Broken tabs on a front bezel -- What glue/epoxy is best??

OJ86

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What glue or epoxy would you recommend from experience to glue back on some mounting tabs for light bezel? The bezel is from 1973. Not sure on the type of plastic, but here are some pics...

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Usually there is a marking somewhere for plastic type. I'm thinking it could be abs, which is easier to glue than many. The main thing I'd do when gluing that part is find something even if pretty thin to glue across the backsides of part for reinforcement.
if abs, some 2 part plastic epoxy from a homestore, such as Loctite brand should be as good as anything. Auto body stores have various glues, such as SEM problem plastic repair, but I personally haven't had great luck with some of these types, but haven't tried on easier plastics..

Usually I weld plastic. For something like that I do contact welding. I have a precision woodburning tool with different tips & adjustable temperature. I generally would use a knife tip blade to reach into the broken joint, then pull out, turn sideways & press into joint. I then use matching rods or cut strips of donor material to press into & over joint. Plastic molecularly isn't as strong after welding , so adding a little thickness at joint backside helps. A soldering iron can be used or you can get fancier tools from places like polyvance.
73 charger ? Just peeked at one on e-bay for $180 plus looking for marking & it looked like it had same cracks as yours. :(
 
SEM and other co's make a "broken tab repair material" for the most part works . Also I just used SEM "quick set 50 " on Lexus Head Lamp tab.
 
if its abs then you just solvent bond it with acetone. if its a clean break that fits back together then put the 2 pieces in place and drip a little acetone over the joint. it wicks in on its own and thats it. give it 24 hours to dry. its stronger than any epoxy or glue will be other than an acrylic adhesive like plexus. this procedure will work for any plastic that isnt chemical resistant. take a rag with acetone and wipe the back side. if it bites in and melts the plastic your good to go.
 
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Jim C, I didnt see any marking on the part. Its an original 1973 piece.

Your procedure sounds far to easy for it to work in my life! Ill give it a shot though.
 
solvent bonding is how you glue pvc and abs pipe together, or plexiglass is bonded for those crystal clear joints. solvents are just different. solvent is just melting the plastic halves then flashing off leaving it as one piece. you can back the crack up like others suggested as well. solvent bond it the same way. i would do this especially if the 2 pieces dont fit back together seamlessly.
 
The grill insert on my '68 GTX was deformed and cracked.
I warmed it slowly with a heat gun and was able to get it back into position. Used a two part epoxy to repair the crack. It's been in storage for a few months now, I will try to get a picture of the repair.

Jim C, I had never heard of solvent bonding until now. Definitely will give that a try in the future. Thanks.
 
well instead of acetone i always keep some methylene chloride around the shop. that is what you use on polycarb, acrylic and actually most plastics. its a nasty solvent but its one you can keep around that work with almost anything. its the solvent in paint stripper. as long as the plastic isnt chemically resistant then you can bond it with that. nylon, hdpe, pp, etc would all be plastics this will not work for. in which case those i plastic weld. jl mentioned that a weld isnt as strong which is sort of right. they key there is temp control. if you get a plastic too hot then yes it weakens the plastic which is why you really need a good welder to do correctly. i do not have one. i have the same one that jl prob has whic still works fine and can make really strong repairs.
 
Jim C, I had never heard of solvent bonding until now. Definitely will give that a try in the future. Thanks.

yes think about pvc pipe. the glue isnt any kind of adhesive. its just a solvent with pvc dissolved into it to give it a little body.

when i was in high school i was making plexiglass aquariums. for that you are working with straight solvent so you put the meth chloride in a very fine needle bottle, assemble the parts dry then just run the needle over the joint. the solvent gets sucked into the joint and welds the 2 pieces together.
 
yes think about pvc pipe. the glue isnt any kind of adhesive. its just a solvent with pvc dissolved into it to give it a little body.

when i was in high school i was making plexiglass aquariums. for that you are working with straight solvent so you put the meth chloride in a very fine needle bottle, assemble the parts dry then just run the needle over the joint. the solvent gets sucked into the joint and welds the 2 pieces together.
So, that would work on fairings?
 
Jim C, I went out there and did the acetone trick. Everything seems to be sticking together! Ill let the parts be for 24 hours and report back.
 
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I will say that to do this kind of repair the break needs to be clean. The parts need to fit back together tight. The better the the fit the stronger the repair. Its just solvent so really no gap filling ability to this. The best repairs are those one when you put them back together the crack almost disappears. If it doesnt fit together great you should back it up with another piece
 
Had a gallon of mc solvent before. Think it was old when I got it & prematurely developed a leak in bottom of can, that crap sure evaporates fast. :rolleyes: Never felt like spending on a whole gallon again to have some.
Solvent welded together black abs drain pipes for an efi air intake. Sanded & buffed it to where most could never guess it was drain pipe. You can bond back little sections with solvent or what not & sand fairly smooth..
 
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