Welding slabby panels

[Rene EFE]

Is it as easy to do as it is with Slingy panels? The plastic seems more brittle and I'm worried that it won't respond to heat as well as that of the later models?

I have a fiaring which needs major work and I need to know which route to take from the start to get it done properly

[dupersunc]

Put fishing line in your mig welder. It works a treat...

[Leblowski]

Don't weld

Use MEK easier and better unless you are a magician with welding with heat

[Rene EFE]

I did ok on the Slingshot fairing. What's MEK?

[Captain Chaos]

42 minutes ago, Rene EFE said:

What's MEK?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Mujahedin_of_Iran

[Rene EFE]

 

[jameskat]

Methyl Ethyl Ketone, melts ABS, I think that is what Leblowski is on about.

[Swiss Toni]

Use MEK. Shave off some similar donor plastic into the MEK until it makes a thick sludge. The plastic will sort of disolve. When it reaches this state, dribble it into the joint, and leave alone (DON'T fiddle) until dry. It takes a long time to dry, but the repair is strong!

 

[reedx]

Using MEK, as Swiss Toni describes, sounds like it's similar to the way plastex works ( http://www.plastex.net/ ). Probably the same stuff but at vastly inflated prices.

 

Colin

[strima]

I have seen repairs done with cable ties and a soldering iron. Basically a similar method to welding but using the iron for heat and the cable tie as a filler rod. I have tried it before with limited success, with practice it would make  decent enough repair.

I do like the MEK idea. 

[Swiss Toni]

Bit of a plug for Plastex here. Bought a small workshop kit, around £21 iirc. Used it on the Blandit plastics for broken off, and missing lugs. Very impressed! Does what it says on the tin! Got a few Slabbie panels to do myself, so will give it a go on them. The Pro plastic repairers use a slice of donor plastic to weld original panels, so don't think your really bad plastics are useless. They're not. They may be of use to someone who needs sacrificial material!

[Neill666]

Go with Plastex great stuff once you get used to using it 

[Fula28]

I agree with all you guys, all have good methods!  M.e.k ??? please for fuc# sake wear a  vapour mask and proper heavy duty gloves, I have used M.E.K for 25 years and it's now banded in my industry . Please if you use it protect your lungs at least , cumulative in your body, it does not reduce or leave! 

Raf boys used it to wash warheads and everything else, not many of those guys left now... Not being a drama queen here but we are here for a good time ,not a long time.

[Swiss Toni]

Well said, Mark! Can't be too carefull!

[Leblowski]

Indeed it causes cancer that's why i always do this stuff outside

[reedx]

That's good to know about the MEK. I'll order some Plastex instead.

Colin

[Rene EFE]

This; http://www.plastex.net/ ?

[reedx]

3 minutes ago, Rene EFE said:

This; http://www.plastex.net/ ?

Yes.

[Leblowski]

Personally wouldn't bother about the fact it's bad for your health it's more a hazard if you are exposed to it daily

[nightrider]

I have been professionally plastic welding on and off since the mid 90's. Everything from fairings, car bumpers to Kayaks.

Plastic welding works great IF the plastic isn't brittle. If it's cracking from sun damage it's pretty much garage art by that point.

Welders aren't super cheap (roughly $200 +/- ) but u will start to use it on all kinds of plastic repairs once you get the hang of it. Well worth it.

You want the "mini" gun. It's basically a soldering iron with a hoop and a foot attachment.

Don't get the big air one. It's for thicker plastics and bigger welds.

 

Plastic welding is a super easy process especially if you already know how to weld with acetylene.

Like metal welding you are melting the existing material and blending in new filler material as you go.

Most people make the mistake of just melting their ABS rod material on top of the crack. You have to get it deep down in there and get the materials to bold with each other.

Your welding not gluing it back together.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2016 by nightrider

[nightrider]

Urethane Supply Polyvance Mini-Weld Model 7 Airless Plastic Welder 5700HT

(can be easily found on eblag)

[bernardo]

well I repaired my slabby panels with cable ties and a soldering iron and paperclips  as reinforcement . worked fine for me. I even used a plastic chocolate box as raw material to make lugs and repair patches where bits had broken off.

Doesn't work on fiberglass. I just followed delboy's (probably not the same one)  method on yuotube

[Rene EFE]

I've welded loads of Slingy parts in the past and probably will have a go on these before I try anything else, mostly because that would save me to buy anything. It's not to make it look pretty; the bike comes straight from Mad Max as it is, so a few scars won't look out of place.

[Frankenzuki]

I have a slabby upper that was weld repaired years ago has held up well. Most of the R/H "cuff" area was repaiered / replaced. We have a shop here locally that does a lot of plastic weld repairs, always seems to be busy!

[nightrider]

Rene EFE

I forgot to answer your original question.

Slabby side panels tend to be brittle and crack (Additional engine heat I suppose) especially the mounting area's.

I have had a lot of failures on the upper fairing were it connects to the sides as well.

Can't remember having any issues with the Bottom or Tail pieces.

 

I repair using the same method we use for open water kayaks.

Do your weld as normal but then melt in a thin gauge wire mesh over the weld and the mounting area's.

You can melt additional material on top of the mesh but it's really just cosmetic in most cases.

If you have the welder that comes with the flat "foot" iron it will work great for this.