rust buster and then black paint. Futile I know but what the heck.

Here is a closer shot of the pocket section of the hood.

I have to go to the local ACE for Epoxy and hardware, then to a meeting but later I will create the permanent spots for the lags that will outlast the coach.

Kahoona · 07-09-2015, 07:22 AM

I forgot. The creeping cracks will get a drop of Captain Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure. They will never stop creeping without either the cure or a serious digging out and epoxy resurfacing and I am not yet ready to tackle the top side.
Robot Check

Kahoona · 07-09-2015, 04:55 PM

I did find out that there was wood in both but one side was entirely rotted out and the other starting. The foam will fill the voids but won't provide support for the screws. I drilled the old holes out very much oversize.

Then I filled them with epoxy and West System 403 which is wonderful stuff and turns epoxy into a thick adhesive filler. I use these all of the time.

I did not count on the epoxy melting the Dap filler. I'll try another type next time. I had to add chopped fibers and refill the holes a second time. Then I used a putty knife to level the filler while it was almost set.

I did something similar on the holes for the front latchplates.

I waited until they were almost fully solid but were still easy to drill and drilled the holes. I used a piece of tape to mark the depth.

The lags can now be securely set and will never fail due to rot. I added some caulk to the back of the hood brackets, just because of the way these things shake around.

Before I put the hood back on I applied some creeping crack repair to a spot on the front.

Here it is back in place. I did not really torque the lags down super tight. I don't need to this way. I will go back tomorrow and see that they are snug but they will hold.