What is the best/cleanest Looking Option for Filling in Ambulance Light holes
- Thread starter Deshet
- Start date
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
Tig some aluminum into the holes. And mail me your old lights.
Screw some patches of aluminum on the inside, use seam sealer in the joint, and body fill and sand the space.
Wraps put a magnifying glass to the surface... raptor would hide a lot but be hard to keep clean.
Screw some patches of aluminum on the inside, use seam sealer in the joint, and body fill and sand the space.
Wraps put a magnifying glass to the surface... raptor would hide a lot but be hard to keep clean.
Deshet
Adventurer
I have two welders but I don't know how to weld. I need to learn. The HDPE panels are extremely stiff. I don't think the tape will hold long term across a 8 inch whole. I also don't want it to be noticeable.
Bikersmurf your idea is similar to the best thing I can come up with. I thought about using the square metal wall patches that you get form Home Depot or Lowes but gluing them in-place with epoxy and then filling the small gap with bondo. I can't figure out how to get them inplace yet without bending them yet. They come in various sizes from the 8x8 will probably be the best size. They are also aluminum.
Thanks everyone please keep the ideas coming. I would like my side to look clean like this.
Bikersmurf your idea is similar to the best thing I can come up with. I thought about using the square metal wall patches that you get form Home Depot or Lowes but gluing them in-place with epoxy and then filling the small gap with bondo. I can't figure out how to get them inplace yet without bending them yet. They come in various sizes from the 8x8 will probably be the best size. They are also aluminum.
Thanks everyone please keep the ideas coming. I would like my side to look clean like this.
salbalboa
New member
I used some white aluminum sign material I got from ebay. I had them cut them to the exact size. I wish I got some thicker aluminum but it's working fine. I'm thinking of having it wrapped over the top of them so they should be unnoticeable.
Attachments
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
Have a screw in the middle as a handle and insert the rectangle corner to corner at an angle... turn to line up and secure.
Aluminum cuts very well with a carbide blade in a chop-saw.
Aluminum cuts very well with a carbide blade in a chop-saw.
Captn-See-Had
Member
I've never specifically filled in ambulance light holes, but my recent use of raptor liner and a rebuild of a boat transom a few years back leave me with a few thoughts:
1) Raptor liner hides a lot, but not all. I was surprised to see 10m-20mm dents showing through two coats. You are going to want a smooth surface before you apply it.
2) I think you could fiberglass it with good results, though you'd have a fair share of sanding to do in the process... If you were to go that route, I'd reccomend one of these TotalBoat epoxy kits (no affiliation, just had a good experience with my boat) and enough fiberglass cloth to cover the light holes 3-4 times. You could probably do the whole rig for $100-$200 before paint.
1) Raptor liner hides a lot, but not all. I was surprised to see 10m-20mm dents showing through two coats. You are going to want a smooth surface before you apply it.
2) I think you could fiberglass it with good results, though you'd have a fair share of sanding to do in the process... If you were to go that route, I'd reccomend one of these TotalBoat epoxy kits (no affiliation, just had a good experience with my boat) and enough fiberglass cloth to cover the light holes 3-4 times. You could probably do the whole rig for $100-$200 before paint.
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
Wraps aren’t super durable. They look great and are awesome for advertising, but can easily be nicked and damaged. They’ll look good for five or so years, but paint will last longer.
Captn-See-Had
Member
I bought 1 gallon of the fast set version of the epoxy posted above and then this fiberglass cloth. This was more than enough for removal and rebuild of the whole transom on a 16' fiberglass boat. Here are some pics just for reference.
New Wood:
Application of old fiberglass
After
On Belay
Observer
I really would not recommend this. This might hold up for a month in an absolute best case scenario. The Raptor Liner offers little in the way of structural integrity.
Aluminum patch panels and an industrial epoxy would be my method of choice, but welding is probably a better option if you can find someone with the skills. Maybe use a spray foam to fill the void first, it's easy to trim away the excess once it's dried.
Having Raptor Lined an entire vehicle, I can tell to you that Raptor will cover some minor imperfections but isn't a miracle solution. It covers up less surface imperfections than you think, sand, smooth and prep the surface carefully beforehand.
Deshet
Adventurer
I thought about this but I did not want to leave it plain. I thought creating a integrated ladder rack that could moved the length of the box. Maybe something top and bottom but painted to match.
Thanks
Attachments
kcernest
Observer
It was meant as a joke, it would obviously be a horrible choice for a hole that big.
That is the way a lot of people go for small holes left by removing belt line trim before spraying though, that's where I got it from.
Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk
That is the way a lot of people go for small holes left by removing belt line trim before spraying though, that's where I got it from.
Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk