Plastic issue...

[poleclimber63]

I'm in the process of modding my grille, and have discovered one of the plastic mounting arms is cracked. I discovered this only after i removed the chrome coating from the grille. I was thinking of using plastic glue, however, after reviewing BFAD's grille mod entry in his build thread, he mentioned epoxy. I Would appreciate any input on this--- in the past i've had only limited success with plastic glue, depending on the plastic density/formula... Plastic glue usually works better with softer plastics... ANY advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[audiness]

jbweld works well on plastics

 

[Dezert4Runner]

^^^X2 on JB Weld. I had one of the two mounts on the top center that was cracked & broke off & it still mounted very sturdy without it. Fill the surrounding cracked area with the stronger original JB Weld (not Kwik weld, it's not as strong) and it should be fine.

 

[shadow247]

I have had good luck using epoxy on plastic. I use one from O-Reilly's that says it dries underwater. It's called H2Hold. There are 2 tubes of it in my toolbox right now. I have used in on PVC pipes, broken mirror housings (for that time I was backing into the garage and tore my wife's mirror right off the mounts), and many other things that I have broken over the years.

 

[poleclimber63]

H2hold or jb Weld....

Are either of these products easily machinable/workable?

I do remember using JB Weld 15yrs ago on an Aluminum timing chain guide from a Dodge Arrow... Worked like a dream! However, if I recall, the stuff hardened to a shell akin to granite!
I used 2 part epoxy 20yrs ago but I only had limited success with it on some materials... I image the formulation has improved! Interesting, epoxy that curses in water!
Great suggestions!

 

[shadow247]

I haven't ever used it for a repair that shows or was worried about the way it looked, but it gets pretty hard so I imagine you would have no issues using a dremel to sand it down and shape it the way you wanted after it was cured.

 

[poleclimber63]

Applied JB Weld

I used JB Weld this afternoon. The 2 parts are more fluid than I remember. Repaired the upper mounting arm and filled the gaps after cutting the Centre section from the grille. Went on smoothly and will mill the high spots in the morning in preparation for the bondo filler.

 

[Dezert4Runner]

The trick is to mix the two parts and wait a 5-10 mins before working with it. It thickens slowly over the coarse of maybe 1/2 hour before it gets too thick to work with. There's a fine line of waiting long enough or too long so don't mix big batches unless you're prepared to use all of it within 10-20 mins.

 

[poleclimber63]

pics worth a thousand words...

Thought I'd throw in some pics of the progress:

I acquired a "Toyota" grille badge from a 91 4Runner to finish the grille... now the hard part: getting the time to put it all together!

 

[poleclimber63]

I'll try again.... pics

Progress:

 

[poleclimber63]

Grille done!

Finally finished the grille this weekend! JB Weld worked great! I'll be using this again for my plastic repairs. Sands great, Bondo, paint sticks to it great etc.

Thanks for everyone's input!!

 

[poleclimber63]

Finished Grille!

I finally installed my grille as the temp. has risen outside! As it peaked at +1C today, I rinsed the road salt off and took some pics! Thanks for everyone's input on the plastic issues, thanks to BFADs' idea to match the grille frame to the body colour and thanks to Rickashay for the grille emblem idea---- it looks
great!