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Repairing Body PlasticMarch 26/04 Written by Joebear Edited by Greg I purchased a used quad for my son; it had damaged plastic fenders which were held together with pop-rivets and metal. Very flimsy! Here's how I repaired them. The photos basically speak for themselves. I used small-gauge wire that is strong but flexible. I drilled 1/16" holes opposite each other all along the cracks, and sewed the pieces together with the wire. Requirements• Pliers • Side-cutters • Wire • Hot glue gun and glue sticks • Drill, 1/16" drill bit • Lots of patience! ProcedureI began by removing the broken pieces from the quad. The fender was broken into four pieces; the picture shows three because I had already sewn a piece on. I placed the holes close together so that there would be more stitches and thus more strength. After the stitching was complete, I used heavy-duty hot glue on the underside and covered all the stitches and filled in the old rivet holes. The finished repair was strong and flexible, but no longer flimsy. Notes:The wire I used I bought at Radio Shack; it's used for stringing cable between buildings. It's multi-stranded and retails for $5.99 a roll. You will not use much of it, so you can share it with your friends. I started with a piece about 18" long, but even 12" will work. Always leave enough to tie off with, when you are getting close to the end of the piece of wire. It is quite simple as long as the wire is pulled tight each time you make a stitch. Tie it off at the start by twisting the wire together, but do not go too tight as it can break or rip through the plastic. If it breaks as you are pulling on it, unwrap a few stitches and tie it off. Always tie off underneath for a neat appearance on top. Make sure you drill far enough back from the crack so you have some strength to the plastic when pulling it together. Keep the join tight for best results. When I had two pieces to put together, I put about 4 single ties in to hold it together for easier working; one at each end and a couple in the middle. As I worked into these temporary ties, I cut them off and continued the stitch. The middle piece was the hardest to sew, as it had odd-angled holes and so on (sew on!). Ensure the wire does NOT kink as you are working, or it may break. You can stop the crack from going further along the plastic by drilling a small hole at the end of the crack. The glue is used mainly to fill the old rivet holes and to prevent the wire from catching on sticks and other debris. I put a piece of duct tape over the holes, then filled the hole from the bottom side with hot glue to plug the holes. I'm not sure if the glue will stay in the holes, but I hope it does! This is much better than the small pieces of metal and pop rivets that were on it! |
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