Plastic Repair

[pburchett]

Can anyone suggest a way to repair this plastic piece? It is the side panel on my 1991 Honda 300 4x4 ATV. The panel attaches to the gas tank by way of the slide in connector. It appears as over time a stress crack has formed in the right angle of the section. Buying a new section is not realistic as it is a part of the entire rear fender. All suggestions welcome.

 

[Rusty2N]

Google plastic repair/welding. Don't laugh, it does exist. I laughed at a guy at Ag expo one year, he said "well then
young man come here"! I no longer laugh... very informational 1/2 hour I spent in a long time. Now I weld plastic as
well as iron! HFT sells a tool for it. Cheap! Wood burner tool works also. Thats what I use. As in welding iron,
practice make perfect. Have fun!!

 

[rrman61]

Small angle iron on backside of crack.drill 2 or 4
small holes and rivet or small nut and bolts.rivets
show less and you can paint over them

 

[37 chief]

If you cut a small metal piece, and bolt it over the crack you should be good. Paint it red, and you will be the only one that sees it. Stan

 

[Stephen Newell]

I would start with plastic welding however that isn't enough. On the back side I would re-enforce it with some epoxy for plastic and work some fiberglass cloth in it. I did the bumper of a car that way and the next time it was hit the bumper broke all around the
repair but the repair held.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

No glue or epoxy will stick to this kind of plastic.Plastic welding is your only option.

 

[cjunrau]

There are a few ways to do it. You may have seen a zipper fix with Zip ties before. Alot of quads are fixed that way. I think it looks ugly but that is just me.

I do plastic welding on mine and use shrink wrap as the rod. I use a cordless drill and spin a tight rod with the plastic. Then I use the highest ampredge wood burning tool or solder iron you can find.
I do mine from the back side so less noticeable. Just heat and melt it all together and slowly go further out. I end up on a crack like that with a 2-3 inch wide by 1/4 inch thick weld. Just keep smoothing it out as you go along and it is amazing how well it hold. Fiberglas is an option as well just rough up the plastic very well before you start.

Now I will tell you the simplest and you won't believe it works but try before you knock it.
By a product called" ULTRA CILICONE" use brake clean and sand paper(50-80 grit)and make sure it is clean. add a good layer of silicone 1/8 inch thick and 2 inch wide. repeat 2X to get 3/16 thick. will hold as much as plastic weld.
My brother showed this to me a week ago on a tractor side cover where one of those knobs had broke off. Was 3 years old and still holding.,

 

[Dune Country]

Used to have a ATV rental business, did a LOT of repairs.
Plastic weld is the way to go, also melt a piece of small wire mesh into the back side for reinforcement.

 

[Steve@Advance]

Look the underside of the part or a similar part over for the "SPI" triangle.

That will identify what type plastic compound it is.

SPI Code 1: PETE or PET.
SPI Code 2: HDPE. ...
SPI Code 3: PVC. ...
SPI Code 4: LDPE. ...
SPI Code 5: PP. ...
SPI Code 6: Polystyrene. ...
SPI Code 7: Other Plastics.

Then look for various epoxies, adhesives, repair techniques intended for that type plastic. If there is no clear choice,look for something designed for motorcycle or dirtbike fenders.

You can then get creative with ways to strengthen the repair area, spread the load with a piece of perforated stainless embedded in the adhesive or pop riveted on the back side.

You could even reinforce the other side before it breaks.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

Bondic

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 14:27:47 03/10/21) Bondic

Mike, please do tell. Have you used it?

 

[Crazy Horse]

RRMan ...... I say your idea is best, although I would just use a piece of sheet metal on the inside with the edges flanged inwards about 1'16" for strength, then use 1/8" pop rivets with the rivet bulge facing in and the flat rivet flange on the outside. I repair snow shovels all the time that have a crack started and they take a beating when hitting concrete cracks etc. when shoveling snow.

 

[Hobo,NC]

(quoted from post at 04:18:33 03/11/21) RRMan ...... I say your idea is best, although I would just use a piece of sheet metal on the inside with the edges flanged inwards about 1'16" for strength, then use 1/8" pop rivets with the rivet bulge facing in and the flat rivet flange on the outside. I repair snow shovels all the time that have a crack started and they take a beating when hitting concrete cracks etc. when shoveling snow.

Instead of metal I cut what I need out of a 5gal bucket...

 

[Blackhole49]

The left front fender on this machine was broke completely off at the front of the engine opening 20 years ago when it was hit by a car. I used a big soldering iron and a yellow lid to a 5 gallon pail to weld it back together. I then replaced the decails. It didn't look new, but it sure has held up.

 

[MJMJ]

The material is HDPE, and welding is the only thing that has a chance to hold long term. I've worked with HDPE for twenty some years and we've tried all sorts of adhesives over the years. Nothing is permanent.
You can also use the old zip tie stitch method. Doesn't look the best, but it works.

 

[Gary in Indy]

If you can take to a friendly collision center they should have a hot stapler. Like
the name implies, a metal staple is heated by a spacial 'gun' and melted into the
plastic (will look like stitches). Then plastic weld with screen backup. Cosmetic
plastic repair on top if you desire. Best of luck.

 

[bc]

I've played around a little with plastic welding. I can say plastic welding cracks in the bottom of a stock tank didn't work.

If you can find a little piece a quarter inch wide or so and longer than the crack that you can cut off from another place on the part then you have the same kind of plastic to lay on the backside and and melt it in.

I've taken the torn end of a hanging bumper cover, drilled holes, and used flat head stove bolts with flexible plumber's coil and stitched it together.

Drove down the interstate Wednesday and saw the whole rear clip of a car laying on the shoulder and the cover was in the median. Wonder if it fell off and they didn't even no it. Seen one fall off before years ago and the kids didn't stop. I followed them for a few miles and they finally pulled over at an exit. Told them they lost their rear end laying in the middle of the interstate and they acted like they didn't care. Texas tags, probably stolen for all I know.