Patch fiberglass

[Crows Nest]

Hi. Just removed my backup camera and need to patch five holes. Suggestions?

[HABBERDABBER]

I filled and patched a bunch of holes on an old Casita I had that were once used to mount a long gone awning.
Marine Tex is a 2 part white-ish colored epoxy used to patch scuffs and the like on fiberglass boats. Try some on 1 hole.
Clean up your hole opening, maybe use a syringe filled with mixed Marine-Tex to get it well into the hole area to leave an interior plug, leave a little above the hole, and apply some packing tape over the area. Smooth out the taped area but leave it a little "proud". Wet sand with 400 and 600 grit.
Do all this carefully. The hole may mostly disappear.
If you're an absolute stickler for perfection....well, a fiberglass shop can make the holes disappear, along with a good chunk of your money.

https://itwperformancepolymers.com/p...ex-epoxy-putty

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by HABBERDABBER

If you're an absolute stickler for perfection....well, a fiberglass shop can make the holes disappear, along with a good chunk of your money.

If you're an absolute stickler for perfection use gelcoat. :

Epoxy products may not be a perfect match and the 5 holes may still be visible. This is a higher visibility area and the color matching is more important.

Ron

[HABBERDABBER]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

If you're an absolute stickler for perfection use gelcoat. :

Epoxy products may not be a perfect match and the 5 holes may still be visible. This is a higher visibility area and the color matching is more important.

Ron

Sound observations, but what comes to mind is "perfection is the enemy of good."
The Marine-Tex would likely get you to 80% or more of the color match. An eye, knowing where to look, may see the patched holes, but aren't they in a well above eye level position?

There are many materials and remedies you could do, going from a decorative sticker hiding & sealing the area, to duct tape, to white caulk, to polyester resin and gelcoat, to Marine-Tex and others.

If you're unambitious or time constrained, or need a quick fix, there are domed, white, snap in "buttons" easily available, that would use your existing holes and seal them as well as reasonably blend in with the color. You'd see them. A dab of sealant where they snap in when inserting them would be a good preventive measure.

Something like these:
https://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Cover...84&sr=8-5&th=1

Auto parts stores carry them too, in smaller quantities.

Propose what you'd like to do.

[Crows Nest]

Simple is better. What about silicone plugs?

Wealrit 12 Pcs White T-Shape Silicone Plugs Waterproof Hole Plugs Tube Plugs Flush Type Hole Plugs Fit for 15mm Hole(16mm)

[WillyB]

Gelcoat repair was really much easier than I thought when I scratched our baby. Ron is the expert and he can guide you though.

Not sure if Escape changed their gelcoat over the years to match but you can call them and purchase some to do the job.

[HABBERDABBER]

Originally Posted by Crows Nest

Simple is better. What about silicone plugs?

Wealrit 12 Pcs White T-Shape Silicone Plugs Waterproof Hole Plugs Tube Plugs Flush Type Hole Plugs Fit for 15mm Hole(16mm)

Why not try some?
You can always remove them if you want to do some other remedial action later.
It's all dependent on YOUR desires, skills, moxie and available time.
The plugs would work.

[7Gentex]

Originally Posted by Crows Nest

Hi. Just removed my backup camera and need to patch five holes. Suggestions?

Don't like the camera?

[Crows Nest]

We don’t find it to be especially useful in backing up (one of us can get out of the truck and check) and we were hoping it would work as a rear view mirror on the road but the exceptionally wide angle and poor visibility in bright light rendered it unsuitable for that purpose. No harm in keeping it though so we’re still thinking about it.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by Crows Nest

.... No harm in keeping it though so we’re still thinking about it.

That makes it sound like easily removable hole plugs might be in order.

Even if you decide to go with a different rear-view cam it's quite possible its mounting base will use or cover the holes avoiding the necessity of a somewhat tedious color-match patch (which can always be done later if you decide the go sans-cam permanently).

Just for your (interim) consideration, Have Fun!

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Crows Nest

We don’t find it to be especially useful and we were hoping it would work as a rear view mirror on the road but the exceptionally wide angle and poor visibility in bright light rendered it unsuitable for that purpose.

I found the same thing years ago. I found it especially poor at identifying Smokey coming up behind.

I had an old damaged Sony video camera with 60x optical lens. Built an enclosure, adapted it to 12V and mounted it under the bumper of my 19. Zoomed it to the point that seemed best. Worked very well. I haven't installed it on my 21 because it's hard wired to the truck and I've been lazy. Too bad they don't make wireless cameras with better resolution.

Ron