Plastic Fender repair

[Craig Clayton]

I read a post about a NH loader that has new style plastic fenders and the owner is worried about installing tire chains ( get the picture ). I have a vehicle that was backed into a low ditch at - 30 F; the plastic did not bend very well, lets say it cracked for 2 feet. At $700.00, I was not replacing it.
I back welded the plastic fender using a 250 watt soldering gun with the flat cutting tip. If you know how to weld with gas the process makes more sence, it is just with electric heat. When a blacksmith welds it is only hammering together almost plastic state iron,it sticks not too bad.
Now back to the fender take the cutting tip and plunge it into the crack at
a spot where things look good and putty the two sides together.
Move say 6 inches and putty the next spot together.
Move every 6 inches until the fender is spotted together.
You now start infilling between the spots.
Of course you need some welding rod; that is what those reinforcement
ribs are for, same base material.
You putty and plunge from the back side, it is not pretty but almost orginal
in strength.
If you want to practice break one of those plastic tool cases that a new drill comes in that you do not need. If you can fix that you can fix a fender.
After that you can move to thinner plastic with a smaller tip soldering iron, yesterday I fixed a new solar light that had the very thin plastic globe broken. It will last until I refind it with the snow blower.
Craig Clayton

 

[beenthere]

How about some pictures of the repairs you have done?

 

[Craig Clayton]

If any one is interested I will have to make a mockup of how I used the 250 watt soldering gun. The smallest project that I repaired last week was a 3/8 " crack in a windshield reservoir bottle , and it is still holding.
I think though with the statement that it is possible to repair plastic with a soldering gun/ or small iron you can learn easily.
Craig Clayton

 

[Sumpter]

I was the OP on the plastic fender with chains issue. If you have any photos on repairing I would be interested. With my luck I will need to practicing before winter is over.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

I agree Craig, it is ez to do, have been doing it for years with a soldering iron. Got one for 10 bucks at a garage sale that uses air as well as the hot tip and have since seen it at harbor freight, it works nice too and is a little quicker. I have found the plastic next to the weld is a lot more likely to break than the weld tho.
Rick

 

[sweettractors]

I read a post about a NH loader that has new style plastic fenders and the owner is worried about installing tire chains ( get the picture ). I have a vehicle that was backed into a low ditch at - 30 F; the plastic did not bend very well, lets say it cracked for 2 feet. At $700.00, I was not replacing it.
I back welded the plastic fender using a 250 watt soldering gun with the flat cutting tip. If you know how to weld with gas the process makes more sence, it is just with electric heat. When a blacksmith welds it is only hammering together almost plastic state iron,it sticks not too bad.
Now back to the fender take the cutting tip and plunge it into the crack at
a spot where things look good and putty the two sides together.
Move say 6 inches and putty the next spot together.
Move every 6 inches until the fender is spotted together.
You now start infilling between the spots.
Of course you need some welding rod; that is what those reinforcement
ribs are for, same base material.
You putty and plunge from the back side, it is not pretty but almost orginal
in strength.
If you want to practice break one of those plastic tool cases that a new drill comes in that you do not need. If you can fix that you can fix a fender.
After that you can move to thinner plastic with a smaller tip soldering iron, yesterday I fixed a new solar light that had the very thin plastic globe broken. It will last until I refind it with the snow blower.
Craig Clayton

I also, would like to see pictures. I have a right front fender on my JD Gator that need repairing. Ken Sweet

 

[PILOON]

Hey guys,
Try using hot glue guns.
I have successfully repaired a few breaks with a hot glue gun and the glue sticks that usually come with them.
I also found that you can sometimes get a variety of colors that will make a neater repair job.

Have an ATV with hot glued fenders running for couple of years now.
A pontoon peddle boat with hot glue repairs.
A travel trailer with hot glue repaired fenders.

This will work for PVC based materials, not ABS.

 

[Craig Clayton]

I guess now that I have brought this plastic welding up I am going to have to supply more info. Right now I am working in the shop on 14 6x6 pressure treated posts for my split rail fence entrance.
Several years ago we had at the plant 3"and 4" poly pipe installed. Each end of the pipe was cut square and held in a machine that had a 500 F heating plate that pushed on both ends at the same time. After severals minutes the heating plate was removed and the both ends of the pipe pushed together. It stuck because the pipe end was gooy soft for its temperature. This was an industry standard for this kind of plastic pipe.
When I repaired the plastic fender I pushed the flat cutting tip into the crack and both faces became gooy soft and stuck. Then you just stitch weld like any other repair.
The plastic kayak sites have info on this process, I will have to hunt them down.
Craig Clayton

 

[Interlaux]

Yepper - after bragging on TBN about my plastic I took a good ding out of the 4610s grill this weekend. SWMBO is not even happy about me buying a new one.
No pressure we only been married 24 years this month.
bring pics and details please

 

[Window Geek]

For PVC extrusions, the process is the same as welding that pipe, Craig.
Welded PVC window frames are cut to a miter and usually slightly longer than the finished size intended. The pieces are clamped in a jig, a hot welding plate is placed between the miter and the pieces are heated. After reaching a melt temperature, the plate is withdrawn and the miter joint is pressed together and allowed to cool. The cooled weld joint is milled into tolerance to complete the process.
Check out this short video of a four point vinyl welder that welds two sash at one time. You'll see the heated plate at 1:00 minute with various closeups until 1:30. The heated plate is covered with a "teflon" style coating to keep the melted vinyl from clinging to the welding plate. The rest of the video is more window nerd stuff. :laughing:

Build your manual welder with something that has a low stick coating, say, a high temp silicone paint like what is used for coating cookware or bakeware. Also, a hot knife will let you heat the joint over a wider area. Heat, melt, separate, and press together until cool.

 

[jlsmith]

I actuly bought a plastic welder. I have to fix a deer feeder tomarrow and ill post before and after pics of it. It works on atv fenders and I fixed a gas tank last year and saved a customer about 800 dollars by fixing it myself. It is a great investment.

 

[Craig Clayton]

I wish I could do up some photo but here is some info to support the idea.
The Science of Heat Fusion Welding

Basics of Design Engineering - Fastening & Joining - Joining - Joining Plastic

how to weld plastic

Plastic Welders and Repair Kits

We recommend you practice welding several times on hatch cut-outs before attempting repairs on a boat. If at any point during welding, the boat begins to melt and give way, stop welding, and immediately remove the heat. Allow the boat to fully cool before attempting to weld again.
As the sites all show that heat is the medium for plastic welding. The above statement I pulled from a kayak site, which says practice on something else.
I found a good practice piece is the plastic tool case that new drills come in, break it ,then fix it , then through it out. The heat that is needed for the welding is equal to the thickness of the plastic, when you get good you can then go after the thin plastic.
Craig Clayton

 

[IslandTractor]

HF has plastic welders for about $40-50 if you have a compressor and about another ten or fifteen bucks for a model that has it's own built in air blower. I haven't fixed any tractor parts yet but have done other plastic repairs. Simple concept and works fine at least for non structural repairs. The only semi tricky part is figuring out what type of plastic you are working with so you can set the correct temperature and select the correct "welding rod" if needed. I have sometimes just trimmed a piece of the same plastic part off to use as my welding rod. Not sure how to tell if you have gotten full thickness "welding" but I haven't had any repairs break yet.

 

[jlsmith]

Here is a feeder i just fixed. Not verry pretty but i was in a hurry to get in the woods.

 

[jlsmith]

heres a few more. hope yall enjoyed :thumbsup:

 

[dfkrug]

I have a right front fender on my JD Gator that need repairing.

This is not a weld, but it seems to work for the JD green resin. I wonder
if NH uses a similar chemistry for their plastic?

 

[sweettractors]

This is not a weld, but it seems to work for the JD green resin. I wonder
if NH uses a similar chemistry for their plastic?

I may try that product and then weld on the backside. I think that should workout fine. Thanks, Ken Sweet

 

[Window Geek]

For PVC extrusions, the process is the same as welding that pipe, Craig.
Welded PVC window frames are cut to a miter and usually slightly longer than the finished size intended. The pieces are clamped in a jig, a hot welding plate is placed between the miter and the pieces are heated. After reaching a melt temperature, the plate is withdrawn and the miter joint is pressed together and allowed to cool. The cooled weld joint is milled into tolerance to complete the process.
Check out this short video of a four point vinyl welder that welds two sash at one time. You'll see the heated plate at 1:00 minute with various closeups until 1:30. The heated plate is covered with a "teflon" style coating to keep the melted vinyl from clinging to the welding plate. The rest of the video is more window nerd stuff. :laughing:

Build your manual welder with something that has a low stick coating, say, a high temp silicone paint like what is used for coating cookware or bakeware. Also, a hot knife will let you heat the joint over a wider area. Heat, melt, separate, and press together until cool.

Oh Yeah... The link! YouTube - Joseph Machine Company automatic Vertical 4 corner welder, V4W, welds 4 corners simultaneously

 

[Danno1]

This is not a weld, but it seems to work for the JD green resin. I wonder
if NH uses a similar chemistry for their plastic?

Plastic Welder II by Devcon is also a good adhesive for plastic. Drill a hole at each end of the crack and back it up w aluminum gutter flashing or get a sheet of PVC, ABS, or PVC/ABS (Kydex) fr McMaster-Carr.


.

 

[timswi]

Plastic Welder II by Devcon is also a good adhesive for plastic. Drill a hole at each end of the crack and back it up w aluminum gutter flashing or get a sheet of PVC, ABS, or PVC/ABS (Kydex) fr McMaster-Carr.


.

OK dumb question.Anyone have a fool proof (fool being me) of figuing out what kind of plastic that I'm looking at...This haunts me all the time.

I have used hot glue for ATV fenders and it works pretty good as long as you don't try to re-break it.

I have welded commercial grade plastic with a plastic welder and rod...That is a thing to behold, easy and very strong. Just wish I could figure out the unknown types that come on consumer/commercial applications...ie vehicles and equipment.