Repairing cracked fairing

[midlifec]

Some of the mounts on my fairing plastic are cracked and I would like to try and glue them back together. They are hidden behind other plastic pieces so I am not going to be painting the repair. Has anyone had success repairing these pieces and if so what did you use. I thought about JB Weld but wondered if there's something better I coud use.

[Charlie from Illinois]

Try this discussion out Dave. It has a couple of links to go to.
http://www.abbikeboard.com/forum/viewto ... ?f=4&t=401
nice having an edit button.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Charlie, the links didn't come thru. Try agian!

[Rhinestone Kawboy]

This may be the link:
http://www.amervoyassoc.org/forum/viewt ... pair#p3028

However, I have repaired cracked plastic on my bike using fiberglass netting and body puddy- seems to be holding just fine.

[Gator Mike]

Tried JB weld and it didn't last long. As Gary did I then used fiber glass mat and resin and it worked great. Has been fine for 4 years now. I cleaned the plastic well and then ruffed it up so the resin would stick. Luckily all of it was hidden so I didn't have to paint it..........Gator Mike

[frank in ohio]

MCN had an article some time ago that was about a Plastic Welding Kit from Chicago Electric and available from Harbor Freight. They were really impressed with it. It is actually a small welder that heats rods of plastic much like a regular arc welder. I never tried it. Not bad price-wise either, $30 to $40 bucks, depending on discounts.

frank

[The Masked Rider]

The Plastic Welder you are talking about looks like a welding torch only it uses super heated air which is supplied by your air compressor to melt the plastic. Personally I like to use pieces of the same plastic that I am welding instead of one of the rods they give you. I have broken pieces of fairing from the Voyager that I use. You really need to practice before you attack your Voyager.

With that said, I prefer using a two part glue called Plastic-Weld. They have a wide range or goodies for just about every job.

http://www.itwconsumer.com/catalog.aspx?catID=11

[38 special]

My son used something called Fuser Bumper Repair from the Auto store and drywall sticky type tape to cover the crack. Probably works just like Gator Mikes resin and fiberglass does.

[Rhinestone Kawboy]

Your so called "drywall sticky tape" is probably fiberglass tape for dry wall use. And that is what I used when repairing some of my broken plastic parts.

[38 special]

That could be, Gary. The last time that I tried to fix some body panels I used just straight body putty and it just sanded right off, all of it. Maybe I just didn't scuff up the surface for enough bite.Of course I'm used to working on steel on my old car and not plastic panels.

[davet]

Hi All

The only way to permantly repair a cracked or broken plastic fairing is to use the plastic welding process.

I have bought a temperature controlled heat gun from Bosch and the special tips for the heat gun and the specilised welding rods, have to use the correct plastic rods as well otherwise they welds do not work. Plastics are usually ABS or PP, the rods can be bought off Ebay and the heat guns as well, the temperature control is important as different plastics require different temperatures for the fusion process.

I have plastic welded a creck on the corner of the truck and the main mounting lug on the top fairings on the Voyager and currently rebuilding the fairings on the VFR750 before a respray job is carried out.

The repairs are amazingly strong if done correctly and to be done properly require grinding out and welding on one side and then repeat on the other side, when the visable side of the panel is sanded off, filled, sanded and painted the repair cannot be seem.

The heat guns appear quite cheap in the USA and with a bit of practice, good preparation and care in the repair it works really well and then if required send off for painting.

One tip to remember is if you have a crack in a panel, drill a small hole at the end of the crack to stop it spreading along, this tip works.

Hope this helps.