93 VFR750 RC36 Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Has anyone done any cold welding with ABS solvent? I've got a Gen 3 with a few cracked panels and broken lugs and thought I'd give it a go. I may try hot welding too. What is a common source of thin ABS sheet to use as filler/fillet material? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luigi Posted November 3, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted November 3, 2009 Has anyone done any cold welding with ABS solvent? I've got a Gen 3 with a few cracked panels and broken lugs and thought I'd give it a go. I may try hot welding too. What is a common source of thin ABS sheet to use as filler/fillet material? I can suggest the common acetone (hope translated right). This solvent can solve totally the ABS in a liquid that can repair perfectly the parts. I have used it to repair many cracks and even rebuild a little part lost in a crash on my 5th gen fairing. I've made it in this way: - i found an heavyly damaged front mudguard from another 5th gen to be sure to have the same kind of ABS. - i removed ALL paint and i cut the part in small pieces to have material enough to fill half jar of jam. - i've added acetone to cover all pieces, closed the jar with the cap. - after about an hour the ABS was dissolved in milky liquid (density is function of the quantity of acetone) that can be used to make perfect cold weldings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer rdguy Posted November 3, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted November 3, 2009 +1. I did the same thing to fill an unwanted round hole in a CBR900 fairing I was customizing. In my case, I turned a piece of ABS slightly oversize (maybe .020-.030") and soaked the piece and the fairing with either acetone or MEK. Wait for both to soften, push the plug into the hole, and file/sand/fill when the solvent is completely evaporated. <insert warnings about solvents here> Glenn I can suggest the common acetone (hope translated right). This solvent can solve totally the ABS in a liquid that can repair perfectly the parts. I have used it to repair many cracks and even rebuild a little part lost in a crash on my 5th gen fairing. I've made it in this way: - i found an heavyly damaged front mudguard from another 5th gen to be sure to have the same kind of ABS. - i removed ALL paint and i cut the part in small pieces to have material enough to fill half jar of jam. - i've added acetone to cover all pieces, closed the jar with the cap. - after about an hour the ABS was dissolved in milky liquid (density is function of the quantity of acetone) that can be used to make perfect cold weldings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JamieDaugherty Posted November 4, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted November 4, 2009 I can suggest the common acetone (hope translated right). This solvent can solve totally the ABS in a liquid that can repair perfectly the parts. I have used it to repair many cracks and even rebuild a little part lost in a crash on my 5th gen fairing. I've never heard of using acetone, MEK is what I've always used. MEK is the active ingredient in PVC pipe solvent/glue. PVC is a very similar material to ABS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer COS_VFR Posted November 4, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted November 4, 2009 I can suggest the common acetone (hope translated right). This solvent can solve totally the ABS in a liquid that can repair perfectly the parts. I have used it to repair many cracks and even rebuild a little part lost in a crash on my 5th gen fairing. I've never heard of using acetone, MEK is what I've always used. MEK is the active ingredient in PVC pipe solvent/glue. PVC is a very similar material to ABS. ABS glue is just ABS dissolved in MEK. To make a thin sheet of ABS,I have used a piece plywood and covered it with aluminum foil, then stretched a piece of fiberglass mat on top of that. Then I saturated the fiberglass mat with ABS glue. After this dried, I had a thin sheet of fiberglass reinforced ABS that I could use as two reinforce cracks on my fairings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Burns Posted November 4, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted November 4, 2009 I've used the ABS glue on my 4th gen panels fairly successfully. From what I've heard, it's basically MEK w/ ABS plastic disolved in it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer IntAceptor Posted November 4, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted November 4, 2009 Just be cautious, MEK and acetone go straight to your liver through unbroken skin and are known cancer causing agents. Good ventilation and gloves for your digits are in order. These chemicals will probably do a good job dissolving a latex glove in a short time too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Acetone in all manners is some really dangerous $hit. Incredibly flammable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I have used this method with the MEK on the gauge panels. It would also work well on the Fender. The other parts have some other plastics in them, so this method doesn't work, or not well anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luigi Posted November 4, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted November 4, 2009 Hi to all Just be cautious, MEK and acetone go straight to your liver through unbroken skin and are known cancer causing agents. Good ventilation and gloves for your digits are in order. These chemicals will probably do a good job dissolving a latex glove in a short time too. I fotgot to specify this warnings but i'm totally in according with. ciao, Luigi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fricksdad Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Has anyone done any cold welding with ABS solvent? I've got a Gen 3 with a few cracked panels and broken lugs and thought I'd give it a go. I may try hot welding too. What is a common source of thin ABS sheet to use as filler/fillet material? You can buy ABS sample sheets here http://www.rplastics.com/abssheet.htm $5.00 buys 5 sample sheets of ABS in various thickness. Sheets are 4"X6". Sheets are very handy for repairing broken tabs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JETS Posted November 4, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted November 4, 2009 You would be really happy and strongly repaired if you used the two part epoxy sold at Home Depot of all places, made for PLASTIC repair of all types. The regular epoxy and other fiberglass repair materials will NOT bond to ABS. I have repaired 3 totalled ABS bikes, including my VFR, with plastic welding, use of Duramix 4040, two part methyl methacrylate (Electrical Supply sells it for $6.00), and a few times the Home Depot stuff. All work fine and are much stronger than the ABS solvent approach. A key is to use stainless steel mesh over the back of any substantial defect and goop it in well with one of the cements mentioned. Evercoat Polyflex surface filler can be skimmed on the surface flaws if repainting is needed. Urethane supply Co. is an excellent source of info and materials. Kent Lammon's book has everthing you would want to know, too. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93 VFR750 RC36 Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 Thanks for the replies gents. I'm going to try producing some of my own glues. I'll probably try to produce a thin version to work into cracks/surface prep and a thicker one for building up and/or setting in SS mesh. I'll try to do photos as I go along and post them when I'm done. Stew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 Has anyone done any cold welding with ABS solvent? I've got a Gen 3 with a few cracked panels and broken lugs and thought I'd give it a go. I may try hot welding too. What is a common source of thin ABS sheet to use as filler/fillet material? You can buy ABS sample sheets here http://www.rplastics.com/abssheet.htm $5.00 buys 5 sample sheets of ABS in various thickness. Sheets are 4"X6". Sheets are very handy for repairing broken tabs. If you have an auto body shop nearby, it's easier/cheaper to ask if you can go dumpster diving for busted bumpers. :goofy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer The mailman Posted November 5, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted November 5, 2009 I had a small tab break off about 4 years ago that I just repaired with Krazy Glue. It has held up now for almost 20k miles and I can't even see the place where it broke off. It seemed to have chemically melted the two parts together without any sign of a break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luigi Posted November 7, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted November 7, 2009 Hi to all Here's the sequence of my 5th gen front fairing repairing with the acetone and some ABS pieces abtained from a damaged front fender from another VFR. The damaged fairing, you can see the cracks repaired and a part that i've lost. Here i show like i've rebuild it. The detail of the part to rebuild. The work zone sanded with rough sanding paper (around # 60) The edge chamfering with the Dremel tool The edge chamfered (on both sides) The "adding part" to rebuilding coming from a front fender (see last pictures) The "adding part" roughly positioned with a self-adhesive stip. The part roughly fixed with a first layer of pure acetone. The part firmly framed with a stock of wood and self-adesive tape (this is the external view). The internal welding with the glue prepared with ABS pieces (from front fender) dissolved in acetone. The external view of the previous welding. Note that some drop of glue is passed out this side. The welding on the external side. The glue has dissolved the drops passed out from the internal side (see previous pic) and so have formed a single-body junction. Another piece of ABS positioned to create the thick edge of the fairing The piece welded with our glue Detail of the repair shaped and sanded. External view of the repair shaped and sanded (with #800 / #1000 paper). Internal view of the repair shaped and sanded. The front fender recycled to produce the glue e the small ABS pieces used. Note the paint removed. Hope it can be useful. Ciao, Luigi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer taglicious Posted November 7, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted November 7, 2009 I was going to use the various pieces just like this, but I tried plastic welding different pieces together first before starting the project. The front fender is a different material than the bodywork. Also the rear fender head case for lights, are different from the front fender, and the body work. Also, on the 3rd gen, the lowers are a different material all together, not abs OR poly. Polypropylene and ABS don't mesh well unless you use the method luigi showed... and yes I have bought and used abs drain pipe to do major work on the 3rd gen plastics... tedious, but once you get the hang of it you become a pro :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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