filling in enclosure holes

[peterg]

I need to fill in some enclosure holes and have some Durabond 90. Is there any reason that won't work? Or am I better to use something else? Bondo?

[jymaze]

I usually superglue a small coin under the hole and fill with metal powder filled epoxy until flush with top surface, then sand smooth.

[deadastronaut]

fill em with leds......

[davent]

I think you'd find Durabond would not be very durable and will crumble and wonder how well it would bond with the aluminum. Bondo is one option but absolutely needs to be used in very well ventilated conditions like outdoors and we're running out of time here. Also have had Bondo bleed through the paint finish. JB Weld, an epoxy, works well for this without the noxious fumes of the Bondo. Can get JB at Cdn Tire.

Depending on the size of the hole may need to back up the hole with a piece of metal.

[tubegeek]

+1 JB Weld.

[bcalla]

I just did this and used a product called JB Weld.  It is like a stick of clay that has a different color clay at the core.  It is an epoxy so you mash the 2 colors together and the resulting clay hardens in about an hour.  Sand it, paint it, etc.  It worked great.

[peterg]

Looks like JB Weld is it. I'll spend $10 to repair an $8.57 box! I need to make more mistakes to get my money's worth.

Rob - it's an led bezel hole I'm filling! Nice suggestion though 

[deadastronaut]

^ ahh i see,  ive filled them with leds myself, just to avoid 'filling'

[davent]

Those $10 tubes of epoxy also do a nice job of attaching aluminum pcb standoffs to the enclosure.

[Buzz]

I use builders bog. It's pretty much identical to auto body filler. It's a two part putty with a hardener.

It has the advantage of being the consistency of toothpaste when mixed, which means you can just put a piece of insulation tape behind the hole and get a good flush, flat finish on the inside.

Blob some of the toothpastey bog in the hole, 5 mins later it's a solid plastic that can be easily sanded to a smooth finish.

Bonds well with the aluminium and won't pop out.

Only downside is it's pink, so needs painting over.

[bcalla]

I put the enclosure top down on a piece of waxed paper & mashed the JB Weld in from the inside.  Make sure that you get it reasonably thin.  I was filling a stomp switch hole intending to re-drill and install a toggle switch, and I left it too thick on the inside.  I was able sand the outside smooth, but I couldn't effectively sand the inside.  I had to use a grinding wheel to get it thin enough to install the toggle.