My tips...repairing damaged plastic fairings

Discussion in 'Mechanics Garage' started by bigoledave, May 1, 2019.

  1. bigoledave

    bigoledave New Member

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    Greetings...

    My 97 VFR fell over when parked in soft dirt a couple of years ago. After
    looking at expensive plastic fairing "repair kits" and the idea of buying used ones....I
    gave up those ideas and fixed them inexpensively
    by this method: (....yes...I should have photographed the repair described below!!)

    1) If you have totally broken off edge sections ( mine was about 2 x 2 inches ) on
    the an edge:

    -Mark the broken edge heavily with a fat black felt pen.
    -Using CLEAR thin tape ( like to seal a package), apply it to
    the damaged area with the edge of the tape on one side being
    even with the old missing edge line.
    -Now burnish the broken edge with a rounded off plastic or wood stick.
    -Buy a piece of ABS plastic at Amazon:
    Primeco 550 Sheet - ABS - .118" Thick, White, 12" x 12" Nominal CNC Saw Cut
    Sold by: SIBE-R-PLASTIC SUPPLY
    -Remove the tape from the fairing and apply it to the edge of the new
    plastic sheet. You should see the outline clearly of the missing area,
    -Using a bandsaw or other hand saws, cut out the new insert piece and
    do some trim as necessary so it fits snugly in the damaged fairing.
    -Use " Gorilla Glue" ONLY!!! ( the standard generic type) to glue the pieces in.
    -Use a C -clamp ot two to make the insert be "flush" with the fairing surface.
    -Let sit for 24 hours......the glue MUST harden to do the next step.
    -Using 60 grit sandpaper and a flat sanding block. Work the Gorilla
    glue down to the fairing surface.
    -For extra strength (optional) glue a piece of metal window screen
    on the backside overlapping the broken edge using Gorilla Glue.
    -Using "pro: 3m surfacing red putty, apply the final coat and sand
    with 120 then 320 paper. Do this as many times as needed to
    get it "primer read".
    -You know the rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    If the section has some curvature....heat the new piece in
    boiling water to soften it to
     
    Thumbs and Keager like this.
  2. VFR4Lee

    VFR4Lee Member

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    I "fixed" a cracked front fender with some extra plastic and the Harbor Freight plastic welding kit. It includes some metal window type screen, find your own abs plastic. I did not try to make it pretty though, just wanted it to stay in 1 piece. Also used to fix a couple things around the house. The kit is cheap. Just my $2.
     

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