Plastic repair

[phenrichs]

I bought a Venture trunk and it of course has a few cracks. What is the best way to repair?
The cracks are visible on the outside of the shell as well as the inside so I will want a method that will allow for sanding and painting. Isn't there some sort of epoxy/resin/glue substance that is made for repairing ABS plastic?

[Yellow Jacket]

Check out these links:

http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0204_body/index.html

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcyc...g-abs-bags.htm

[ridemslow]

I was recently at the body shop when my car was being repaired, and in talking to the lead man who writes up repairs, he told me of an adhesive glue they use to repair the cracked bumpers on some cars. I cant recall the name of it, but I'm sure that if you drop by a quality body shop, someone there could tell you what it is called. He told me that it was actually tougher than the bumper material itself. I've got top rails on my saddlebags and I am considering having the holes filled and bags repainted, is how I come to learn this.

[phenrichs]

So that ABS cement, Can that be sanded, painted, can you put body filler on top of it? Just wondering. I know it is unmatched for repair but I wonder how it is for appearance.

[goldstar225]

OP I'm in the same boat. My trunk can in with more extensive cracking than anticipated (or described by the seller) with thumb nail size pieces missing along the crackline. My local (and respected) body shop said "no way" on the repair.

I contacted a bike shop that attracts the go fast sport bike crowd. They in turn referred me to a man who does plastic repair. In speaking to him he said that the repair will not be a problem since he uses a liquid metal that is used to bond the tops to the metal sides on vans. His claim is that the bond is stronger than the base material and is paintable.

I hope to get the trunk to him this week, hope he's right because other than the cracks (and voids) in the bottom, the trunk is in great shape.

[phenrichs]

The repair is SO EASY. I have many of them fixed already. Go to a hardware store and buy the Oatey blue label ABS cement. I used a dremel with a very thin engraving bit, it is about the size and shape of a toothpick, and a small rounded ball tip engraving bit. Sandpaper will work just as well but I don't have the patience. Following the line of the crack I made a small groove (about 1/4 to 1/2 of the thickness of the plastic) do not go all the way through. Be sure to clean the area well after any At this point many how-to's will tell you that you need plastic shavings to fill in the hole. I found if you don't make the groove too wide you don't need it. When the groove is made I use a toothpick to fill in the groove with the ABS cement. I fill it in rather liberally so that there is cement bulgin slightly out of the groove. I figure I can sand it back down after. After a couple hours the cement is cured and I found that it recedes into the groove, proving that it melts the plastic and then allows it to harden as it dries. To me this is preferred because I can fill lightly over it with a body filler. I don't know how well paint will stick to the cement so I am hoping the body filler will take care of that. The ABS cement was $2.50 at Menards for a 4oz bottle and I figure to have 80 - 90 % of the bottle left over when I am finished. If your trunk is plastic I would highly recommend trying this out on at least one crack before paying someone for simple work. If your trunk is fiberglass you can repair that yourself as well. It takes a little more work but that is mostly prep and cleanup. You can sheets of fiberglass at most hardware stores now and a bottle of resin. Sand all the paint off the area to be repaired and be sure that it is clean. Soak the sheets down with resin and lay them over the are to repair so that they are larger than the area. Lay them on in layers to be slightly thicker than necessary so you can sand and smooth afterward. and allow to harden. Then sand smooth add body filler where necessary and paint.
Those are really boiled down instructions for fiberglass but should get the point across.

Good luck and I hope it comes out ok.