Plastic repairs! (Copied and pasted from my build thread)

So I have been pondering figuring out the best way to repair plastic posts that decide they no longer want to be a part of their original design.

So I bought a harbor freight plastic welding kit because it was the closest to the expensive setups I could test out for cheap. Dont buy the big fan ones. Get the sub $20 soldering iron with some steel mesh. Here is the process I used:



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Tips: get an edge and corner melted in, then let it cool. Then work your way across. It seemed to do the trick for me.

Being patient and not getting any one area too hot for too long seems to be a very important tidbit. Otherwise, if the whole piece of mesh is hot, it will pull out completely or at least move around.

 

Plastic repair (continued):

I lined up the post and tacked the edge of each tab. I then slowly worked my way towards the center. Afterwards, I added some extra filler material to smooth everything out and hopefully make it all a little bit stronger.



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Test fitting.
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Proof I didn't melt the good side.
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Final product.
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Nicely done. Too bad I've lost the plastic bits over the years that I always said I'd eventually fix haha.

 

I didn't even know that plastic welding kits existed! I've always used an old soldering iron or superglue. Good job, looks very permanent.

 

Nice work. I've used black ABS pipe cement successfully on some interior plastics (gauge hood, etc), but it's never as strong as the original. Other parts (like my scuff plate tab retainers) would not take due to mismatch in the plastic and glue. I'll have to give this a shot if I ever find the time.

 

Thanks for the kind words. Im thinking about how I can make a complete tab replacement for the small and thin clip tabs that love to break off.

If I figure it out, or if anyone else does, post it up.

 

It does look good.

Haven't messed with it in years. But back in the day the welders I used utilized adjustably heated air and we added material with the welders using plastic 'stick' in whatever type of plastic we were dealing with. Did anything like that come in the kit?

 

Not in this one. This is just a soldering iron. Lol.

The more expensive kits have a setup like that. Im mainly looking at doing some basic repairs. However, I bet heated air and the proper filler would work way better. But I bet it also takes more skill. ;-) just enough heat to make a melted layer thick enough to bond but thin enough to not warp or melt through.

 

Nicely done, I'll be needing this trick.