inserting press-studs into fibreglas

when i built my speedster back in 1988, i didn't put studs for it around the back of the rear seat for the hood to clip into. i'm now refurbishing and wanto have a tonneau cover as well as the hood. i can buy the studs and eyelets, but most are screw-in types. whats the best way to approach these with fibreglass. obviously bolt-through with a washer and nut on the inside are better, but realistically you can't get at the inside of the skin in a lot of places. any ideas folks?

You might try drilling a SLIGHTLY larger hole than necessary and coating a coarse bolt with a resin jelly/hardener mix and threading/pushing it into the hole. The resin will cure and bond to both the bolt and the fiberglass making a single secure bond.

Using a screw alone is kind of temporary, it's surely work lose in short order if it's stressed. The resin/hardener mix would help in this as well.

Of course bolt through is best where you can do it.

Luck,

TC

Mine were secured w/ 1/8" aluminum pop rivets

Mine had captive sheetmetal-style screws on them. A trusted upholstery guy who does a LOT of boats told me to drill the hole for the screw, put a drop of epoxy in the hole, put a few drops on the screw and run it in (mine were about 1/2" long). That way you get a stronger bond to the fiberglass resin.

Had everything in one season of on-and-off tonneau cover so far and see no fatigue or cracking (yet).

BTW: I've had a Mariah fiberglass boat since 2000 with several tonneau covers on it - all with the same sheetmetal-style snap hardware, and I've seen no fatigue or cracking there either.