Soldering Plastic

[mkr7734]

Had a chance to do something new today. I pitched a large log into the back of the Gator CX when it was below O and cracked the plastic bed. So I went into town to the body shop and asked what kind of glue they use on car bumper covers because this plastic looks to be the same or very close.. The guy said we don't we solder them up. Solder them up I asked??? He said sure. He said if it is black plastic it is easy, if it is yellow plastic your out of luck. So I asked him how he does it. He said just get a old solder iron with the big blade and heat it up and melt it into the crack and weld a bead of extra plastic in as you go along. I said sounds good I have one of those solder irons, do they sell the plastic filler because I don稚 have any extra plastic to fill it with. He said hold on and he went and got a old broken inner plastic fender well and said just cut some strips out of this and give it a try. It works great and I learned something new today. :thumbsup:

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

And....
Pictures?!

 

[mkr7734]

And....
Pictures?!

Not much to show but I took some shots for you. I just wanted to fix the crack so I did not grind it smooth or anything but he told me you can work it out if need be like they do on bumper covers. I pushed hard on it and it seems to be as strong as new. Far as I can tell. This old Gator CX is over ten years old and has more than 1,800 hard hours on her so I just wanted to seal up the cracks.

 

[dickfoster]

Had a chance to do something new today. I pitched a large log into the back of the Gator CX when it was below O and cracked the plastic bed. So I went into town to the body shop and asked what kind of glue they use on car bumper covers because this plastic looks to be the same or very close.. The guy said we don't we solder them up. Solder them up I asked??? He said sure. He said if it is black plastic it is easy, if it is yellow plastic your out of luck. So I asked him how he does it. He said just get a old solder iron with the big blade and heat it up and melt it into the crack and weld a bead of extra plastic in as you go along. I said sounds good I have one of those solder irons, do they sell the plastic filler because I don稚 have any extra plastic to fill it with. He said hold on and he went and got a old broken inner plastic fender well and said just cut some strips out of this and give it a try. It works great and I learned something new today. :thumbsup:

I have never tried to solder plastic but depending on the type of plastic I suppose you could do that too. I'd likely try a heat gun with a fine focus tip instead of a direct contact hot iron.

I have also used Mar-hyde 3310 which is a two part flexible compound made to repair plastic bumpers. It's good for urethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, ABS and most other automotive plastics. I used it to modify some urethane fender flares. I mixed in a little black plastic dye while mixing the two parts. Then used the pasty compound to fill the v grooved cracks and spaces.
After it set up, I sanded and buffed and you can't tell from 6 inches away that it wasn't made that way. It's easy to tool, sand and buff after it cures. I took the added precaution to fiberglass the back sides for more structure.
After about 12 years it still looks as the day I did the work and it's still holding up.
You can also paint the stuff.
Instead of fiberglass I suppose one could also try some gorilla tape on the back side.

 

[davesl708]

I will have to try that. My plastic grill on the BX cracked at the bottom.

 

[ruffdog]

I had a critter gnaw a hole in my Speeco wood splitter fuel tank a few years back. I bought pliable epoxy that is ok for gasoline use and tried that. It lasted about 2 years and I always kept the fuel lower than the repair (top corner). I did buy a new tank but thought about fixing the old one first. The tank seemed like a UHMW type plastic so I used black plastic strips (filler rod) made from a oil jug. Yep, just get your soldering iron and start melting it together and smoothing it out. It worked great and I bet it will be a permanent repair. (it has been 2 years now) If you have something yellow to fix, just use yellow jugs. Just heat it past being soft (so it will stick together) but not too hot so you are burning the plastic.

 

[PILOON]

I also have had decent results using hot glue gun sticks.

 

[dickfoster]

I also have had decent results using hot glue gun sticks.

Hot glue is really styrene, the same stuff used to make coffee cups and coolers.

 

[k0ua]

I have been soldering plastic for about 50 years. It can work well, or it can get away from you pretty quick with a rapid melt thru. Also don't breath the fumes. But as I said, it can work well if you are careful.

 

[Trials]

If you don't care what it looks like: To repair plastic motorcycle fenders, we just drill a whole series of holes along either side of the crack and then stitch it up with zip-ties Frankenstein style. it holds really well compared to plastic welding and looks kinda bad-a**.