fiberglass repair for plastic fender

I have a 91 Kaw Eliminator 250. Someone cracked the rear fender while it
was parked. Can i apply fiberglass to the underside as a fix? Will the
resin melt the plastic fender? email reply to , please.

 

If you search the archives of rec.motorcycles.tech, you'll find a lot of
information on plastic repair products. THe short version is that many
people use fiberglass kits to repair their plastics (though it can
require some additional prep, and sometimes the resin is less flexible
than the plastic, leading to delamination). Other people use
products/methods like: PlasticWeld, Plastex, hot-air guns (plastic
welding kits), superglue and baking soda, etc.

I've personally used Devcon's PlasticWeld (a plasticized epoxy, designed
to be flexible when cured, and to bond to most plastics) with success in
the past. I've not tried any of the other methods. HTH

--
Later,
John



'indiana' is a 'nolnn' and 'hoosier' is a 'solkk'. Indiana doesn't solkk.

 

Yes, yes, ohhhh yes. No, it won't melt a plastic mudguard.

Daz, mups and I are the GODS of fibreglass repair. Haircut, Sir?

 

A fireglass patch will be okay. It won't melt but rub the
underside down well so it will key. Also you've gorra make sure
you don't over-catalyse the resin, or it might end up a different
shape.

riccip

 

What if it's more than a crack? I had a 1 inch piece of the front
fender crack off. Would it hold with fiberglass cloth reinforcement?
Combination of that and glue? Or am I stuck looking for a
replacement... Thanks.

 

Just fibreglass mat and resin applied underneath, then filler to
finish. It's not difficult, you just stipple with a stiff
paintbrush. Done properly it'll hold forever. You'd have to
figure a way to hold it in place for 24 hours though, then grind
off the rough edges (of the protruding fibreglass), fill and
paint.

riccip

 

However.Always key the surface that you are going to apply the fibre
glass matt or silk to otherwise it will not bond correctly and
degrease it after keying.This is the common procedure I use on
Aircraft composite(Fibre Glass) components.
If the area requires more tensile strength then you can cut a
sliver of 20 gauge alluminium to suit the job(but smaller than the
Matt/Silk you overlay) and glue this in place 1st(Superglue will
do),then apply the Matt/Silk and resin.

Tip:
Get a 1" paint brush.Wrap a couple of layers of masking tape around
the bristles of the brush up the hilt.Then use a,"Stanley
Knife/Scalpel" to cut the bristles half way down.This will make
a,"Stumpy-Brush" which you can stab the resin correctly into the
Matting/Silk.Then dump the brush in some thinners(Not Turps) so as to
keep the brush alive.A ,"Stumpy" brush is way to useful to lose as it
can also be used for cleaning and de greasing al motorcycle parts and
can be used many times if the above is done

HTH

 

If you find yourself without any cheap paintbrushes, you can wrap some
insulting tape round some rope and make yourself a stumpy brush for
nowt. Such a thing usually happens on a Sunday when you really need to
do some glassing and everywhere's shut.

 

You sir, live in a backwater place.

 

Shut ?

Sunday's the busiest day of the week hereabouts

 

Nice one.That one's gone into the memory bank

If you have a hollow gear change lever that may be prone to
breaking(some are not that substantial).Get a piece of nylon rope
smaller than the diameter of the lever.Cut it to length a little
shorter than the inside of the lever and poke it in.Mix up around an
egg-cup full of polyester fibre glass resin with hardener.Set lever
vertical and pour resin in up to the top.When this sets you will have
a solid but lightweight virtually indestructible lever

 

Not sure that would hold. .I'd suggest sandwiching the alu
between 2 layers of matt although you'd prolly get enough tensile
strength from 2 layers of matt alone. Racing panels on dragsters
are usually made using just a single layer with an additional
narrow 'crafty strip' around the edges.

riccip

 

Rural Ireland? Whatever makes you say that.

 

If I had shops on my doorstep I wouldn't be living where I am. On
balance, I prefer it this way - normally if I need stuff I get it during
the week before I'm going to use it.

 

I meant you glue the ally strip on first and then layer over it.Works
a treat

 

Heh