Cabin Light

[markm]

My cabin light screws have come out. It appears the holes have worked themselves wider. I could reposition the screws and drill new holes, but it will change the position of the switch. What can I use to fill the holes so I can re-drill the holes. I have a classic R-21 and the light is on the overhead panel and it is fiberglass. Thanks. Mark

 

[SlackwaterJack]

Hi Mark,
With a little bit of 5 min. epoxy and a small brush ... mix a tiny amount of the epoxy and brush it around inside the original holes...let the epoxy fully set, rub the original screw threads with a bit of wax(old candle) and replace the screws.
or...
Replace the screws with the next size larger(fatter) and if needed enlarge the holes in the fixture.

 

[K7MXE]

You can also do this trick for screw holes that don't hold any longer. Put a wooden match in the hole with some epoxy on it and reuse the same screw again. I did that in a old house where the heavy front door had sagged. After the epoxy set up it was a good repair. Bob Heselberg in Eatonville Wa

 

[abcandjrc]

Dealing with stripped holes in fibreglass is trickier than in wood. There isn't a lot of material thickness to work with. You might try to find some plastic screw-anchors that are small enough and short enough to work. I'm talking about the little things that look like an ice cream cone and expand a bit when the screw is driven in. Typically they are meant for drywall to hang pictures and such, but I have made them work on some pretty thin blow-molded automotive panels. You are not dealing with high loads in this case, so it might work for you.

Ours is an R21-EC so I don't know if the panel you are talking about is removable or if you can get to the off-side of it somehow. If so, it might be possible to epoxy a thin piece wood to the back and the screws would pull up through the fibreglass into it.