Covering hatch holes when repainting.

[ajohns27]

I was wondering if anyone has any good ideas on how to cover the holes in my deck where the hatches were while I pull them off to put some fresh awlgrip on them. I was thinking of screwing some wood pieces down on the deck and putting shrink wrap plastic over it. I was hoping someone might have a better suggestion as to how I could do it.

Thanks,
Andy

[nightowle]

duck tape

[bljones]

if this is a short term project (less than a week), depending upon the size of the hatch, a realtor's sign or "for sale" or "yard sale" sign works well to cover the hatch, secured with duct tape- stiff enough not to bowl badly if it rains, no permanent damage to the boat. The only downside to duct tape is that it doesn't hold up well to UV and can be a mess to get off if left on for longer than a week or so.

[hellosailor]

Covering for security? Or just to keep the rain out?

BTW, duct tape (and Duck brand duct tape) both will leave adhesive mess behind after a week in the sun. Gaffer's tape or proper paint masking tape (blue, it is color coded) won't leave the mess behind. Costs a bit more.

Silver masking tape, made by 3M, costs a whole lot more but is good for 30 days in exterior use with no mess. If your painting gets bumped a week or three because of rain....it can be worth using.

[ajohns27]

Thanks for the replys i opted to cut some pieces of lauan ply and duct tape them down. I am hoping it will only take a week to get them repainted but we will see. I did get 3m 8979 duct tape if you guys aren't farmiliar with it, which is a spectacular product it in my experience will go well past the 6 months that it is rated for without leaving any residue behind when peeled away.