Topic: Is Loctite 2 part marine epoxy suitable for filling the oversized screw

[C. Corner]

holes? I would like to drill the hole out with an oversize bit, fill them with the epoxy and then drill with the correct bit and seal with 3M 4200. Do you think this will work?

[sonar2000]

It will probably work but I would not bond the screws in place. You might want to remove them at some time...
Chuck

[bigkahuna]

I just looked up the spec sheet on Loctite marine epoxy.  It's a fast cure epoxy (not a saturating epoxy) which isn't ideal but is better than nothing.  Another thing you can do is to cut away a small area of the wood core so you can fill in the area with more epoxy.  You might be able to do that with a small dremmel tool.  All you need to cut away is a small amount, maybe 1/8" give or take.  Then mask off one side of the hole and fill the hole (and void) with epoxy (or a mix of epoxy and fiberglass fibers).  When it hardens you can re-drill the hole and mount your hardware.  This way the hole goes through fiberglass - epoxy mix - fiberglass instead of fiberglass - wood - fiberglass.  Hard to explain the process without pictures but if you need a better explanation drop me a line.

[tboltmike]

Is this a wood core transom application?
As Bigkahuna stated, best to use a thin slow set epoxy to get wood saturation.
When drilling out, inspect the wood shavings to check for rot, wet or spongy wood.  A pic can be used to probe the wood in the hole for soundness.  If the wood is sound but wet, consider using a syringe to inject denatured alcohol and flush.  The alcohol does a good job in absorbing water.  Use a hair dryer to heat the area to evaporate remaining alcohol.  This cleans and prepares the wood for the epoxy.
Mike