Plastic Repair

[SIR REAL ED]

Hello WGer's!

Based on this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNqML_sfsAg&list=PL5BR7rj3fwgKeq_QSp6iMUgjplV2-CG9t&index=5

and recommendations of friends who have used Plaster, I bought a kit and used it with excellent success to repair a fairing.

Plastex says this will not work on polypropylene or polyethylene which most gas tanks are made of.

But Plastex 3000 is supposed to be capable of repairing polypropylene and polyethylene.

My questions to forum members are:

1.  Has anyone used Plastex 3000 to repair polypropylene or polyethylene?

2.  If so, was the repair successful?

thanks in advance!

[Bulldog9]

Hello WGer's!

Based on this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNqML_sfsAg&list=PL5BR7rj3fwgKeq_QSp6iMUgjplV2-CG9t&index=5

and recommendations of friends who have used Plaster, I bought a kit and used it with excellent success to repair a fairing.

Plastex says this will not work on polypropylene or polyethylene which most gas tanks are made of.

But Plastex 3000 is supposed to be capable of repairing polypropylene and polyethylene.

My questions to forum members are:

1.  Has anyone used Plastex 3000 to repair polypropylene or polyethylene?

2.  If so, was the repair successful?

thanks in advance!

It was years ago, but I think this is what I used to repair an old Rifle fairing for my XS1100, and on my C-10 Concours. It literally melted and rebonded the cracks and broken pieces. Even the stressed points on the Rifle never recracked. I sanded and repainted the Rifle, but on the Concours, I just let it be.

[SIR REAL ED]

It was years ago, but I think this is what I used to repair an old Rifle fairing for my XS1100, and on my C-10 Concours. It literally melted and rebonded the cracks and broken pieces. Even the stressed points on the Rifle never recracked. I sanded and repainted the Rifle, but on the Concours, I just let it be.

Do you remember what the repair material consisted of?

Plastex is a powder filler with a liquid activator.

Plastex 3000 is a two part mixture (thick as molasses) like most epoxies.

[steven c]

 I just did some crack repairs on the VStrom (PO crashed it)with JB Weld plastic epoxy. I back it up the crack with a some window screen and a layer of JB. So far so good.

[LowRyter]

The video was an eye opener for me.  Two part: powder + liquid hardener.   Not seen it before.

[nc43bsa]

Not long ago I watched a YouTube video about repairing plastic using cyanoacrylate glue and baking soda.

Haven't tried it yet, though.

[SIR REAL ED]

The video was an eye opener for me.  Two part: powder + liquid hardener.   Not seen it before.

Based on my extremely limited experience with Plastex, it works every bit as well as shown in the video.

I am very impressed with it at the present moment.

I need to attach two parts together for some destructive testing to get a real sense of the strength of the bond.

[SIR REAL ED]

Not long ago I watched a YouTube video about repairing plastic using cyanoacrylate glue and baking soda.

Haven't tried it yet, though.

that is exactly what the video reminded me of.

My understanding is that the cyanoacrylate glue is strong, but only in small gaps.  So the baking soda essentially fills the gaps and gives the cyanoacrylate glue something close to bond with.

[pehayes]

I've used this on a number of plastic repairs and duplicate part moldings.  Sets hard as a rock.  Very effective.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[steven c]

Here's a rabbit hole to go down for plastic repair.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=super+glue+granite+repair+plastic

[SIR REAL ED]

I've used this on a number of plastic repairs and duplicate part moldings.  Sets hard as a rock.  Very effective.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

You have used Plastex, or you have used cyanoacrylate glue and baking soda?

Enquiring minds want to know!

[pehayes]

You have used Plastex, or you have used cyanoacrylate glue and baking soda?

Enquiring minds want to know!

I have a commercial product called PLAST-AID.  White powder in one jar.  Adhesive/binder in another.  Mixes very fluid.  Starts to set for shaping, etc. in a few minutes.  Hard in half hour.   Rock hard tomorrow.

https://www.plast-aid.com/

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[cappisj1]

Cyanoacrylate glue and backing soda cures hard and will fill a crack well enough but it will become brittle. If the crack is deep and filled with soda the CA will cure before it saturates all the way down. CA and soda has its place but probably not for a large fairing fix. Have used the combo on lots of RC airplanes balsa and fiberglass builds and repairs.

[Dilliw]

I think Plastex is standard issue on the pool repairman's truck, and when I inherited an older model I knew a few of those.  Great for fixing all of those plastic parts.

[80CX100]

I'm ignorant in the plastic terminology world,but so far no one has mentioned ABS.

I have to do some repairs on  ABS plastic parts;starter covers on my V11 & subject to verification the panniers on my G5.

Inquiring minds want to know;

All this information & advice on techniques & materials for plastic repairs, do they all work on ABS plastic as well, or is the chemistry different?

Tia

[Huzo]

That’s looks pretty darn good from here.
Might have gone with some mesh over the back of the repair to really help to stop the spread of the crack (so to speak), but that looks like a good piece of work…

[SIR REAL ED]

I'm ignorant in the plastic terminology world,but so far no one has mentioned ABS.

I have to do some repairs on  ABS plastic parts;starter covers on my V11 & subject to verification the panniers on my G5.

Inquiring minds want to know;

All this information & advice on techniques & materials for plastic repairs, do they all work on ABS plastic as well, or is the chemistry different?

Tia

IIRC, never a sure bet.... Plastex claims to work on ABS also, just not polyethylene or polypropylene.

Just to check.....  https://www.plastex.net

Holy Dementia Batman!  The old guy remembered something correctly for a change!

[Kaladin]

You have used Plastex, or you have used cyanoacrylate glue and baking soda?

The baking soda is just a convenient fine powder that most people have around the house.  It doesn't
dissolve in superglue and does add bulk.   I have used graphite powder, aluminum oxide powder,
fine sand, glass beads and fumed silica for the same purpose. 

[FarmallA]

If the fairing is ABS, then ABS pipe glue is the stuff.  Be sure it's for ABS and not PVC.

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/plumbing/solvents-and-cements/pvc-cement/49585?store=17903&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImfaRndPh_AIVgYvICh3SDgeVEAQYASABEgJo0PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I had great success on the smashed lower fairing on my Honda VFR.  Remove all paint and roughen the surfaces on the mating surfaces.  If you have some scrap pieces of a broken ABS fairing, you can make some filings of that and make a slurry of ABS goo to fill small voids.
I used some West System epoxy with some fg cloth to reinforce the repairs, scuff away all paint under that too.  It seems to have stuck OK for 2 years..

Regular filler and bodywork processes on the outside.

FarmallA
Steve

[nc43bsa]

I've used shavings from LEGOs as ABS filler.

[SIR REAL ED]

The baking soda is just a convenient fine powder that most people have around the house.  It doesn't
dissolve in superglue and does add bulk.   I have used graphite powder, aluminum oxide powder,
fine sand, glass beads and fumed silica for the same purpose.

I saw a YouTube video of someone using graphite powder and also mixing graphite powder with baking soda.  Supposedly the repair using graphite powder is stronger than the repair using baking soda.  According to the video, the baking soda accelerates the cure time of the CA glue.

A thin layer of Super glue sprinkled with graphic powder for a custom finish?  Name the "paint:"  "Early Industrial Age."

[Dukedesmo]

Quote from: cappisj1 on January 24, 2023, 12:59:27 AM

Cyanoacrylate glue and backing soda cures hard and will fill a crack well enough but it will become brittle.

___________________ ___________

Q bond is a commercially available product along these lines, works fairly well in some repairs.

Plastic welding works very well on the right kind of plastic but obviously needs more work to make it aesthetically pleasing.

[jrt]

ABS will dissolve in acetone.  I don't recall the ratio (50 g per 125 mL???) but one can make a paste of it and use that to fill in, seal or repair ABS.   And yes- Lego's are made of ABS.  I have a handful of them dissolved in acetone because I wanted to see if it actually worked. 
I have a hole punched in a piece of ABS and was going to use the acetone solution, but I am now intrigued by the plastex.  It is a very expensive piece of plastic, so I don't want to screw it up.

[Pescatore]

Is the CA glue and baking soda appropriate on a 2008 Norge fairing?
Wondering if a flexible finish would be more appropriate to fight vibrations.