plastic repair

[texaxile]

Hi,
Can anyone suggest or tell me how I might repair some chipped and broken plastic around an indicator, the repaired area will have to also support the light weight of the indicator assembly. It's a bit more than just filling in a crack, a section needs to be fabricated and replaced.

I've thought about fibreglassing the area, sanding and then painting, but the plastic needs to be shaped (nothing complicated though) and fibreglass is a pain and never goes right for me!. There is an american product which is pretty expensive and not available in the UK (plast aid and plastex) which is my last resort.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, but for some reason I've drawn a blank on this one.

[steveo3002]

pics would help

theres lots of 2 part epoxy bumper repair glues that ought to do it

[Astacus]

have you thought of Sugru?? its a sort of mouldable plastic that hardens and then I think can be sanded.

[sim16v]

Depending on the plastic, a soldering iron with some plastic can help.

The plastic sprues from modeling kits can be used, or bits cut off from an old bumper.

Use the iron to melt the plastic and it will bond all of the parts together.

[Roy C]

Q-Bond?

[Slidingpillar]

sim16v said:

Depending on the plastic, a soldering iron with some plastic can help.

The plastic sprues from modeling kits can be used, or bits cut off from an old bumper.

Use the iron to melt the plastic and it will bond all of the parts together.

I'll admit it sometimes works, but most modern plastics contain a plasticiser. Heat can cause this to evaporate and leave the finished article brittle.

I'd be going with the fibreglass. You can buy it in a paste form which I'd try to get both bonded to the existing plastic and slightly below the surface so can finish off with a conventional filler and paint. For small areas, a Dremel or the like and a sandpaper roll to rub down/make smooth. Think loo roll centre shrunk to about 1/2" and 3/4" long, and a sandpaper roll slipped over it and spun by the dremel.

Edited by Slidingpillar on Sunday 24th January 16:29