Re: aluminum repair
I been doing this stuff professionaly for 25 years, here' the way to do it:<br />On an aluminum boat with thin skins or aluminum boats that are riveted, the sheet metal will eventually crack around the edge of the welds where you weld up a rivet. In addition the heat will warp and buckle the hull around the welds. ALSO...if you weld a rivet head, it will enlongate the shank of the rivet and the rib or bulkhead behind it will start to seperate(if not completely melt away) and a gap between the two pieces will appear which will exacerbate the cracking proccess because the sheet metal is no longer supported properly. AND...on top of all this, it cost alot more to weld and looks like h e l l when done. Any goo or other quick fix amounts to the same thing. They DO NOT improve the integrity of the hull as do the screws. The screw not only look nice and is stronger, it matches the boat, any bafoon can fix it with a screw driver and 1/4" socket wrench with some 5200. The only appropriate weld spots are long splits or 90' corners and should be backed up with a piece of stainless steel or copper when welded using 5356 weld filler ONLY<br /> Use S.S. TRUSS HEAD phillips screws with flat washer and nylon locking nut on the back side. Drop of 5200 sealant around the screw head before inserting so that it squishes thru jus' a bit when ya push the screw in. Wipe of exterior with lacquer thinner soon as you tighten the screw. Use #10-24 X 1/2" size screw and drill out rivet with 3/16" drill bit. IMPORTANT! Remove all filings, champher all holes with large 3/8" or 1/2" drill bit. USE STAINLESS STEEL TRUSS HEAD PHILLIPS screws. Box of 50 ea. should cost about 4.50, nuts 4.50, washers 2.50. You could literaly dissassemble your whole boat and put it back together this way with different size screw for different size rivets. I do repairs and restorations this way.
