Headliner Hole Repair

[p424owner]

Hello all,

On my boat, the two POs installed all manner of hanging things, most often by putting a machine screw into the headliner. I am also in the process of replacing all the window coverings, so i have removed the slide rails. Now I have literally dozens of little holes scattered about. I will not be using them all, and I wondered if anyone had any recommendations on how best to approach this kind of repair. Should this be epoxy, do you need to drill the holes out a bit? Or is there some other cure?

Any help is most appreciated.

Ewan

[Randy]

I originally used West Systems to patch the small holes but have recently switched over to good ole Bondo. You can buy it in small pint size containers and it is easy to use and sand and it's relativly inexpensive. Be certain to tape off the surrounding areas well prior to spreading the bondo. A good technique is to place a phillips head screwdriver in the hole and press down while spinning it. This enlarges the hole a bit and feathers the edges out so the bondo/epoxy will hold. Clean area well with some acetone before applying bondo/epoxy. To match the paint, I went to Pep Boys and found a good paint match using one of those tiny bottles of paint which has the brush inside the bottle cap. It's enamel and works fine. Take your time and apply a second layer of bondo/epoxy if needed. Sand & paint. One more thing, I discovered using a woman's emery board works great for sanding the small areas. Good Luck.

[Trinity]

Put the screws back in with a fancy washers.  Looks good, very nautical.  PM me if you want photos.