What can I use to bond / weld plastic?

[Mo Arif]

I had a bit an incident with some side skirts which now require a complete sand down and re-painting, which I'm in the process off with a sanding machine / sand paper etc before I give them to the painters ..... AGAIN

I do however need to repair the skirts in 3 different places, one visible and the other are cracks on the side

What is that bonding chemical / glue that everyone uses when repairing bumpers called? or what should I use?

 

[SalSheikh]

what have you done Mo? cant you use fibreglass from behind and the then filler? is it araldite your talking about or another product?

 

[Applemobile]

Do you have access to a plastic welder?

 

[MrBen2k7]

araldite?

 

[Ronin225]

araldite?

Epoxy that comes in 2 tubes that you mix, apply and sets rock hard

 

[dixonsa13]

id go with plastic welding or fiber glass if u dont have access to a plastic welder u could use a soldering iron to heat the plastic up then sand it down

 

[MrBen2k7]

Epoxy that comes in 2 tubes that you mix, apply and sets rock hard

Sorry, lol. I know what it is. I was suggesting it more than asking, lol.

 

[oldskool]

araldite is fine. strong stuff

 

[Muttley]

Plastic panels are flexible, anything that sets rock hard will crack very soon.

You need a flexible filler, and one that's appropriate for the plastic. The basic technique is to open up the crack using a grinding stone in a drill so that there's a clean groove, then fill with a flexible filler, or in some cases weld by melting a plastic rod into the groove.

Once the filling has set, you sand it down using progressively finer grades of abrasive, finishing with a polishing stage. Finally, repaint, using paints that will stick to the plastic and are flexible enough not to crack.

 

[Applemobile]

Areldite is crap on body work from my experience. It's fine when you do it, but it never lasts.

 

[adam cupra 20vt]

I'm a plastic welder/repairer. I wouldn't bond it I would weld it properly, not a hard job so don't pay to much.

You could also fuse it back together with a soldering iron on both sides (much cheaper and to be honest its not even a little bit structual and wont flex when on the car so you'd prob get away with this.

Both the above assume its made from a thermo plastic material and not a thermo setting material.

 

[chrisp10001]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t3rOrPbQj0

 

[SalSheikh]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t3rOrPbQj0

would be useful if it was in english as i dont think Mo's gonna understand that

 

[chrisp10001]

would be useful if it was in english as i dont think Mo's gonna understand that

Yes, right however it's only about the technique that is used. Just look and turn sound off

 

[Muttley]

Well, that's a comprehensive repair. Stop-drilling the ends of the crack (and it should be right at the end, not leaving a bit of the crack on the other side of the hole like the guy on the video does), using an angle-grinder to hollow out the crack, and stiffening with wire mesh (well, after all that grinding you do need something). That's good enough for a stressed skin repair, and most car panels aren't stressed. I like the way of attaching a new fixing bracket using wire mesh though.

 

[Mo Arif]

A lot of different opinions but I haven't the slightest of clue on how to tackle this, maybe this will help:

See the crack on the top of it (sides) there two of these cracks on each side and the crack where the jacking cover goes

they are clean cracks, i.e you can join them by hand and looks flush ish, with a bit of filler? they would look fine after painting

I just don't know what I should use to join them

I've sanded both the skirts down with 150 Grit, and then 180 Grit, next will be 500 Grit and eventually 1500 Grit and perhaps 2000 grit if needed before I give it to the painters, is this right?

 

[SalSheikh]

Mo can you get access to the other side so you can put some fibreglass to hold the bits in place ?

have you tried superglue? as it looks like a clean break.

 

[Mo Arif]

Mo can you get access to the other side so you can put some fibreglass to hold the bits in place ?

have you tried superglue? as it looks like a clean break.

Yes all sides of all the cracks are accessible, and the break is clean, I've never used fibre glass before, will it hold?

 

[oldskool]

Mo, it will be fine with fibreglass, it can be a bit brittle if you flex it but for the repair its gonna be all good