Scott's thread on his mower problems and the responses, including mine, about busted plastic hoods got me thinking again about fixing plastic panels.
The hood on my Deere LT155 has a upper and lower section and the upper had developed several cracks before I fell against it and punched a hole in the center with my hand. I also drive a Dodge Ram and like the Ram dashes do in hot climates, it is cracked into 3 pieces.
My idea is to go beyond just gluing or welding (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP3yW-hqFng) the pieces back together, but to reinforce them with fiberglass and carbon fiber cloth on the outside for looks. Fiberglass would be good enough for the tractor hood and could be painted to match with a rattle can but the carbon fiber would add a unique look and wouldn't cost that much more than the fiberglass cloth. I would go with the carbon fiber on the dash since 'buzz bomb' paint won't hold up for long exposed to the sun and the upper dash would be a PITA to remove and reinstall for painting.
Once the piece were rejoined by either method, the process would be to even out and cut the surface with 60 grit paper to provide some 'tooth' for the resin to grab. I was thinking of putting down 2 layers of glass on the inside for strength and then a single layer of carbon fiber on the outside for appearance and sealing the plastic.
Should wind up with pieces that are bordering on indestructible....
The hood on my Deere LT155 has a upper and lower section and the upper had developed several cracks before I fell against it and punched a hole in the center with my hand. I also drive a Dodge Ram and like the Ram dashes do in hot climates, it is cracked into 3 pieces.
My idea is to go beyond just gluing or welding (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP3yW-hqFng) the pieces back together, but to reinforce them with fiberglass and carbon fiber cloth on the outside for looks. Fiberglass would be good enough for the tractor hood and could be painted to match with a rattle can but the carbon fiber would add a unique look and wouldn't cost that much more than the fiberglass cloth. I would go with the carbon fiber on the dash since 'buzz bomb' paint won't hold up for long exposed to the sun and the upper dash would be a PITA to remove and reinstall for painting.
Once the piece were rejoined by either method, the process would be to even out and cut the surface with 60 grit paper to provide some 'tooth' for the resin to grab. I was thinking of putting down 2 layers of glass on the inside for strength and then a single layer of carbon fiber on the outside for appearance and sealing the plastic.
Should wind up with pieces that are bordering on indestructible....
Comment