Rehanging Doors In the RV

[dusty]

I am preparing to refinish the cabinet doors in the RV. Each of the doors has holes where hinges, handles and door catches were mounted.

I want opinions on how to proceed. Should I fill all those holes with a wood filler or do I darn just reuse the holes as they are? I intend to reuse the old hardware so the holes will all match up.

If I refill the holes, will standard wood filler provide adequate holding power for the screws?

[anmius]

Dusty:

I'm a toothpick with glue kind of guy (sort of like a belt and suspenders).

.

[algale]

I am preparing to refinish the cabinet doors in the RV. Each of the doors has holes where hinges, handles and door catches were mounted.

I want opinions on how to proceed. Should I fill all those holes with a wood filler or do I darn just reuse the holes as they are? I intend to reuse the old hardware so the holes will all match up.

If I refill the holes, will standard wood filler provide adequate holding power for the screws?

If you are reusing the old hardware I don't see why you need to do anything at all so long as the holes haven't become enlarged or stripped through use.

If the holes are stripped/enlarged, I can't imagine wood filler would provide enough holding power.

Drilling out the existing holes and inserting hardwood dowels might provide enough holding power depending on the weight of the doors and the size of the screws -- but you are then screwing into the end grain of the dowels, which is less than optimal.

A permanent repair would be horizontal boring across the path of the existing hole and inserting a hardwood dowel so the screw will bite into the long grain.

[masonsailor2]

I have had the same issue on our boat and have used epoxy with good results. They sell a product called microspheres which you can add to the epoxy to thicken it to a putty like consistency. They even come in different colors to match the wood. They are available at West Marine. If you don’t want to mess with the microspheres just squirt the epoxy into the holes and immediately stick a piece of blue tape over the hole to stop the epoxy from running out. Then redrill the holes and install the hardware.
Paul

[BuckeyeDennis]

I must agree with algale. If the holes are still sound, there's no reason to redo them. A drop of thin CA glue could be used to reinforce the wood fibers, If you like. Let it cure before re-installing the screws.

As a teenager, I tried to use wood filler for various structural repairs, and they almost always failed. Epoxy glue holds screws well, but is probably a bit more "permanent" than you want!

I find that toothpicks and wood glue works fine for quick-and-dirty repairs where there the screw isn't under a lot of stress. Not sure that I'd trust it for cabinet hardware.

Interesting idea that algale had for reinforcing with a horizontal dowel. That's a new one on me.

If you have a set of plug cutters, you can drill out the stripped hole, and then plug it with a cross-grained plug. That should make it as good as new.

Edit: I posted the above before seeing masonsailor2's response. I haven't tried filling the old stripped hole with epoxy and then redrilling after it cures, but that sounds like a fine solution.

[dusty]

When the trailer is in use, these cabinet door hinges get a real work out. For that reason, the repair (what ever it is) will have to be pretty stout. I am sorta leaning toward the epoxy fix with only one concern. Some of those holes will end up not being used and may be visible. On those, I propose to just use wood filler.

Thanks for the feedback. You need not stop now, however, if you have other ideas.

[benush26]

My Mom had the same problem with both her motor homes though I only worked on the newer one. I tried the match sticks and eventually wood filler, then larger longer screws, I finally used bolts, one per hinge. Drilled through the largest reamed out hole on each hinge. The heads though tapered do not match the other screws, but the door never came loose again.

I know this was not an elegant solution. The bolt heads were steel and slightly larger diameter than existing screws, the hinges antique brass colored and the screws that remained were antique brass colored, however I don't think Mom ever worried about it. She was just happy not to have any door hanging by one hinge or torn off while she went down the road. A later thought was to try and find dark brass bolts to have a closer match but never bothered (or even thought about it again until reading Dusty's post). I did go to the local parts store and bought a small rattle can of automotive paint that was sort of dark antique brass colored, but never painted the heads.

Her neighbor changed tactics entirely and changed out the hinges to European cupboard cup hinges. She sold him her old one when she bought the newer one. As far as I know it worked out fine, though it seemed expensive at the time.

May not be what you were looking for, but if the bolts fail, the frame has broken loose and you have been down some VERY rough washes or mule trails!!

Be well,
Ben

[wa2crk]

Dusty
Drill out the old screw holes and glue in a hardwood dowel. After the glue cures the dowels can be drilled for the body diameter of the screws and the screws reinserted. The threads should hold in the hardwood OK
Bill V

[reible]

We are missing a lot of data to make any good suggestions, or at least I am.

Are we talking real wood (hard wood or soft wood) or plywood or some composite?

How thick is the material where the screws mount the hardware?

Do the present screws still holding or has that boat sailed?

Are the screws hidden inside or exposed?

Is the finish something that you care about or could it be painted/stained to hind plugs or the like.

Hardware need to be kept or could new be used?

How much work do you want to put into this project? Are new doors out of the question?

If I had to go by what has been said so far I would think about face plugs and be done with it, but as I said I would like more information be for I would commit to that.

Ed

[dusty]

These are all good questions, Ed. I thank you for the thought and effort to highlight them all in one place at one time. It forces me to think about this a bit more.

We are not doing a restoration BUT we are trying to retain as much of the original equipment as possible. Thus, hinges, door/drawer handles and latches will be retained if at all possible. This trailer was not top of the line by any means and added to that, it sat here in the desert for years.

The bones are, for the most, part good. One corner has some issues brought about by water leaks but that is under control.

The screws, for the most part, are into a veneered plywood. Where not plywood, they are into a soft pine. These two factors make me worry about screws back into the same holes without doing something. Maybe as simple as toothpicks and glue but something. When I pulled the screws during the dismantling process, most were tight and would have lasted a long time if it had not be necessary to dismantle.

At the moment, paint will most likely be the product used for finishing the interior. There has been some discussion about a plastic veneer but when management gets to looking into cost, I think it will be paint. I hate painting but I am lucky here. I have a daughter and grand daughter who love to paint and they are good at it. I'll manage the grill on those days.