plastic welding, who knows about it???

[mowgli]

please can someone who has experience of this please help me out on this... i want to muck about with my rear bumper a bit, and i already have a leister heat gun.. where can you get the right rods for gm bumpers, and what else do i need to know about plastic welding??

[MK999]

I'd PM Benn, he plastic welded his plate recess over on his smooth front bumper :)

[MattBrown]

I have used a soldering iron with moderate sucsess.

Used it for sticking model car shells back together, with a White cable tie as a filler rod! lol lol lol

[novasrikev]

i use a soldering iron and the heat gun

[mowgli]

ROUGH BUGGER... i'm looking at taking small slices out of the bumper to try to get the fit a little tighter & tidier, and also to sort out the rear lhs...

[db_1.2]

You can get propper tools obviously. Theyre like soldering irons but with a flat end

[General Baxter]

trying to take out the gap between the bumper and arch ?

[mowgli]

pretty much

[mayhem]

use the same bumper for welding material (ppepdm is the material you want), lucky for you.. most euro (german) bumpers are made from ppepdm.

dont melt it, as that burns the plastic, and you end up with a crap weld. just make it soft.

when finished use gapol (filler), it's some sort of special plastic filler.

i have a guide for it (i know a guy who used to do it for the dutch VW forums) but it's in dutch.

[mowgli]

use the same bumper for welding material (ppepdm is the material you want), lucky for you.. most euro (german) bumpers are made from ppepdm.

dont melt it, as that burns the plastic, and you end up with a crap weld. just make it soft.

when finished use gapol (filler), it's some sort of special plastic filler.

i have a guide for it (i know a guy who used to do it for the dutch VW forums) but it's in dutch.

post up a link please, then i'll have fun with google translate....

hi i'm here to repair the refridgerator, ooohhh thats a large tool etc.....

[Southie]

This any good Mike? >LINK (http://www.ehow.com/list_7265073_plastic-welding-tips-tricks.html)< >LINK VIDEO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2pQKPxZMd0)<

[bazil]

i had a crack on my S3 bumper at the corner and my panel beater mate refused to weld it as he said being on the corner it'll get more stress when fitting and probably break, so he put a small metal bar on the inside and counter sunk pop rivits to hold it and then smoothed over the hairline and painted, been fine for 2 years now and cant see the repair.

[General Baxter]

This any good Mike? >LINK (http://www.ehow.com/list_7265073_plastic-welding-tips-tricks.html)< >LINK VIDEO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2pQKPxZMd0)<

lol at the 40mm bit

thats just hgv tilt repair lol

[Southie]

lol at the 40mm bit

thats just hgv tilt repair lol
So it's useful then :p

[General Baxter]

try it on this scale, with lettering
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a191/baxters83/cid_ekPMLx7kba.jpg
with no soild board and wind lol
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a191/baxters83/cid_OzUWmYfKEA.jpg

[Danny s-p]

u got skills to do that with out a bored Baxter that the one part of been a hgv fitter all miss is repairing rip's like that

[Southie]

try it on this scale, with lettering

with no soild board and wind lol

Thank fook for photoshop then lol

[General Baxter]

that the one part of been a hgv fitter all miss is repairing rip's like that

what you mean, picking the air gun up the hot end thats been on for 2 hours lol

[Danny s-p]

what you mean, picking the air gun up the hot end thats been on for 2 hours loli use to love doing it way better than getting covered in oil and lifting **** about

[mayhem]

i did a quick google translation. i didnt look at senteces, i only adjusted some words/spelling.

ABS is used for eg mirror, is a hard plastic.
EPDM-PP bumpers are (at least most of the time, iig german bumpers)
Pp-epdm welds look very closely ecause it is recycled plastic, should such a
cold weld as possible.
If recycled plastic to warm up to the plasticizers, and that is not good
because they are fat. The weld does not adhere well and also attaches Gapol not ,....
Gapol had them well. ;-)
Gapol of filler is a coarse structure, which gives it little exercise.
Gapol is junk anyway, it bites into the plastic layer, making it perfect again
for fairing. (Bite the hands are also good solid, ppffff)
Simple filler bite is not in the plastic layer, so it goes
Always sign off ordinary putty or cracks.

Furthermore, the advice to never, ever use a soldering iron,
the iron sticks to the plastic solid, the pieces that stick
can be sure to read the pieces because they pollute too hot and
that did not pp-epdm welding ;-)
Best use an infinitely adjustable hot air blower for use with a small nozzle,
3cm diameter or something like that ... Infinitely adjustable sizes, because you first need to cold start
and then execute the heat little by little, just so long until the plastic is nice
glued. Glued! Does not melt because you're too hot!
Hot air is clean and the weld must be clean.
The use of welding wires is very simple, cut thin strips of the bumper that you want to weld.
3mm, thin and preferably a nice place but never come in sight ;-)
You will have at all times the same type wire!
For welding I usually use a screwdriver preciessie, I may be so the welding wire
de las mix. works perfectly. Just be clean at all times, even with a screw preciessie
screwdriver bits remain unwanted plastic stick ...
A further tip, rest will save you ...
Read at your leisure, do not at all too hot, take good breaks after welding
longer pieces, so make sure that the plastic is not going to distort ....
So be sure you keep 100% fit of the original bumpers ....

[Edd]

Are you looking to pull the sides of the bumper in a bit ?

In Mark/novacabrio's Sport rebuild thread he made up some brackets to sort this

Maybe worth a look

[16v Nova Kev]

i was thinking the same as edd. did he make s/steel ones?

[Edd]

Think so iirc

At work on my phone ATM otherwise I'd trawl through the thread lol

It's in there somewhere, sorted the problem tho

[mowgli]

i was thinking more on the lines of shrinking the bumper to fit the lines of the body better, in both directions.

[16v Nova Kev]

do you have a spare

[mowgli]

i have a few bits n bobs.. i think its shed experiment time...

[16v Nova Kev]

we use worth stuff in work and its really good. we have welded/glued a bumper that was in 2 bits before. but it does have to be filled and painted afterwards.

[mowgli]

i bought my current front bumper from baxter... it needed filling & painting, so i'm ok on that score