Anyone had any success repairing plastic parts? I have some parts that the mounting tabs have broken off, and was trying to a way to put them on the part again. Would epoxy be better are some way to weld the tabs back be better?
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Re: plastic repair
Lyndon------
A lot depends upon what type of plastic the part is manufactured of. Some types of plastic are pretty easy to repair with epoxy. Some types of plastic (e.g. polyethylene, polypropylene, linear polypropylene) are extremely difficult to repair. I've heard that Permatex/Locktite has some new adhesives that will work but I've never used them and know nothing about them.
One problem: identifying the type of plastic a part is made from; there are a large number of different plastic types used for various automotive applications.In Appreciation of John Hinckley -
Re: plastic repair
this thread from 10 days ago has some good information. This thread is the top one in the 5 similars at bottom of this page.
https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...ic-trim-repairComment
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Re: plastic repair
Lyndon go to a good parts house that sells paint and auto body repair supplies 3 M makes repair products for any kind of plastic repair . They have one made for tab repair that dries in less than a minute . works greatComment
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Re: plastic repair
Thanks guys.Comment
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Re: plastic repair
Lyndon, Most bonding agents are formulated for the specific type of plastic. It will help you to know the type of plastic/s you want to bond and match a bonding material or agent to the plastic. If the part is prone to flexing, this may break a bond that otherwise seems strong initially.
I'm not sure if this is the same 3M material Bill is mentioning but you may want to look at 3M DP-8005 or 8010 http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...K8BC31gv)&rt=d This works well this ABS and PP / PE materials.Comment
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Re: plastic repair
The part has tabs that use the speed nuts that cut into the plastic, would it be possible to take a bolt and epxoy or glue on to the main part.?Comment
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Re: plastic repair
Yes, you can bond plastic to metal - you want a material that has chemical cross-link properties. Lord might be a better choice http://www.lord.com/products-and-sol...roduct.xml/304
I am a fan of keeping the materials the same as the expansion / contraction rates are the same.Comment
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Re: plastic repair
Thanks for the link.Comment
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Re: plastic repair
JB Weld makes a 2 part plastic epoxy weld that works very well. I used a very similar product years ago to repair broken tabs on a center console on my old DD. Screws went through the tabs which supported the weight of the entire part and the repairs were still holding strong years later when the car was sold. DanComment
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Re: plastic repair
Lyndon,
I have used CA glue (sometimes called crazy glue) that you get from the hobby shop with fiber glass cloth.
Buy the THIN only CA glue then, first glue the piece together, takes seconds, then put the cloth on the back of the repair and wet it with the CA glue as you rub it on. You can't do it without finger protection or you will wear the piece for days.
I use a rubber glove or sandwich rap and it has to be done FAST or the glove or paper will stick.
It will also get hot as you do it.
The CA glue melts the plastic and the glass cloth also melts into the plastic because it is wet with the CA glue. In seconds it feels like it was fibre glass.
One might say "just use resin", but the resin doesn't melt the plastic or instantly set the glass cloth. I have seen resin only jobs peel off but the CA is there for good and can be top coated with cloth again, even using resin this time because the resin will bond to the rough cloth you did first.
Plastics (like the plastic bottle the CA comes in won't work.
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