Hole in Aluminum Repair?

[WesAlan]

My 2000 Hawk is on the dolly and I just finished resealing and painting the wood base. Next step is to repair a hole on the front of the camper where the aluminum has rubbed against the bed creating a small hole. Next step is to repair the hole as well as fill a couple leftover holes from different buckle placement before repainting the entire exterior of the camper.

With little research I have done woul others suggest an aluminum bondo material? Also any recommendations on what type of fenders to add to the front of the camper to elminate the rubbing? I have seen dock fenders installed in the past.

Here are some photos of the wood base repair.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[pods8]

Small holes you could put a rivet in, dab some 3M 5200 on. You could glue on some flashing with 3M 5200, won't be the prettiest but it'll seal it up I'm sure. That kind of thing. What do the holes look like?

I was gonna order these for my rebuild:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ELQ1LBA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2L77EE7U53NWQ&th=1

 

[Jon R]

Aircraft “speed tape?”

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

EternaBond

 

[pods8]

EternaBond

I like eternabond as a cap layer over other sealant on rubber roofing and such. But its hard to argue with how tough 3m 5200 is if you want something sealed up near permanently.

 

[WesAlan]

Thanks for the replies. I’ll pull the cover off today and snap a photo for ideas of the hole. Thanks!

 

[FAW3]

Nice work there!

I had tree fall damage to my Hawk. This damage was fixed by these methods, and it's been a year...no leaks.

For a small hole < 1/2" needing no additional support or protection: Eternabond Tape or similar Flex-Seal Tape. Clean the metal well, scruff up lightly with an abrasive pad. Cut patch to fit with at least a 1" overlap beyone the hole edge.

For a larger hole needing some support use aluminum flashing. Prep the area as above; cut the flashing to overlay the hole with a good 2" around all edges. Seal flashing to existing panel with 3M 4200 sealant (will seal and bond, but be a bit easier to remove than #5200 if ever required). Then do a full perimeter edge covering of the aluminum flashing patch with Eternabond/Flex-Seal tape.

Write up on it over on EP:
Hawk Repair