Anyone know how to fix plastic?

[Larry Edgerton]

I have a New Holland tractor just out of warranty and in that cold snap last week I jumped up and grabbed the handle on the fender and it cracked. The fender, not the handle. Like I said its out of warranty, and the fender is $550, so I want to weld up a brace once I get the loaded tires off, ironically the kind of job I bought this tractor for, and fix it if I can.

If you know how to do this, speak up please, I don't know didley about plastic.

Larry

[Bill Bukovec]

I usually use JB Weld for plastic.

I have heard of "welding plastic" but I think it's basically a heat gun for joining two pieces together. Assuming you know what type of plastic you have and the precise melting temperature.

Can you post a photo? It may not help, but a least we get to see your tractor!

Bill

[Stephen Cherry]

I'd go to the auto body supply place and tell them what you need. Maybe even take the fender off so they can see what type of plastic it is.

The assumption is that there is a good supplier near you.

[Jamie Schmitz]

Certain plastic can be welded with a soldering iron. I did it for the first time and it worked pretty good. There is a good site for plastic info.
http://www.tapplastics.com/product_i...e_and_seaboard

[Leo Graywacz]

I know a guy who did plastic welding. It was a heatgun with a fine tip and a precise temperature control. He used plastic welding rods to melt the two broken pcs together. Maybe you could find a guy in your area who does this.

[Rick Moyer]

Probably not very helpful, but; I have had two John Deere garden tractors that had plastic hoods. First one had broken hood that I tried to glue/melt/weld back together. Not real successful. Second one has a new hood from previous owner. These have been notorious for cracking. Wish you best of luck. You may best be served by replacing with new part.

[Matt Meiser]

You could check with West Systems if you can determine the type of plastic. Hold everything together with tape on the show side, then epoxy with fiberglass mat on the back side for strength. UHMW about nothing will stick to....others just about anything (almost certainly not UHMW but you get the idea.)

What do you have your tires loaded with? I really need to look into that now that I'm no longer mowing with my Deere.

[Sam Murdoch]

This might be a good answer - http://www.qbond.net

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Look up plastic welders on amazon. Good ones have very precise temperature control which will let you know which welding sticks to use.
Other than that, similar to metal welding. Same problem i have with 1982 vw pickup parts

[Larry Edgerton]

Thank you gentlemen, I will check out your suggestions.

Bill, thanks for the post in that other thread. I was too angry to respond.

Larry

[Dennis Peacock]

I have repaired plastic body parts on my lawn tractors with fiber glass resin and fiber glass cloth. I sanded the underside with 80 grit wiped clean, put down a thin coat of resin, laid in the cloth, and topped off with more resin. The repairs were still there years later when I sold it.

[Keith Outten]

Larry,

Call John Delvies at Delvies Plastics. John sells a plastic welding kit and he can give you some good advise. John is a nice guy and really helpful.
.

[Chuck Wintle]

I have a New Holland tractor just out of warranty and in that cold snap last week I jumped up and grabbed the handle on the fender and it cracked. The fender, not the handle. Like I said its out of warranty, and the fender is $550, so I want to weld up a brace once I get the loaded tires off, ironically the kind of job I bought this tractor for, and fix it if I can.

If you know how to do this, speak up please, I don't know didley about plastic.

Larry

Larry,
I don't know about welding plastic but could you rivet some metal strips to repair the crack and to reinforce the fender?

[glenn bradley]

I would use a large patch of fiberglass cloth from the backside and skip the weld. This silly idea assumes that you cannot see the underside of the damaged area. A similar path on a kid's play set has lasted through two sets of kids.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Generally speaking the only plastics which can be welded with a Seelye or other plastic welder are polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, and CPVC. ABS, polcarbonate (Lexan), and Acrylic can be solvent welded with methylene chloride (dichloromethane). To solvent weld you need an extra strip of the same plastic to use as a backer (batten) to increase the strength in the welded area. Having a hypodermic needle helps too ensure accurate entry into the crack. The solvent will be drawn into the crack by capillary action.

Bona Fides: I worked for a plastics fabricator and distributor for 8 years early in my career.