rear plastic panel repair

[WmWatt]

Any suggestions on how to repair a crack in the rear panel I was removing to get at the upper shock absorber bolt?

[1990new]

Any suggestions on how to repair a crack in the rear panel I was removing to get at the upper shock absorber bolt?

Have you tried Oatey Fix-it-stick epoxy?
http://www.lowes.com/pd_23533-138-31...ductId=3132883

I used it on the crack in the seat molding and it worked great. Put it on the back and painted the front.
You can see photos of it in my Rosie project photobucket link.

[WmWatt]

thanks for that. epoxy doesnt stick to some plastics. I roughed up the area on the back with sandpaper, applied expoxy, and embedded a piece of fabric for reinforcement. looks and feels good.

[WmWatt]

The epoxy popped off the plastic during reinstallation. I'm sure there are different epxoy formulations with different characteristcs. I was using LePages in the two squeeze tubes. The spilt was cleaned up an reglued with acyrlic adhesive (cyanoacrylate, super glue, crazy glue) which seems to have worked. The glue was spread along the edges which were held together for 30 seconds as per instructions, then a piece of thin cloth was glued over the split on the back of the panel for reinforcement. Went back on the car okay.

[Greywolf]

There's a book out, called:
"How to Repair Plastic Bodywork"
authored by Kurt Lammon, I have a copy.

It's one of the best short story tech manuals for it you could possibly have - because it covers everything real fast, but in depth.
About ten bucks or so from Amazon or wherever and worth every nickel.


Bluntly - you can work that kind of plastic with a gun type soldering iron, and what is called a spreader tip. The type of plastic is technically called "THERMOPLASTIC" as opposed to "THERMOSET" plastic - meaning that it can be worked with heat. Typically the melt point is above 250 degrees F. Polyurethane is the most common.

The reason it is used is because it doesn't warp or melt under the heat found inside a car in direct sun, so a melt point of 350 degrees or so is what was wanted.

This means it is well within the range of heat guns and soldering irons.

I need to go find some of the photobucket and other images I did of a Suzuki Swift front end I was working on - then I can maybe do a piece on this topic.


THERE IS NO GLUE that you can get at retail that will work on it, but since it can be worked so easily with heat, that's the way to go.

*One of the other desired characteristics that was looked for when it was developed was that "STUFF should not stick to it..."


Most often, Polyurethane is what is used to make injection molded bumper covers, interior panels (including dashpanels) and so on.

You can often identify the kind of plastic by finding the symbol for it (it will be in a small triangle somewhere underneath where it doesn't show) on the casting - and looking it (and it's properties) up online.


For most cracks - if you can get a small strip of donor material from a spot where it isn't needed and won't be missed, and use that to melt into the break, you can join and fill the problem without much hassle at all.

[WmWatt]

Sounds like you could use a soldering gun and strip of plastic like a welding rod. Sounds interesting. Must root around in the recycle bin and see what I have. Great. Thanks.

PS Slightly different topic but I would like to iron out the bottom edge of both bumpers which have been pulled down out of shape over the years, possibly by winter ice and snow banks.