Appleseed
Appleseed MegaDork
4/26/20 2:49 p.m.

Bro's P71 has some holes from removed equipment. 1-1/4 hole from a whip antenna surrounded by 4 screw holes, an 1-1/2 hole in the roof from the light bar, and 2 screw holes in the back of the deck lid.  

We first thought of stainless button head Allen screws and rubber plugs for the big holes. Then I found some white nylon plugs, that we could seal with silicone.  We also discussed plasti-dipping the black rubber plugs white. Besides welding the holes shut, ( not gonna happen anytime soon) any options I'm overlooking? He is in the middle of nowhere Montana,  so mail order is really the only option. 

MrChaos
MrChaos GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
4/26/20 2:55 p.m.

rubber plug or silicone plugs.

Mr_Asa
Mr_Asa HalfDork
4/26/20 2:57 p.m.

Could screw in a kind of backer plate to the antenna hole, then use epoxy?  Would be able to sand it down and paint it relatively quickly

I'd worry that your other options would eventually degrade and leak.

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter)
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
4/26/20 3:05 p.m.

Visiting in NYC, I had to street park a car with a CB antenna in the roof. My friends took one look at the car, and said that it was a break-in magnet with the antenna, so I was left with this problem after removing the antenna.

I needed a fast solution, so I stuck a bumper for a doorknob stop over top of it. I probably used some sort of additional sealer, silicone or something. Never leaked.

It was a long time ago; you can tell by the fact that it had a CB antenna.

 

Appleseed
Appleseed MegaDork
4/26/20 3:11 p.m.

The plan was to silicone the rubber plugs and screws to make them more or less watertight. 

Mike (Forum Supporter)
Mike (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
4/26/20 3:22 p.m.

Not an endorsement, but this company popped on to my radar when I was considering a PIU.

https://www.ebay.com/str/Nenno-Products

They have a number of patch products specific to retired police vehicles that look like domed stickers that are made to the right size. Some are application specific, so make sure you're looking at the right car. From one of their auctions, as an example:

pirate
pirate HalfDork
4/26/20 3:37 p.m.

McMaster Carr catalog "panel plugs" metal, plastic, nylon. Could probably use a little silicone under the lip for sealing. MC catalog has a variety of other style plugs.

Metal Snap-In Panel Plugs

Made of steel, these are our most durable plugs for panels. Tapered prongs snap into the hole to securely hold them in place.

Nickel-plated steel caps have excellent resistance to chemicals and salt water.

For technical drawings and 3-D models, click on a part number.

   

Head

   

Steel

Nickel-Plated Steel

For ID For Panel
Thickness
Dia. Ht. Overall
Ht.
Hardness Pkg.
Qty.
  Pkg. Pkg.
Qty.
  Pkg.
1/8" 0.047"-0.078" 5/16" 1/16" 15/64" Rockwell B70 50 9563K31 $8.83 50 9563K81 $9.45
3/16" 0.016"-0.062" 3/8" 5/64" 13/64" Rockwell B70 50 9563K32 9.02 50 9563K82 9.98
1/4" 0.031"-0.062" 7/16" 1/16" 15/64" Rockwell B70 50 9563K62 9.02 50 9563K41 10.78
9/32" 0.016"-0.062" 7/16" 1/16" 17/64" Rockwell B70 50 9563K38 9.17 50 9563K39 10.86
5/16" 0.047"-0.078" 7/16" 1/16" 1/4" Rockwell B70 50 9563K33 9.49 50 9563K83 11.00
3/8" 0.031" 1/2" 1/16" 15/64" Rockwell B70 50 9563K63 9.72 50 9563K42 11.36
25/64" 0.062"-0.093" 1/2" 1/16" 15/64" Rockwell B70 50 9563K55 11.00 50 9563K56 13.19
7/16" 0.031"-0.062" 11/16" 5/64" 1/4" Rockwell B70 50 9563K34 11.02 50 9563K84 13.51
15/32" 0.109"-0.172" 5/8" 1/16" 3/8" Rockwell B70 10 9563K94 4.98 10 9563K96 10.54
1/2" 0.031"-0.062" 11/16" 5/64" 9/32" Rockwell B70 50 9563K64 10.00 50 9563K43 13.40
9/16" 0.047"-0.093" 3/4" 1/16" 9/32" Rockwell B70 50 9563K57 10.50 50 9563K58 13.61
5/8" 0.062"-0.093" 13/16" 5/64" 19/64" Rockwell B70 50 9563K65 11.23 50 9563K24 13.64
11/16" 0.031"-0.062" 7/8" 5/64" 17/64" Rockwell B70 50 9563K59 11.42 50 9563K61 13.88
3/4" 0.109"-0.125" 15/16" 5/64" 19/64" Rockwell B70 50 9563K66 11.96 50 9563K45 13.07
13/16" 0.047"-0.093" 1 1/16" 1/16" 1/4" Rockwell B70 50 9563K78 12.41 25 9563K79 7.10
7/8" 0.062"-0.093" 1 1/16" 1/16" 19/64" Rockwell B70 50 9563K67 13.57 25 9563K46 7.02
15/16" 0.031"-0.078" 1 13/16" 1/16" 9/32" Rockwell B70 25 9563K86 7.00 25 9563K87 7.85
1" 0.125"-0.156" 1 1/8" 3/32" 21/64" Rockwell B70 25 9563K68 7.22 25 9563K47 9.03
1 1/8" 0.031"-0.125" 1 5/16" 3/32" 11/32" Rockwell B70 25 9563K35 8.55 25 9563K85 9.20
1 3/16" 0.031"-0.093" 1 7/16" 5/64" 19/64" Rockwell B70 25 9563K88 7.58 25 9563K89 8.91
1 1/4" 0.062"-0.093" 1 7/16" 3/32" 11/32" Rockwell B70 25 9563K69 8.24 25 9563K48 9.78
93gsxturbo
93gsxturbo SuperDork
4/26/20 5:31 p.m.

For screw holes I like to use a round piece of vinyl about the size of a dime.  

mad_machine (Forum Supporter)
mad_machine (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
4/26/20 5:37 p.m.

I would go to a vinyl shop and see if they have anything close in colour and buy it. 

ShawnG
ShawnG UltimaDork
4/26/20 5:43 p.m.

Dorman makes metal (like the ones above) and plastic snap-in plugs.

Just browse the Dorman catalog at your local FLAPS and get what you need, along with a tube of Right Stuff black.

wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L)
wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
4/26/20 5:44 p.m.

 

einy (Forum Supporter)
einy (Forum Supporter) HalfDork
4/26/20 5:59 p.m.

I second he McMaster Carr suggestion.

Cactus
Cactus Reader
4/26/20 6:25 p.m.

I put a piece of gorilla tape over an antenna hole a couple years ago and it still doesn't leak.

44Dwarf
44Dwarf UberDork
5/1/20 7:29 p.m.

Well nut is what your looking for it will swell when you tighten the screw.

 

 

DeadSkunk  (Warren)
DeadSkunk (Warren) PowerDork
5/1/20 7:35 p.m.

Aluminum tape should work.

 

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