Tip for stripped holes in plastic

[M61A1MECH]

I shamelessly stole this from the Goldwing forum I frequent, I have not tried tie tip yet, but thought I would pass it along in case it can help anyone in need.

 

"If everyone else in the world knows this, then I apologize, but as a small way of repaying all the help I've gotten here, I offer this tip for stripped plastic threads:

 

The 2018 has a rear side panel held fast by a screw into a plastic block. If you're ham-handed, it is easy to strip. Which I did. An easy, if inelegant, way to repair this is with steel wool. Tear off a chunk of SOS or Brillo pad, twirl one end into a long point, and push as much of it as you can into the stripped hole, leaving a bulb of it outside the hole. Then press the screw firmly into the steel wool and screw it in until it firms up. Be gentle. This is not a heli-coil-quality or EZ-Lok-quality repair, but it will hold firmishly."

[SilveradoCA]

This dumb carpenter can confirm that this works in wood as well, as a last resort if you don't have time to drill/dowel/glue/pilot, don't have any glue, or whatever.

 

Be aware that the steel wool will rust with amazing speed, and will stain whatever it's touching.

[SpencerPJ]

I am a fan of toothpicks. I agree, steel wool maybe in a pinch, but will rust with just the humidity where I live.

[Condor]

I am a fan of toothpicks. I agree, steel wool maybe in a pinch, but will rust with just the humidity where I live.

Tooth picks might be a better choice.... Steel wool will rust over time and mess every thing up...

Another suggestion would be to pick up a Bondic Kit. On the threads just layer in some of the plastic and hit it with the supplied UV light and in 4 seconds it's hard as a rock... You can tap it or if it's thin enought let the screw form the threads.. One thing I might add is it won't work joining a piece of plastic unless there a gap between the pieces. So cosmetically then it's a chemical weld...