What glue should I use to repair my New Holland hood?

[STx]

Why New Holland thought that plastic was the right material to use for the body parts on the TC series tractors will always be a mystery to me but, they did. I guess I should have put a grill guard on mine before using it to load the dump truck but, I didn't and the hood made contact with the truck a few times and came apart. I'm not really sure what my best adhesive option is going to be to get this thing back together, it looks like whatever they used originally created a solvent weld because chunks of the mated piece came out where it broke apart. I'm thinking maybe hit the bonding surfaces with some 40 grit sandpaper to rough it up and use an epoxy but, I don't know if there might be a better option so, I'm asking first. I've got to wait a week or so for the right side headlight bracket to get here anyway so I've got time to do this right instead of twice.

So, what would you use?

 

[jaydee325]

Do a little research here.

Plastic body panels can be miserable if you don't know exactly what the plastic is. For example, if you try and weld it with the wrong plastic filler rod, you'll have a mess!

 

[STx]

I did do a bunch of welding of fender cracks last year, I want to say the plastic is HPDE but, I don't remember for sure. The welds have held up ok. Where I've got to make repairs this time isn't designed to be welded though, they used an adhesive of some sort. There is about a 1" wide lip on the sides of the top piece that the sides for over and the adhesion was here.

 

[Oldpath05]

So many glues and adhesives to choose from, my last two part glue I had good results from was Gorrila glue, used on my leather boots last year, still holding. I see several pieces there, if that's all broken , might try glue with few small pieces of sheet metal behind the plastic and use a few pop rivets. I'm assuming a new hood is expensive? If you fix it show what you did.

 

[STx]

It's not broken, broken. It came apart at the seams. I am considering adding some sort of mechanical fastener to it, either through bolts with washers or rivets.

I've already ordered a grill guard for it so once it's fixed, I shouldn't be able to break it again. Hopefully.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

That's kinda odd a hood would fall apart like that, I have only had to repair a Stihl 038 engine cover, 4in hole and about 8 diff pieces of shattered plastic, I taped one side so all the pieces stayed and put a 2 part epoxy on the back side, it dried like steel and to this day (6 years later) is strong as ever.

You can see and feel the cracks in the plastic but there all smooth and that area feels stronger than plastic not epoxied.

In your case I'm surprised there's no clips or something holding the hood together, more than just "glue".

 

[RickB]

That's kinda odd a hood would fall apart like that, I have only had to repair a Stihl 038 engine cover, 4in hole and about 8 diff pieces of shattered plastic, I taped one side so all the pieces stayed and put a 2 part epoxy on the back side, it dried like steel and to this day (6 years later) is strong as ever.

You can see and feel the cracks in the plastic but there all smooth and that area feels stronger than plastic not epoxied.

In your case I'm surprised there's no clips or something holding the hood together, more than just "glue".

He hit it "several times" with the side of a dump truck. If it was made of 12ga steel it would be all wadded up.

 

[STx]

No, I bumped it 4 or 5 times. If it had been 12ga steel, it might have a slight crease. If I'd hit it hard enough to crumple steel, this thing would be trashed. There are no cracks in it, the glue seams just failed.

 

[RickB]

Still no sympathy. Two best ways to avoid hood damage are to have a grille guard and not drive into things. True for steel, plastic or fiberglass.

 

[4570Man]

Still no sympathy. Two best ways to avoid hood damage are to have a grille guard and not drive into things. True for steel, plastic or fiberglass.

I guess you've never accidentally hit something.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I guess you've never accidentally hit something.

What have you messed up, with your tractor? Including ROPS into garage...

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=351264

 

[4570Man]

What have you messed up, with your tractor? Including ROPS into garage... http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=351264

More than I care to admit. But I put a lot more hours on equipment than the average TBN user so percentage wise maybe not a whole lot.

 

[Raspy]

The good news is that New Holland used glue on it, so we know there is a glue that will stick to it. Some polyethylene plastics are inert and not glueable.

Why not contact New Holland and ask them what glue they use?

It won't be Gorilla Glue though as that is more brittle. Not an epoxy either. Something like a urethane based stuff that is bulky and flexible with a consistency like caulk.

BTW, the grill guards for the small NH tractors are very nice. I put one on my TC29DA and it is tough.

 

[RickB]

I guess you've never accidentally hit something.

Sure I have. But I can man up and admit I screwed up, fix things and move on.

 

[coralhead]

You may try 3M 5200 adhesive. It is used for bedding marine hardware on boats. It takes a while to set but stays flexible, is waterproof and forms a tight bond. It comes in small tubes.
52 Adhesive

This is what I would use.

 

[Slagiatt]

You may try 3M 5200 adhesive. It is used for bedding marine hardware on boats. It takes a while to set but stays flexible, is waterproof and forms a tight bond. It comes in small tubes.
52�� Adhesive

This is what I would use.

not had much luck with 5200 as a glue product its better used as a water tight bedding . I use SIX 10 wet system for a lot of different metals and plastics. They also make glue design to glue auto body panels, try automotive paint body supply store

 

[ArlyA]

Most plastic parts will say what type they are made of. It should say HDPE with some number. If that's what it is, sorry to say these plastic's don't take glue very well. Having said that, I'd only try some product that claims it will work on poly's, not general glues. This stuff might work.

How to Bond HDPE, UHMW or Polypropylene Sheet - YouTube

 

[Redlands Okie]

Sure I have. But I can man up and admit I screwed up, fix things and move on.

He did admit messing up, i not see any asking for sympathy. And STx seems to be trying to move on by asking for informed information on how to move in the right direction on the first try.

That being said i think some John Deere products use a soy based plastic. No idea on yours but just info on possible bases. Sure seems strange it came apart at the seams so to speak. I guess it does not matter now but it makes me wonder if it was correctly made to start with. Perhaps some body shop forum might have good suggestions what with all the plastics on today's cars.

 

[Tjdux]

I think the idea of using some though bolts or rivets along with what ever glue you find is a really good idea. Even if you find the perfect glue (which i assume is what the factory used) it seemed to come apart easily enough that some mechanical fastners cannot hurt for the long run.

Is there a chance you could test if fiberglass resin sticks to it well? Maybe if it does you could rebuild the joints from behind with mesh/resin and glue and some rivets.

 

[Ford850]

I would think some of the 3M adhesives or tapes found in auto body repair should work. They are used to hold all sorts of plastic and rubber panels together.