[bgaffney]

Sorry this isn't about wood, but any ideas how to repair this crack? It is not a structural problem......just cosmetic. I was planning on applying some Bondo, sanding, and then spray painting. Any thoughts? Thanks so much.

 

[Steve Neul]

Bondo won't adhere to plastic. There really isn't a fix for it other than replacing the part. If you are intent on a patch you might get some epoxy for plastic and try gluing it back together. You would need a couple C clamps and perhaps a pipe clamp to align the part and pull it together.

 

[bgaffney]

Okay, thank you very much.

 

[TimPa]

pvc cement, the same used for pvc pipe. and you will need to clamp it for a day.

 

[bgaffney]

Thank you very much.

 

[shoot summ]

Determine what type of plastic it is, then determine the appropriate adhesive for it. There are a lot of plastic repair processes, including "welding", 3M has a whole line of repair products used primarily in the auto/motorsport industry, Duramix is one product.

I've welded ATV plastic on many occasions, we spent many years racing MX on Quads...

It won't look perfect, but I would probably weld that crack, really the only way to get it to hold, the adhesives/epoxies will require something to bridge the crack. When I welded ATV fenders I would "stitch" the crack back together with safety wire, then weld and remove the stitches as I went along.

Obviously a lot of effort, might be better just to replace it?

 

[bgaffney]

Thank you so much for your information.

 

[Steve Neul]

Not long ago I repaired a plastic bumper on one of our cars. I started with plastic welding and it did pretty good but after a while the vibration of the car caused the cracks to re-appear. After welding it several times with no long term satisfaction I finally covered the area with fiberglass cloth using epoxy for plastic as the resin. Then once sanded and shaped bondo then adhered to it and the repair worked. (That is until a girl text messaging ran into the car totaling the bumper.)

 

[bgaffney]

:nerd2:Ha! This sounds like THE solution! FYI: I also have a plastic car bumper issue. Killing two birds with one stone.

 

[Steve Neul]

This is what was left of the bumper. The part I repaired was the right corner. It was about 20 pieces including a piece of a plastic paint pail I used to replace a missing piece. After the wreck I decided to give up trying to repair it. Way too many pieces.