Plastic welding, new side project...
 

I have my FD and a AE86...
I seriously do not want to drop hundreds of dollars on used pieces.
Everything from door plastics, dash tears, bumper plastics, etc...
So I am going to fix everything myself.
I bought a plastic welder, have been reading about the different types of plastics and a got a new heat gun.
Today was the first time I have tried this and it did not go too bad...
https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y5...ticWeld003.jpg

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y5...ticWeld004.jpg

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y5...ticWeld006.jpg

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y5...ticWeld009.jpg

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y5...ticWeld010.jpg

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y5...ticWeld013.jpg

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y5...ticWeld014.jpg

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y5...ticWeld015.jpg

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y5...ticWeld016.jpg

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y5...ticWeld017.jpg

This is how it fit, thought it would need some fitment modification but it didn't.
https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y5...ticWeld018.jpg

And no, its not anywhere near done, I still have to sand down and needs a flat black paint job. :)
And yes, its dirty... damn pollen is kiling me.

...how does that work? do you put any fiber mesh to strengthen on the back side? i'm a cheap bastard so this might work for me

More people should do this, I'm repair my pieces once the plast-aid comes in. Mines all broken studs tho no actual snapped parts.

I could have tried to add the mesh but the pieces are so small its near impossible.
The plastic welder comes as a kit and brings instructions... not expensive but not exactly cheap. I bought it for a little over $155 dollars shipped.
You have your different plastics, all have different methods of fixing, I used fiberflex to get this done.
The plast-aid is my next buy for sure, I have some bolt holders also broken.

Reminds me of the 1970's toy that allowed you to friction "weld" plastics, called SpinWelder.

Discovery Toys now has something similar.

:-) neil

I would definitely pay $14.95 for that. :)

I have the same problem. my driver side door plastic keeps breaking around the same place. I think I will do some weld like that and cover the bottom in resin.

What type and make of the Plastic Welder? It sure beats paying big $$$ for plastic things that break. I weld mostly MIG on steel and aluminum, did once with plastic while in college and forgot the process. But we used to run a bead pattern between the broken pieces, just need to burr and sand it.

Good idea, beats that "super glue" that comes off after awhile.
:icon_tup:

That's pretty cool. Seems like a lot of work and or time to get that done. Let us see pics of the final results!

It only took me about 1 hour cause I had no clue how to setup my welding kit and I didn't know much about the different plastics. now I know a lot about them and the actual work on the piece only took about 10-15 minutes cause I messed up the first time.
This is the kit I bought. I love it...

very nice. when i had my map pocket door snap in half, i used super glue to get the pieces back together, then sanded/painted everything. came out great - can't even tell it was ever broken.

fixing plastic pieces is pretty easy. i dont know why people drop $$$ on new parts when they can repair the ones they have.

nice work!

+ fucking 1

What is the advantage over this vs proper epoxy?

Where did you get it for $115?

I said $155... Amazon.

Right, that's the price I meant to type... Thanks for the link, I would have never thought to check amazon for that, even though they have everything!

It's been a few years but I wanted to update this thread.
They didn't last due not adding some kind of reinforcement. I did fix that now though, I took some pictures so I will be posting them soon.
I also sanded them a bit and coated them with Plasti Dip.
will add pics and more info soon.