Solvent Welding
This trick works great on cracked moped plastics. ABS plastic was cheap and used on almost everything while our mopeds were produced. That means you are in luck !!!
Need
- Methyl Ethyl Keytone (MEK)
- ABS plastic (old comp keyboards)
- small GLASS jar.
Procedure
Smaller pieces will disolve faster so smash up that $3 thrift shop computer keyboard and toss the pieces in the jar.
Pour the MEK on the ABS pieces until they are covered in MEK. This should take 2-24 hrs to disolve depending on the size of the ABS pieces. You can stir it up to speed the process with a screwdriver and peel off the mekgoo after it dries then toss it back in the jar. Seal the jar up tight because MEK evaporates quickly.
I used a little extra MEK, no biggie. If it becomes too thin just leave the lid off the jar for a little while and it will thicken up.
Next you want to take a Dremel tool and make a nice V in the crack on both sides. This gives the mekgoo a place to sit and weld.
remember to drill a hole at the very end of the crack to stop the further spread of the crack.
Ok this is where I got messy. Because I am doing the mekgoo weld on the inside on my sidecovers (and could'nt find a paint brush) I just poured it on there. First take a little pure MEK and brush it on the area to be repaired. It will instantly begin to disolve everything it touches. This helps to let the mekgoo weld together with the plastics to be repaired. Then take your brush and "paint" the mekgoo onto the crack. Painters tape can be used to hold the crack together if needed (it won't sitck to the tape).
^ See? sloppy. No problem, You can sand it smooth if needed.
After your first coat dries, apply a few more coats. Build that shit up a little to give it some strength and let each coat cure for about 15mins before applying another coat.
Done!!! If I wanted to do a complete restore I would have been more careful on the inside. You could sand it smooth on the inside then start over doing the same thing on the outside. Sand it smooth and paint.