Plastic welding or resin?

[mister.koz]

My Zxr has some cracks in the fairings, i am told i should get it plastic welded and then fill and paint it myself.

Las night i decided to fix some plastic things around the house cause i found a 2 pod of resin, i glued pretty much everything in my house that was broken and it all looks good.

So my question is, could i fix the fairings with epoxy? could it be used to glue the cracks and possibly fill the scrapes?

What do you guys reakon?

[Shaun]

PLASTIC welding mate!!!!!! Call Mouse in Hamilton on 021-2161060

It is the best way to repair plastics, and the type of plastic used for the welding is the trick

[imdying]

Weld plastic, reglass with resin fibreglass. That epoxy may or may not eat the fairings.

[mister.koz]

Excellent, thanks guys a difinitive answer :)

Not sure what you mean by resin fibreglass? for filling it, should i ask the plastic weld guy?

Thanks again

[CookMySock]

I think you will find the epoxy resin wont stick to the plastic.

DB

[mister.koz]

I think you will find the epoxy resin wont stick to the plastic.

DB

Hey DB, i didn't even think of that, the idea that it could EAT the plastic has totally boned the idea :) cheerz

[imdying]

Not sure what you mean by resin fibreglass? for filling it, should i ask the plastic weld guy?Sorry, I mean resin and fibreglass.

[mister.koz]

Sorry, I mean resin and fibreglass.

Oh ok cool, sounds a bit over the top for scratches etc, literally bugger all to do :) just smoothing for paint, someone told me to bog it... dunno, fixing is the first step, smooth and pretty is next :)

[imdying]

Not only is it over the top, but also inappropriate for plastic fairings. USe a little body filler, then some spray putty over that.

[mister.koz]

Not only is it over the top, but also inappropriate for plastic fairings. USe a little body filler, then some spray putty over that.

cool, thank you for that :)

[MaxB]

Plastic welding is for thermoplastics like ABS which is probably the parent material of your fairing and is made in an injection moulding process. Thermoset composites like carbon fibre and GRP use a thermosetting resin like epoxy or vinyl ester and are cured often with the help of heat and pressure.

The 2 are not really compatible for repair so you will need a thermoplastic repair system. Often the plastic welder will put a bump or extra filler over the repair to help you get a good finish when you sand it back.

Minor scratches can just be polished out and sprayed. Cracks should be plastic welded.

OTOH composite fairings can often be repaired with the car body type resin and hardener systems.

[mister.koz]

Cool cool, so basically be nice to the plastic welder guy, he could fix the cracks and fill in the deep holes.

Cheerz man :)

[Mrs Busa Pete]

You could always try one of our own as well.

www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=69443

[crazybigal]

plastic weld it.
if its ABS plastic its easy as to do, you can do it yourself if you have another bit of abs to practice on.
you will need a rod of plastic and a hot air gun with a fine nozzle like 5mm.
kawasaki from mem do not stamp on their fairings what they have used, its not un-common to find 5 types of plastic and polyprop on one bike!
remember if you plastic weld it from behind properly the paint will prob bubble and the plastic will deform a we bit on the outside.
so you will prob have to repaint.
Dont just stick bits over the crack, the new plastic has to go hot into the fairing plastic as it melts so the two bond. (both the job and the new material need to heat up)
You can buy the rods form Hammilton or Auckland, i have a spare black rod you can have if you want to give it a go, but id practice first on some other old abs bits.
or you could spend the $$ and get a pro to do it.
Remember if you use any body filler ask the guy painting it first, pro paints can react and bubble up if sprayed on some fillers and primers you buy over the counter.

[mister.koz]

You could always try one of our own as well.

www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=69443

oops! forgot the search function.
cheerz dude

[mister.koz]

plastic weld it.
if its ABS plastic its easy as to do, you can do it yourself if you have another bit of abs to practice on.
you will need a rod of plastic and a hot air gun with a fine nozzle like 5mm.
kawasaki from mem do not stamp on their fairings what they have used, its not un-common to find 5 types of plastic and polyprop on one bike!
remember if you plastic weld it from behind properly the paint will prob bubble and the plastic will deform a we bit on the outside.
so you will prob have to repaint.
Dont just stick bits over the crack, the new plastic has to go hot into the fairing plastic as it melts so the two bond. (both the job and the new material need to heat up)
You can buy the rods form Hammilton or Auckland, i have a spare black rod you can have if you want to give it a go, but id practice first on some other old abs bits.
or you could spend the $$ and get a pro to do it.
Remember if you use any body filler ask the guy painting it first, pro paints can react and bubble up if sprayed on some fillers and primers you buy over the counter.

Too much there for me to bugger up :) I will get someone who knows to fix and fill :)

Cheerz man

[crazybigal]

you only learn by doing!


Too much there for me to bugger up :) I will get someone who knows to fix and fill :)

Cheerz man

[Freakshow]

There is a document on here somewhere on how to do it yourself! I gave it a go on my old bike and it came up real nice and strong. I used plastic coathangers as the extra plastic. On the cracks if held in places all ya had to do was zig zag a wide soldering iron slowly down the crack!!

[mister.koz]

Ok, ok, now i am getting very tempted :)

[-df-]

I fixed my cracked fairings on my old ZXR250 years ago with no problems using fibreglass. I just applied a thing strip of the fabric behind the crack and used the resin (mixed with the thickener stuff...can't remember what its called) to fill the gaps and sanded...came out mint (but only if its on a part that you can't see the back)

Although welding is probably the better way...I'm just cheap and like doing things myself.

[mister.koz]

Yeah, i am always drawn to doing it myself but i think that the plastic welding is quite a bit stronger and i might be able to get it the same colour as the fairing, which will mean i wont have to paint the back-side of the fairing.

Good to know it works tho :)

[The Pastor]

if doing fiber glass its a good idea to to dill a few small holes and rough up the surface really good so the resin has somthing to key into. drill holes at the end of the cracks anyway, it will stop them from spreading.

[chrisso]

Gday-if you go with the welding, get some sort of guarantee--Ive had bugger all sucess with it.

[crazybigal]

thats because it was prob done by a dickhead who had no idea!
if its done right the new plastic will be bonded with the old(fairing) not just stuck to it like a patch.


Gday-if you go with the welding, get some sort of guarantee--Ive had bugger all sucess with it.

[mister.koz]

I am looking into it with a couple of people at the moment, from what i can see, plastic welding is using the same type and density of plastic, melting and bonding it with the existing plastic.

If its done right there's no reason it wont be as good as the plastic was before :)

I like this plan!

[crazybigal]

it will come down to the type of plastic mix that has been used for the part.
Lots of bike have standard ABS and thats easy to fix.
some have newer polyprop mixtures in them and can be a real pain for someone who does not know what they are doing.
Most important thing is to use the same type of product as the item your fixing.



I am looking into it with a couple of people at the moment, from what i can see, plastic welding is using the same type and density of plastic, melting and bonding it with the existing plastic.

If its done right there's no reason it wont be as good as the plastic was before :)

I like this plan!

[crazybigal]

check out these guys http://www.plasticweldrods.co.nz/products.shtml
these are the types you can get.
check the back of your fairing for markings like these

ABS General purpose ABS grade available in limited colours.
Used to repair radiator grilles, spoilers, motorcycle farings and appliance housings - UV stabilised
ABS BLEND Developed to give better sanding characteristics and improved ductiliity for high quality motor cycle faring repairs
HIPS High Impact Styrene for repairing toys and non critical car parts.
HDPE-C High Density Polythylene-crate grade, UV stabilised. High speed welding of crates and bins - wide colour range.
HDPE-P High Density Polythylene-pipe grade - UV stabilised. For extruded or blow moulded parts such as pipe, sheet or tanks.
MDPE-R Medium Density Polythylene-rotational moulding grade - UV stabilised. Formulated for high speed welding of tanks, bins or products made by the above process. Wide colour range.
MDPE-P80 Medium Density Polythylene-P80 grade. For welding pipe and fittings made to PE 80 pipe specifications.
L-LDPE (PE) Linear-Low Density Polyethylene-UV stabilised. A versatile blend of linear polyethylene plus adhesion promoter, allowing it to adhere to all densities of polyethylene - wide colour range, including motorcycle colours.
PPC-C Copolymer Polypropylene - crate grade - UV stabilised. For repairing crates, bins pallets and bumpers. Excellent impact and sanding characteristics makes it an excellent choice for car bumpers. Wide colour range including headlight greys.
PPC-S Copolymer Polypropylene-sheet grade - UV stabilised. For fabrication of sheet pipe etc.
PPH Homopolymer Polypropylene for sheet and moulded products-UV Stabilised.
PPR Random Copolymer of Polypropylene (Ranco)-UV Stabilised.

[slopster]

I've had great sucess with polyester resin and fibreglass mat time and again. People will try to tell you that it won't stick to plastic but as long as it is prepped properely (get rid of all paint with course sand paper and wash and dry) it will be stronger then the original fairing. Put most of the fibreglass on the inside of the fairing and only 1 or 2 layers on the nice side cos its bloody hard to sand back. And then use bog to finnish it off and make it look pretty.

I've had fairings plastic welded by a panelbeater and they cracked again 6 months later in the same spot after I'd repainted it.

[HungusMaximist]

This is a great thread but since I don't want to hijack it I'll start one up related to my own issues.

I've got a nice crack running in section where you stick your mirrors on in the head cowl.

I've heard about epoxy glue, then there's the sheets of fibre glass or whatever it is you can layer the inside and make it tough.

Flexiblity of the plastic after it's been repaired is another story.

[mister.koz]

This is a great thread but since I don't want to hijack it I'll start one up related to my own issues.

I've got a nice crack running in section where you stick your mirrors on in the head cowl.

I've heard about epoxy glue, then there's the sheets of fibre glass or whatever it is you can layer the inside and make it tough.

Flexiblity of the plastic after it's been repaired is another story.

It seems the solution is torn between plastic welding and fibreglass + resin. I am going with plastic welding.

I would recommend that you drill the end of the crack out to stop it traveling :)

[mister.koz]

This is a great thread but since I don't want to hijack it I'll start one up related to my own issues.

I've got a nice crack running in section where you stick your mirrors on in the head cowl.

I've heard about epoxy glue, then there's the sheets of fibre glass or whatever it is you can layer the inside and make it tough.

Flexiblity of the plastic after it's been repaired is another story.

ps, feel free to hijack if you feel the need.