plastic

[Yamamike]

So I've read some of the repair methods/suggestions...if I understand correctly, these parts are made of ABS?? If that's correct, can I use ABS pipe material (used in plumbing) as "filler"?

[bongobobny]

Myself I use the 2 part plastic epoxy as filler for smaller areas, and scrap ABS plastic for larger areas. You can also use "Plastex" but it's a little more expensive than the 2 part epoxy...

[Prairiehammer]

Mike,

There is one enthusiast (I can't remember who) who advocates utilizing ABS pipe cement for our plastic repairs and he recommends adding shaved ABS bits to the cement to form a thicker paste for more body. If I remember correctly, he added bits of ABS to the can of cement and let it melt in the can until the desired consistency was attained. I also recall he used sheets of ABS for large areas. Utilize fiberglass window screening embedded in the still soft ABS paste as reinforcement.

[Yammer Dan]

You can find sheets of ABS on line (I forget where) for large repairs. Grind up a powder of a piece of ABS pipe to mix with the glue. If you just have a crack getting the glue in the crack and holding it togather til glue sits. There are a lot of ways to go.

[stevej]

There are a couple of threads on here regarding the use of ABS plastic to make repairs.

 

I tried the method myself to repair a broken pin that holds the side cover on and so far it is working well. I did the repair about two months ago. I tried several other epoxys and glues and all failed within a day or two.

 

For my repair, I bought a ABS fitting from local plumbing supply for about a dollar and using a shur form, scrapped a small pile of shavings that I mixed with acetone. I used the dish shape of the bottom of a pop can as my measuring/mixing tray.

 

It only takes a few drops of acetone to melt the shavings, from what I observed during the mixing/melting process is that you do not want too much acetone. I think that you could make the mix too thin to the point that it does not have any strength and if there is too much acetone, you run the risk of melting through the part that you are trying to repair before the acetone evaportes off and hardens the repair mixture.

 

I then applied part of the mixture to the area that I wanted to attach the part to, placed the part into the mix and held it in place with masking tape. I let it harden over night and reinstalled the cover on the bike the next day.

[Yamamike]

Myself I use the 2 part plastic epoxy as filler for smaller areas, and scrap ABS plastic for larger areas. You can also use "Plastex" but it's a little more expensive than the 2 part epoxy...

 

Hey Bongobobny,

Please elaborate...there are MANY epoxies out there and not all created equal. What brands have been used successfully?

 

PS; thanks for all the input!!

[bongobobny]

First make sure it is specific to ABS. I have used several with good results. Loctite makes one, Auto Zone sells another, forgot the brand name, and have used stuff from Lowe's, Home Depot, and even Wally world. It comes in a dual barrel applicator, generally runs around $7 to $10. I did have some stuff that was made by Dupont that didn't work, and was clear colored. The good stuff is white and yellow, and mixes up to a cream color...

[Yamamike]

Here's another question...should cracks be grooved out or is it best to just leave them. I know the acetone will creep into the crack but I doubt epoxies will since they have a much thicker consistency.

[V7Goose]

First, you cannot use ABS Pipe compound as a filler alone. You can use ABS powder or shavings as a filler, but you will need to make sure it is a very thick paste so most of it is the plastic and not the solvent. But with a thick paste, make sure you use a bit of solvent on the other pieces so the paste will combine with the existing plastic too.

 

If you are making a repair with pipe compound, you need to have tight fitting pieces with no parts missing, and you do NOT want to bevel or groove the break in any way. The pipe compound is a solvent and not a glue at all - it performs a weld of the two pieces by melting them and allowing the plastic to mix - exactly like a metal weld from heat. The two most important parts of that repair process are the close fit of the two parts so the surface can mix together and the requirement to be certain that ALL of the solvent has flashed off before the part is put into use. This means letting it sit in a warm place a MINIMUM of about four hours. Other important points are that the pipe solvent MUST be fresh, and it is good to kind of wiggle the two pieces together a bit when first joined to aid in mixing the melted plastic. Virtually all the ABS repairs I do are with the pipe compound, and I have never had a single one fail (that I know of).

 

An epoxy repair is different. The right kind of epoxy will also melt a bit of the plastic, but not much, and the epoxy is also a filler. If I was using an epoxy, I would first make certain it was the right stuff for ABS (either by label or trying a test glue of two pieces of scrap ABS and trying to break them apart. Proper ABS epoxy will NEVER break free of the surface of a piece of ABS because the epoxy bonds with the plastic from the melting. With epoxy, I would slightly groove one side of a break to provide a greater surface area for the epoxy to bond with the crack.

Goose

[Yammer Dan]

ABS pipe Glue. If you have a crack that fits back togather good use the use the cleaner that comes in the 2 can pac you can get at Wally World, Lowes, Home Depot..... 1 can glue 1 can cleaner. Clean it good with the cleaner. then apply glue from backside if possible. A extra hand is helpfull. Make sure you have glue well into crack. Wiggle a little but not much to insure pieces are knitting togather. Hold til crack is togather as best you can. If you are lucky you won't hardly see crack. Hold it to gather good and tight til it sets. Minute or two. That extra hand is needed to wipe down outside of repair with cloth or paper towel soaked with the cleaner to get rid of glue mess if you have any. Make sure you get the glue into the crack well.

[bongobobny]

myself I believe in "V"'ing out a crack as it gives a larger surface area for bonding. Downside is the material you remove has to be replaced with new material, not a big deal when using 2 part epoxy or plastex or poor man's plastex (acetone and plastic shavings)...

[van avery]

A friend recently turned me on to Rapid-fix. It's a little expensive about $22 at my local auto parts store . Has a small bottle of liquid and one of filler. Stuff is like super glue on Steriods.

I'm reworking a 83 goldwing and one of the saddle bag covers had a big crack. Repaired it with superglue and added Quick steel epoxy on the inside. When I put back in place it split again. Cleaned it uo then used the Rapid-fix and it came out great and strong.

Check it out. This really is Great stuff. http://www.rapid-fix.com/Rapid-Fix.com/HOME.html

It said you can brush off excess materials with paper towel. You better be quick. By the time I put the cap back on the bottle it was already hard. It did sand down very well.

[Rick Butler]

You are correct Mike,

 

That most of the plastic on any Venture is ABS. And yes the general purpose PVC/CPVC/ABS pipe glue you find in the plumbing section of Home Depot works well gluing broke pieces back together. But it works best of you use the yellow PVC cleaner before you apply the glue and press the pieces together. But it really best for clean breaks and won't work well as a filler. Ground up ABS works where you need to fill larger cracks. But it's really the solvent in these products that bonds ABS pieces together

 

But then again, any of the other plastic welding/mending products works well, but not as convenient as the pipe glue.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Rick

 

 

So I've read some of the repair methods/suggestions...if I understand correctly, these parts are made of ABS?? If that's correct, can I use ABS pipe material (used in plumbing) as "filler"?

[pa_don]

Way back when folks were talking about plastic welders, someone posted that JB Weld would bond the ABS. Anyone had success with it?

[Snaggletooth]

Way back when folks were talking about plastic welders, someone posted that JB Weld would bond the ABS. Anyone had success with it?

 

I've played with it somewhat as I've used JB for a lot of other types of repairs with great results. I have used it as a build up material on the back side of ABS repairs to add thickness but for repairing cracks or clean breaks, not such great results for long term.

 

The most durable repairs I've made have been done with 2 part epoxy on the broken pieces and then expoxy a strip of ABS plastic on the back (when possible) to create a laminated repair. Haven't had one of those fixes break yet.

 

Best bet, use a product that bonds the ABS back to itself, not a a product that just holds them together.

 

My

 

Mike

[Yamamike]

I've been trying several different methods from this thread and others. Not sure about long term but the acetone/ABS shavings "paste" seems to do the best job of "welding" the cracks. I have been grooving out the crack as well. This also hardens quicker.

My latest test was a two part epoxy which is the same colour as my black beauty. Just did that last night so I'll report back to let y'all know how well it did.

[dynodon]

I don't know if it was here or somewhere else, but someone had mentioned Plastifix to repair the plastic on bikes. I bought some when nothing else would work to prevent the trunk on my '86 VR from becoming three (or more) pieces!

 

http://www.urethanesupply.com/plastifixhowto.php

 

I bought the stuff, used a Dremel tool as recommended, and when I saw the method to apply the Plastifix, I thought it would take forever. But in two days I had the trunk back on. All my problems were hidden from view and in black areas, so the black product worked fine, and I didn't have to paint. If you have to paint, add that time to anything you use.

 

But this stuff WORKS! It is easier (and kind of fun) to use than you would think, and the result is as strong or stronger than the original item. Plus you can even recreate parts with it. I haven't tried that, but it seems simple enough.

 

Really, I tried all kinds of stuff, and Plastifix works.

[Yamamike]

Thanks Don...I'll keep this in mind!

[Zman]

use ABS plastic sheet 1/8 inch (smooth side goes against repair) ABS glue is best but PVC pipe cement is a good alt;to form heat backing ABS up with heat gun till soft (flat glass works good to heat backer up on) wear cotton gloves to handle hot piece, then place against part to be reinforced(please have area cleaned with lacquer thinner prior to this process) allow to cool before gluing; if this is a section repair call me ZMAN 402 3140721:322:

[Shorty]

Here's the stuff I use. I also use fiberglass cloth with it. It's costs less than $5.00 at Auto Zone. Works great.

[saddlebum]

I don't know if it was here or somewhere else, but someone had mentioned Plastifix to repair the plastic on bikes. I bought some when nothing else would work to prevent the trunk on my '86 VR from becoming three (or more) pieces!

 

http://www.urethanesupply.com/plastifixhowto.php

 

I bought the stuff, used a Dremel tool as recommended, and when I saw the method to apply the Plastifix, I thought it would take forever. But in two days I had the trunk back on. All my problems were hidden from view and in black areas, so the black product worked fine, and I didn't have to paint. If you have to paint, add that time to anything you use.

 

But this stuff WORKS! It is easier (and kind of fun) to use than you would think, and the result is as strong or stronger than the original item. Plus you can even recreate parts with it. I haven't tried that, but it seems simple enough.

 

Really, I tried all kinds of stuff, and Plastifix works.

This looks identical to plastex but under another name. I rebuilt my bike with plastex after it was written off in 2007 and it is still holding up great. www.plastex.net .

[V7Goose]

use ABS plastic sheet 1/8 inch (smooth side goes against repair) ABS glue is best but PVC pipe cement is a good alt;to form heat backing ABS up with heat gun till soft (flat glass works good to heat backer up on) wear cotton gloves to handle hot piece, then place against part to be reinforced(please have area cleaned with lacquer thinner prior to this process) allow to cool before gluing;

This needs correction/clarification. You CANNOT use PVC pipe cement for a proper repair of ABS plastic.

Plastic pipe cement comes in three different types - PVC specific, ABS specific, and the universal PVC, CPVC and ABS stuff. If it does not say ABS on the can or tube, do NOT use it for ABS.

Goose

[Yamamike]

Thanks Guys!

I'm using a combination of "home made Plastex" (acetone & ABS shavings) and epoxy. I tried a few different epoxies and found that even the "quick set" one don't set nearly as fast as the home made stuff. It does mean you have to work fairly quickly...just have to make smaller batches but the results are very solid. Pics to come!

[Yamamike]

This needs correction/clarification. You CANNOT use PVC pipe cement for a proper repair of ABS plastic.

Plastic pipe cement comes in three different types - PVC specific, ABS specific, and the universal PVC, CPVC and ABS stuff. If it does not say ABS on the can or tube, do NOT use it for ABS.

Goose

 

OK now...Goose...are you saying the fairings/luggage are made of ABS? The reason I ask is that it seems there is some confusion as to whether it's PVC or ABS. I'm pretty sure I've seen conflicting posts on that matter.

How can we know for sure??

[V7Goose]

OK now...Goose...are you saying the fairings/luggage are made of ABS? The reason I ask is that it seems there is some confusion as to whether it's PVC or ABS. I'm pretty sure I've seen conflicting posts on that matter.

How can we know for sure??

There should not be any confusion - All the hard plastic on the 2nd gens is ABS plastic, even the chromed pieces on the fairing. The letters "ABS" are molded into the inner surface of every piece. I believe that all the plastic on the 1st gens are also ABS, but I cannot say that with certainty.

 

So long as the breaks are clean and not missing any pieces, ALL of the ABS plastic on these bikes can be easily repaired with perfect, permanent results with nothing more than the universal or ABS specific pipe cement. This applies to the chrome windshield strip too.

Goose