Can't thank you enough for posting this. I had to repair a 2 foot crack in the floor of my Citroen Mehari (worlds first plastic car) I used your recipe substituting red Lego's for black ABS - the color was an exact match, nice glossy finish and rock hard after 24 hours - hard to believe how simple it was to repair. All I need to do is install a sheet metal panel on the underside for additional support as its a high stress area. Otherwise the repair is unnoticeable, I even filled a large hole where a large portion of ABS was missing (used gorilla tape as a backing) - if you need a specific color - use Lego's as they are made of ABS plastic
Just wanted to share my experience of the learning the ABS slurry trick from this video. I made some ABS slurry with broken pieces of ABS pipe and acetone. I painted over a cracked ABS elbow fitting of my sink drainage and built up a coat about 2-3mm thick over few days. Soaked the brush in acetone so that it could be reused until the last coat was done. That was a perfect solution to me. The painted ABS slurry dried up with a strong coat of ABS over the crack and the whole elbow, and stopped the leak. I would say it would last as long as the ABS pipes connected to it. This saved me a lot of work of creating enough space and repair afterward for replacing the ABS eblow. Thanks very much this video inspired me for my successful repair.
@@caseyw.8325 I've got a jar of slurry in the shed that I made 3 weeks ago and it's still the same consistancy more or less. I find glass jars work well for storage, as there's no chance of the acetone disolving the glass and they seal really well. Good luck with it all 👍
I have repaired both ABS and PVC plastic using the appropriate solvents such as you have. I have always used a mesh of some sort in these repairs including fly screen and believe that it is very beneficial to the overall strength of such repairs. Where parts are subject to ongoing stress, I have even used this method on both sides of the crack/splits. after the repair is totally set (24 hours) you can fine-sand the visible side and finish it as is done in body shops on auto bumpers. If done properly, the repair is almost invisible. Good job on your video.
Good to know. Have a Thule to repair that did not survive wife’s attempt to enter underground parking in spite of being reminded prior to departure and printout on mirror😢🤬😘❤️. Metal Fly screen assume? as have holes as well to fill/repair. Thx
Used this process to repair my Thule and it worked great; however I used fiberglass cloth instead of window screen and used ABS Pipe Cement, available from the hardware store, instead of trying to make a slurry. The ABS Pipe Cement contains ABS plastic that's been disolved in MEK and acetone. If you use the fiberglass cloth, spread a layer of the pipe cement over the repair area, lay the fiberglass cloth in the wet pipe cement then cover it with more pipe cement.
Home Depot had this stuff on sale. I work for a company that sells a certain brand of hot tub. When we do warranty work, where I need to cut into the bottom of the spa (ABS - thicker then the roof tent shell ill be fixing) , we use ABS medium body cement and Fibatape (drywall stuff). Pair of gloves, a paper cup, and a paintbrush. Pour the abs glue in there, slap some on, layer of tape, and then just cover the tape with the glue. When its ~70'f outside each layer dries in like 5-10 minutes. And it dries really hard too. I had one upside down in the back of the truck and the glue that came out and dried felt hard, like pipe. Had to hit it with a hammer to break it out, and some is still back there
I used this method to repair a yakima roof box; it came out fantastic! I also mixed some up thin to get into the cracks and for places where I didn't want to build it up too much, like where the lid and base have to mate. And I used some thicker sheets of ABS, heat formed them to match the curve, and used them to reinforce where the support had ripped through the ABS. It's super strong and watertight now. Thanks for the tips!
Great to hear the repairs worked well. I really like the heat forming of the ABS sheet to match the curves, that's a handy tip I'll keep in mind for future ABS repairs 👍👌
Nice. I'm about to do the same with a thule roof box I got that someone had backed into a low parking garage. It made a perfect hole in the back, with a single large piece coming loose, and it just puzzles perfectly into the hole. Instead of what you did with the strips of abs for strength, I'm using mending plates and machine screws to put it back together before re-sealing it all with the slurry.
Really nice repair. I disagree that the screen didn’t add much strength though. There is a reason concrete is poured with rebar or metal mesh embedded. The screen will act to resist lateral sheer forces & resist breakage with point loading. You could also apply your first ABS slurry coat, then cover with fiberglass matting, second and third coats as you did. This would work the same as the screen but would be easier to mold around bends/corners/valleys/etc. The highest strength concrete (6000 psi) is 4000 psi concrete with fiberglass fibers added. Again, great video & thank you for sharing. This one is a keeper for sure!
My husband is fixing a cracked drain pipe for the clothes washer underneath our mobile as we speak. He’s a retired auto body repair tech. This was a easy solution. We found the support strap broke and guess the vibrations must have helped cracked the pipe. It’s 21 years old. Fantastic fix!
Reinforcement can be made from fibreglass, carbon fibre, kevlar, hemp, old cotton sheet, whatever is strong (no polyester clothing though). It is to add flexural and tensile strength so that you don’t need as much resin or slurry. Fibreglass is a pain in the arse to work with, especially around statically charged plastic, but it can be laid down with almost any adhesive, hot melted plastic or whatever.
i'd start with a very thin mix that'll wick into the finer cracks then build up thickness with a thicker mix. also be careful not to apply too much at once or you'll soften and deform the item you're repairing. if you want a more visually appealing finish you can sand it and apply a final coat or two with a paint sprayer.
Holly crap! How have I never known this! I modified a front pumper to fit an intercooler with fiberglass, and sure enough, it's not holding up. Now I know what to do! Thank you OP for making this video and TH-cam for recommending it!
Similar concepts can be used for filling in and strengthening 3D prints, just use the same material as the print is made from, same color and the repair can be blended in till it disappears. It also works for filling in layer lines befor sanding.
Ironically I have the exact same RTT with the exact same problem and I just wanted to find the best way to repair the cracks in the ABS top. Fantastic video mate 👍
Nice video thanks for sharing!!!! You should made two holes at the ends of broken surface in order to stop furter extension of break before any other actions.... Have good time every time!!! Best regards from Hellas (Greece)!!!
Of course! Dissolve ABS in a solvent and use as a filler/reinforcer. Why didn't I think of that?? Thanks for posting this, it solves a lot of my ongoing repair problems and will save $$ over buying plastic fillers.
Nicely done bud I never knew you can make a slurry out of abs and use it like Bondo to put plastic back together I appreciate the video this will come in handy for future projects 👍
Thanks for sharing. Your measurements for the slurry were perfect. All I had was ABS plumbing pipe. It worked perfect, just a long time to melt. I used pieces of plastic screen door screen to reinforce and it really helped. Thanks
Brilliant video, many thanks for sharing. I crashed my rc model aeroplane and damaged the rudder on impact. The plane is made from white abs plastic and and the rudder got cracked in a few places. Im going to use your method of repair as it looks like a great job. Kind regards.
Somewhat life changing. Incredible solution. I'm using this on ABS sheets to reinforce it and it seems good so far after the first coat. I think it's actually melting into the sheets a tiny bit which seems like it should be a great thing.
Thanks for the video. Some other suggest also use of acetone with ABS. While seeing you applying the aluminium fire screen layer, I wonder how it could work adding glass fibre or carbon fibre laminates as layers.
Well done! Im in the US and have the same exact roof top tent. I bought it used and have no idea what brand it is, ive never seen another like it until this video. Its holding up well, but great to know the fix.
Thank you very much for posting this astonished I'm kind of a shame to myself that I've never thought of anything like this. I have repaired restored fixed more different type of things that I can count and I've used multiple methods to reinforce repair plastics of multiple kinds, with a plethora of different materials, but for some for a reason this idea never crossed my mind.... But it's in there now! This is genius, repair the plastic with the plastic! and unlike using heat, its not really changing the structure of the existing plastic.
I have personally used black ABS plumbing cement/glue to repair abs boats & other large items. I use it with fiberglass cloth and have also embedded washers etc in the glue/cloth layers when a fastener hole needed reinforcement. I do as much of this from the back/unseen side as possible and have repaired broken automotive trim saving a trip to the salvage yard for a pricey obsolete part. The fiberglass cloth works extraordinarily well, just use a bondo paddle to squeegie it into the cloth and let dry between layers. (The fumes are horrendous... and don't smoke!)
Excellent! I was planning to send my cracked automotive part to get 3D scanned, remanufactured, then prepped, painted, and finally shipped back to me where I'd install it. Would have been weeks, if not months, plus very expensive! Instead, I will fill the stripped mounting bolt hole and repair a crack before repainting the part myself. Since it remains 'ABS' material, I can sand it down and prep it nicely for primer + paint. Thanks!
Excellent work! I like how you documented everything and showed the before and after. For folks that complain about visual stuff. It could always be sanded and painted.
Thank you! I had come up with the same combination of screen and ABS Slurry before seeing your video. But your video did confirm that this method will work well for ABS repair.I have been building a popup roof for my van using 2 full-size ABS pick-up truck canopies (roughly 8' x 6' x 27"). I also used Methol Ethyl Ketone (MEK) to bond large pieces together and used the slurry as a filler.
Super cool. Try drilling each end of the crack to stop the Propagation before repair. (like a 9/64" bit). A thick layer of RTV works well too. Not all RTV is the same, Permetex Right Stuff 1 minute gasket maker (black) is my go to glue/band aid for almost everything. It is vulcanized to the surface verses glued, and flexes without popping off. (example PERMETEX # 25229) The stuff is rated to hold 250 degree F coolant across an unsupported 1/4" gap at like 30 psi. I cover the outside seem of my plastic radiator end caps and never had those repaired seems re-fail. 3/16" thick application. It also re-vulcanizes to itself so you don't have to remove the old properly attached RTV remains if repairing the repair.
This is the solution I am looking for. Great video. I have been given a Yakima Skybox that is cracked up. This slurry along with some sheets of ABS should do the trick and I will end up with a nearly free roof box. Thanks!
I have been repairing plastics for nearly 30 years. Your idea of using the mesh is the way to go to distribute the loads and stress better . It is a shame that it is almost impossible to buy acetone in my country. It is regulated because it used in the process of making illegal drugs . Cheers!
I’d definitely use screen in a similar repair if I ever need to do one, both for its grip and additional strength. Can’t really see a downside to having wire embedded in the patch.
I usually just go nuts with a drill on some scrap ABS and use the shavings instead of the larger chunks as that dissolves much quicker. Of course, that can be tedious for larger volumes.
The slurry is a really good idea. I also like the idea of melting the plastic with acetone in order to embed the wire screen. You did add strength, maybe unnecessarily.
Brilliant Video..! Used this repair inside a Sears Xcargo 20 roof box. Took the O P suggestion of no mesh and multiple layers. Incredible strong adhesion to box. 4 coats seemed durable on 4"x5" area using a 2" plastic putty knife. Repair is sealed and flexible like original box. Tested 3 hard scrap plastics in a mason jar, only one melted. Chose that one. Added more.
I now use MEK , Methyl Ethyl Ketone it's better than Acetone , faster melting when you want to stick broken parts together , acetone is very slow to react . ABS plumber's fitting is a very cheap source for ABS , MEK your hardware store in the paint dept.
Will this work with pvc as well? I would think so! Im going to try some pieces of pvc pipe and see if it will dissolve in acetone! Lots of things are made out of pvc and the manufacturing process poisons the planet along with being non recyclable ! If parts of whatever can be repaired it will save the planet maybe in some small way! Thx for getting the gears in my mind working!
What an absolutely brilliant idea. I broke a tab on a grill insert on one of the cars. This concept will work well. I've seen people use a soldering iron to weld but this is would probably work better. The aluminum screen is a good adding tensile and sheer strength (kind of like re-bar in concrete). Fiberglass matting would have worked to I imagine (but probably adds more cost. I'll probably use some sort of fabric as the tab needs a bit of flex (and is really only needed as a spacer.) A HUGE thumbs up!
Job looks good. I did notice a couple of spots that you might want to touch up. Towards the end you did a close up of the final product. If you look closely youll see the end of the wire screen. It didnt get completely covered with the slurry. You can actually see the ends of the wires where they were cut. I have no doubt the structure is strong. I also think you were right in using the mesh for extra strength but with the mesh exposed even a tiny bit that leaves a weak spot that will be vulnerable to the elements. Also it leaves room for movement of the mesh against the abs. Over time it will most likely be the cause of failure uf you have one. As a rule you should try to go beyond the damaged area by about an inch if possible that includes the mesh support if used. The mix you made looked perfect. Good video
Good point with making sure the edges of the mesh are well and truly covered, I think that is a good idea. Next time I use this method I'll be keeping this in mind. Fortunately for this repair it isn't exposed to the elements (underside of roof top tent cover) so won't ever be an issue hopefully.
@@fortheloveofvideo6306 thats good its on the underside and if i remember correctly you used aluminum screen. Its also kind of funny you sent this message about an hour ago. I was thinking about you. Im in the middle of reconstructing a garage door opener motor and controls housing. The unit is flawless as far as operation. Its 15.years old but was rarely used. However a bone head doing some work here knocked the hell out of it with something. I think a 2x4. Long story short. I had just worked on it the day before. Adjusted the door and track. Within an hour of him getting here it was not raising and was eratic. I finally climbed up to check things and saw the logic board wasnt attached to the ABS/PC plastic console and the motor cover was only held together by the bulb cover and the metallic tape to reflect heat from the bulbs away from the plastic. The logic board was literally dangling from the wires and was shorting against the frame. Cant buy a replacement. So im piecing it together. Using jb weld uv light cure. And plastic welding. An hour ago i started cutting stainless steel mesh to embed into the panel and the front of the engine cover. There wasnt a single piece bigger than a dime. Jesus i need to get out more. You didnt need to know all of that crap. Ill blame it on the methylele chloride, acetone and ABS/PC fumes from the welding. I miss model glue!
Thanks for this video. I’m rebuilding my 1988 Suzuki GSXR-750 after stripping the paint (8 layers) off the fairings I found that there were some pretty substantial separation of the plastic that needed to be fixed. I also found that they were after market fairings made out of ABS, which many products won’t stick too. I just went out and bought some acetone and ABS and am looking forward to slathering it on tomorrow.
I've fixed a 3D-printer part what was injection molded with ABS. Makerbot didn't want to replace the part for me because it was too old of a machine so I had to improvise. Going to install it right now, let's hope the reinforcements work!
That fucking sucks when companies don't want to help u out due to how old 1 of their products are. Improvising & thinking outside of the box r a must to when dealing with low manufactuering products made with plastic. I call it a factory flaw from these evil companies knowing their device are made to fail.
Would love to know how that worked out for you. I'm enjoying the hilarious self-referential irony that the manufacturer didn't want to deal with a broken part in a product that's made to solve pretty much that very problem.
I like your idea of using screen as an additional support. I would bet if you're concerned about adding strength, you could use aluminum screen as long as you have the clearance for the added mass it would provide once coated with the slurry. Very smart thinking on this though; I like it. Edit: watching the video again I hear you say you did use aluminum screen. I expect that did add considerable strength. I'm in the process of the "slurry repair" on a Yakima Rocketbox I picked up used and it works amazingly well. I haven't gotten to the areas I'll use screen on yet though.
Following up my comment a year later, the spot I repaired was too high of a stress location and easily tore the aluminum screen material only my second time out. My repair spot was on the lid, halfway back on the length of the carrier. Not to be outwitted by physics (ha), I sanded it all down and abraded the aluminum fabric away. I then picked up a 10-dollar steel mesh kit by Bondo which is adhesive backed so made it a little handier to hold in place. I used the mesh on the outside of the carrier, going around it section by section to secure it in place with fresh slurry, and then building it up later by layer over several days so it was nice and thick and I could tell each opening in the mesh was filled in and built up. I then used the second piece on the inside of the carrier using the same process. It's now beefed up considerably where the original crack was and I think now the repair will outlast the rest of the carrier! Credit to the uploader of this video; had he not done it I never would've even thought to use this method. This kind of stuff is what makes TH-cam worth it.
Once the slurry dried it basically became hard plastic again. It's definitely not brittle, and has only a very small amount of flex which I would say is much the same as an other ABS product. Obviously the more layers you use the thicker it gets overall making it more rigid and less flexible. The repair in the video was quite rigid once dried due to the overall thickness I made it. Hope this helps.
I used the same ratio to mix up some slurry and applied it along with some carbon fiber cloth to fix some cracks in my ABS motorcycle plastics. It worked incredibly well and I think they're now stronger than original. It was hard to get the longer crack to bond, so after a few layers on the backside, I traced the crack with a super fine dremmel cutoff disc from the front to open it up, & filled it with slurry. Saved me over $800 in new plastics. Thanks again.
question : can a person make the slurry and store it in a jar on the shelf then do a few repairs with same slurry.or will it just harden or can a person just keep adding acitone as needed or does it need to be made every time a repair is needed . only asking becuse i have a few things i can do this with but never in the same week.
I use lacker thinner instead of acetone. It's sticks more and is better at breaking down the ABS, not say acetone is not good, just found is less effective.
Great video thanks for that. I have a roof spoiler I have just removed and found the underside has damaged so I will give this method a go and then bond the spoiler back on with VHB adhesive as all mounting points with the studs have deteriorated. 😀
Thanks for the info - I used the technique to repair a golf flight case - one thing how do I get the slurry off my paint brush - a jar with acetone doesn’t seem to work 🤷🏽♂️
I used cheap brushes and simply discarded them once the job was complete as there was no way I could find to clean them back to a usable state. Between coats I was able to use acetone to soften the brushes up enough to use them again with the slurry.
If you encapsulate metal it works well, like a bolt head dipped in the slurry and let dry for example. Not sure how it would go if you just applied it to a flat metal surface though, I have never tested that. My suggestions is do a test piece, and probly a good idea to scuff up and clean metal first, especially if aluminium to remove oxidation and contaminants to give the best chance of adhesion.
This is really awesome, I'm looking to repair some old computer cases and reinforce some structurally weak spots BEFORE they break. If I can do that on the inside it should help reinforce it better. Is there anywhere you found a beige or white color though? or is it always black? I did a quick search and found some rod shaped ones in beige/natural color. Think it might work? They used cheap as hell ABS plastic back when they made these.
Man I wish I knew about this when I was trying to repair the cracked dash in my 03 yukon but now I have a new awesome weapon to add to my arsenal!...thanks a million bro!...
Thankfully I came across your video! I'm going to try this I was in a scooter 🛵 collision The guy hit me on the left side and part of my pannel/floorboard has a hole And I was so bummed and nothing really offered any real solutions other than to just deal with it!! But I don't want to be driving around exposed to rain or things I can get inside and damage the vehicle so this actually looks like a very viable and real fix! I was thinking of using screen tape and then ABS over top for patch
My comments seem to be superfluous to what others have said. So, I will just say 'thanks', I had no idea you could do this, and it's has got me out of a big bother.
Actually Stainless steel mesh adds a great amount of Strength & rigidity to the repair, if it's thick enough I weld in heated steel clip of if it's thin I use staples which I heat with a soldering iron and push into the plastic along the crack before putting on the top coat with SS Mesh you used.
Oh my GOD! This is literally the only real helpful video. I watched like 10 videos of ABS Slurry but most of them were for 3D printing which is not what I was looking for. Thank you so much for making this video. I do have 1 question, once you make this ABS Slurry, how long does it last shelf wise after you use it? Thank you very much for your helpful video. I have subscribed to your channel. 😁🙏
Really glad you found this helpful, that's why I make these videos! To answer your question, I've had some ABS slurry made up and stored in a glass jar for around 4 months now and it's still liquid. As long as the container you store it in has an airtight seal it seems to last a while.
Hi, I just want to thank you very much for your very insightful video on repairing the plastic cracks, what a great result. The one I have had major cracks on all corners and was a nightmare until I came across your information> I feel as though I owe you for all you did to come to a solution. The only thing I am now facing is I am unable to sit the top back on evenly! I get the front over the rail and its sitting correctly but then the back will not go over the rail. I have reversed the operation back first sits well but then the front becomes the issue, it will not go over the rail and sit correctly. ANY suggestion would be gratefully received! Once again a BIG thank you.
Hi Chris, really glad the video helped, it seems to be a common problem with these tents. With the fitment issue, I think I know what the problem is and may require the removal of some of the ABS at the bends where the plastic curves to become the sides of the roof of the tent, if that makes sense (its the curve in the thumbnail of the video). From memory, there wasnt much clearance on the inside of the bend, so if the plastic was built up too much it would make contact with the aluminium frame when trying to fit it, hence it wont push down at one end or the other. I'd use an electric sander or something similar (maybe even angle grinder with sanding flap disc but be VERY careful as it eats away VERY fast) to remove some of the built up plastic to give the clearance you need, just in the bend of the corner. Also, when u do get it on, make sure you use quality sealant (I used multipurpose sikaflex) to seal the bolt holes. Because water sits in these low areas where the bolts are, cheap sealant will eventually give way and water will get through when tent is packed up (trust me on this! lol). If you did want to show your appreciation for the video you can buy me a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/LoveOfVideo as a thank you, it really helps me to make videos like this and supports the channel, these videos do take a bit of time to make. Let me know if you need anymore help. Cheers.
I will try this on a cracked laptop - the top has a crack near the hinge. The one thing I will do extra is drill a hole at each end of the crack as you would with any metal crack welding repair. I will use cable ties for the ABS slurry mix and some thin wire mesh from JayCar to give it further strength. Fingers crossed.
Good luck with the repair. An easy way to test if the laptop plastic is actually made of ABS is to rub a small amount of acetone on the plastic in an inconspicuous area and see if it starts to melt/soften. I've come across some plastics that look like ABS but once I do this test I discover that they aren't and this method with ABS slurry wouldn't work to repair them.
cool ,I have ABS bumper docks . One end leaks ,would you try this fix for a more heavy repair? this dock sees water 6 months then out 6 months winters as were in Canada ont cheers .
Hey, I’m trying to customize a stock seat pan. It is a black plastics. I need to add some plastic to it to get the desired shape to the fender that I want. Then cover it with my leather. What do you suggest to use. I thought about using heat and plastic weld the same type of plastic and metal mesh to keep its shape so it matches and I can use staple gun with the leather. I have not tried this yet. There is fiberglass, but I don’t know how well fiberglass and this type of plastic play together. The other option is shaping a piece of wood to the desired shape. It will be easy to shape and I will be able to staple the leather to it. However, even though it will be hidden and covered by leather, I will know that it is there. I have pictures. I’m open to any suggestions because I don’t want to mess this up. I only have one. I was curious if I used the slurry and heat and glued on thicker pieces of plastic if it would hold and work???
All depends on what plastic the seat pan is made out of. I'd imagine it's probably either ABS or HDPE. To test if it's ABS you can get a cotton tip bud and dip in pure acetone and then rub on an inconspicuous spot on the seat pan. If it starts to get soft and you get black sludge on the cotton tip bud then it's ABS. If not then it will be a non-ABS plastic. If it's HDPE you can use a heat gun to attach extra HDPE sheets to the seat (plenty of TH-cam videos on how to do this) and basically build up to desired thickness/shape, and then you can use an angle grinder with a flap disc to curve and shape it as desired. I recently did this on a kayak made of HDPE, flap disc worked a charm to get desired shape quickly, needed extra sanding to tidy up though. Or you could also use timber and shape with a flap disc if you did want to go the timber option. Good luck whatever you go with, and I would recommend practicing on something else before attempting the seat (speaking from experience 😅).
Fantastic review mate. Just wondering if how is the repaired part after a year. Did it crack again. I am thinking of using ur method to repair a crack roof pod. Also especially driving to corrogated roads did it crack again. Looking forward for ur response. Cheers
We actually sold the tent just a few months ago, but in the 8-9 months following the repair it remained as solid as ever, no signs of stress or further cracking. I'm very confident this repair would last a long time, especially when reinforced with mesh or similar. I've used this method to repair some other smaller items since, and have been very happy with the results. One thing to be aware of is not to paint coats on too thick, multiple thinner coats are definitely the way to go, just like in the video. I reckon this method would work well for roof pods/boxes, definitely recommend adding the mesh though.
Not sure, I think it would glug up too much even in a 3mm spray gun. And if you make it too thin/runny it doesn't set as strong. This stuff gets messy too, so being able to simply dispose of a paint brush afterwards makes clean up easy.
Thanks for posting this video - looks great! I have a similar problem with a trailer lid, but with very fine cracks. Your video shows the underside, did you treat the outer/upper side in the same way? I'd like to make the outer of my lid completely water proof and would ideally like it to look 'unrepaired' too... any advice?
Well I first tried acetone which didn't dissolve at all and now trying MEK, its only been a few hours but not seeing any progress so far. I don't know what I am doing wrong but really need this to work!!
I suspect the plastic may not be ABS if you're not seeing any progress. I've had this happen previously, where the plastic looked very much like ABs but would not dissolve in acetone. You should see discolouring of the acetone within 30 seconds or so if the plastic is indeed ABS.
@@fortheloveofvideo6306 the first try I was pretty sure wasn't ABS but the second try came from the under fender and I am pretty sure is ABS but I bought an ABS Fitting from the hardware store so I will try that next.
Great idea, I have two moulded propylene trays in the basement in my fifth wheel RV that are cracking. I would like to try this method of repair, however what would prevent the slurry from softening the plastic I’m trying to repair?
I haven't tried acetone with propylene, so I'm not sure how it would react. You might find the ABS slurry doesn't actually stick to the propylene. You could test a small inconspicuous area of the propylene with acetone to see how it reacts, I have a strong suspicion that it doesn't react at all with propylene. My suggestion would be to find a repair method specific to propylene, such as plastic welding.
Maan.. This video got me nervously excited !! I Thank You Soo Much Sir .. For sharing. Highly appreciated !! Will give u a Like on this video for sure.
Can't thank you enough for posting this. I had to repair a 2 foot crack in the floor of my Citroen Mehari (worlds first plastic car) I used your recipe substituting red Lego's for black ABS - the color was an exact match, nice glossy finish and rock hard after 24 hours - hard to believe how simple it was to repair. All I need to do is install a sheet metal panel on the underside for additional support as its a high stress area. Otherwise the repair is unnoticeable, I even filled a large hole where a large portion of ABS was missing (used gorilla tape as a backing) - if you need a specific color - use Lego's as they are made of ABS plastic
Just wanted to share my experience of the learning the ABS slurry trick from this video. I made some ABS slurry with broken pieces of ABS pipe and acetone. I painted over a cracked ABS elbow fitting of my sink drainage and built up a coat about 2-3mm thick over few days. Soaked the brush in acetone so that it could be reused until the last coat was done. That was a perfect solution to me. The painted ABS slurry dried up with a strong coat of ABS over the crack and the whole elbow, and stopped the leak. I would say it would last as long as the ABS pipes connected to it. This saved me a lot of work of creating enough space and repair afterward for replacing the ABS eblow. Thanks very much this video inspired me for my successful repair.
Really great to hear that nextimpact. I make videos like this to help people so I'm very happy you found it useful 👍😄
Can the slurry be stored and used later? More than just 2 or 3 days... like months.
@@caseyw.8325 I had been using the slurry over a week. Just keep the lip tight and add a bit ancetone if the slurry dry-up a bit.
@@next1mpact Thanks... slurry is started, mi ed 50 Gms of black Legos and 125 mls of Acetone a few hours ago! Soo excited
@@caseyw.8325 I've got a jar of slurry in the shed that I made 3 weeks ago and it's still the same consistancy more or less. I find glass jars work well for storage, as there's no chance of the acetone disolving the glass and they seal really well. Good luck with it all 👍
I have repaired both ABS and PVC plastic using the appropriate solvents such as you have. I have always used a mesh of some sort in these repairs including fly screen and believe that it is very beneficial to the overall strength of such repairs. Where parts are subject to ongoing stress, I have even used this method on both sides of the crack/splits. after the repair is totally set (24 hours) you can fine-sand the visible side and finish it as is done in body shops on auto bumpers. If done properly, the repair is almost invisible. Good job on your video.
I used fiberglass cloth and it worked perfect with my slurry. The slurry saturated just fine.
What material did you use? Acetone any plastic? How long does it take to slurry?
Good to know. Have a Thule to repair that did not survive wife’s attempt to enter underground parking in spite of being reminded prior to departure and printout on mirror😢🤬😘❤️. Metal Fly screen assume? as have holes as well to fill/repair. Thx
Ok I just finished to watch a bunch of videos about welding plastic and yours is my best option. Thanks for the video .
Happy to help 👍
Hahaha same here! Great video!
Used this process to repair my Thule and it worked great; however I used fiberglass cloth instead of window screen and used ABS Pipe Cement, available from the hardware store, instead of trying to make a slurry. The ABS Pipe Cement contains ABS plastic that's been disolved in MEK and acetone. If you use the fiberglass cloth, spread a layer of the pipe cement over the repair area, lay the fiberglass cloth in the wet pipe cement then cover it with more pipe cement.
ABS pipe cement brand??
Home Depot had this stuff on sale. I work for a company that sells a certain brand of hot tub. When we do warranty work, where I need to cut into the bottom of the spa (ABS - thicker then the roof tent shell ill be fixing) , we use ABS medium body cement and Fibatape (drywall stuff). Pair of gloves, a paper cup, and a paintbrush. Pour the abs glue in there, slap some on, layer of tape, and then just cover the tape with the glue. When its ~70'f outside each layer dries in like 5-10 minutes. And it dries really hard too.
I had one upside down in the back of the truck and the glue that came out and dried felt hard, like pipe. Had to hit it with a hammer to break it out, and some is still back there
I used this method to repair a yakima roof box; it came out fantastic! I also mixed some up thin to get into the cracks and for places where I didn't want to build it up too much, like where the lid and base have to mate. And I used some thicker sheets of ABS, heat formed them to match the curve, and used them to reinforce where the support had ripped through the ABS. It's super strong and watertight now. Thanks for the tips!
Great to hear the repairs worked well. I really like the heat forming of the ABS sheet to match the curves, that's a handy tip I'll keep in mind for future ABS repairs 👍👌
Nice. I'm about to do the same with a thule roof box I got that someone had backed into a low parking garage. It made a perfect hole in the back, with a single large piece coming loose, and it just puzzles perfectly into the hole. Instead of what you did with the strips of abs for strength, I'm using mending plates and machine screws to put it back together before re-sealing it all with the slurry.
Wife attempted same trick 😢. What is a mending plate as I have yet to start and researching methods others have used Thankyou
Figured out what mending plate is.Disregard query.
Really nice repair. I disagree that the screen didn’t add much strength though. There is a reason concrete is poured with rebar or metal mesh embedded. The screen will act to resist lateral sheer forces & resist breakage with point loading. You could also apply your first ABS slurry coat, then cover with fiberglass matting, second and third coats as you did. This would work the same as the screen but would be easier to mold around bends/corners/valleys/etc. The highest strength concrete (6000 psi) is 4000 psi concrete with fiberglass fibers added. Again, great video & thank you for sharing. This one is a keeper for sure!
My husband is fixing a cracked drain pipe for the clothes washer underneath our mobile as we speak. He’s a retired auto body repair tech. This was a easy solution. We found the support strap broke and guess the vibrations must have helped cracked the pipe. It’s 21 years old. Fantastic fix!
Reinforcement can be made from fibreglass, carbon fibre, kevlar, hemp, old cotton sheet, whatever is strong (no polyester clothing though). It is to add flexural and tensile strength so that you don’t need as much resin or slurry. Fibreglass is a pain in the arse to work with, especially around statically charged plastic, but it can be laid down with almost any adhesive, hot melted plastic or whatever.
i'd start with a very thin mix that'll wick into the finer cracks then build up thickness with a thicker mix. also be careful not to apply too much at once or you'll soften and deform the item you're repairing. if you want a more visually appealing finish you can sand it and apply a final coat or two with a paint sprayer.
Holly crap! How have I never known this! I modified a front pumper to fit an intercooler with fiberglass, and sure enough, it's not holding up. Now I know what to do! Thank you OP for making this video and TH-cam for recommending it!
Glad I could help!
Thanks for posting this. I am going to use it to fix a hard to find 40 year old car interior panel.
Similar concepts can be used for filling in and strengthening 3D prints, just use the same material as the print is made from, same color and the repair can be blended in till it disappears. It also works for filling in layer lines befor sanding.
Very informative. I've always believed all plastics to be absolutely irreparable. This video will be of great use.
Ironically I have the exact same RTT with the exact same problem and I just wanted to find the best way to repair the cracks in the ABS top. Fantastic video mate 👍
Nice video thanks for sharing!!!!
You should made two holes at the ends of broken surface in order to stop furter extension of break before any other actions....
Have good time every time!!!
Best regards from Hellas (Greece)!!!
Of course! Dissolve ABS in a solvent and use as a filler/reinforcer. Why didn't I think of that?? Thanks for posting this, it solves a lot of my ongoing repair problems and will save $$ over buying plastic fillers.
Nicely done bud I never knew you can make a slurry out of abs and use it like Bondo to put plastic back together I appreciate the video this will come in handy for future projects 👍
same. blew my mind.
Thanks for sharing. Your measurements for the slurry were perfect. All I had was ABS plumbing pipe. It worked perfect, just a long time to melt. I used pieces of plastic screen door screen to reinforce and it really helped. Thanks
I fixed my ABS motorcycle fairings using your recipe and i had some amazing results. Thanks a lot for your video.
Really glad you found it useful.
Sir, this video saved me 300 bucks. Thanks for sharing this information with application. Best regards and greetings from Turkey.
Very happy it helped 👍🙂
Brilliant video, many thanks for sharing. I crashed my rc model aeroplane and damaged the rudder on impact. The plane is made from white abs plastic and and the rudder got cracked in a few places. Im going to use your method of repair as it looks like a great job. Kind regards.
Somewhat life changing. Incredible solution. I'm using this on ABS sheets to reinforce it and it seems good so far after the first coat. I think it's actually melting into the sheets a tiny bit which seems like it should be a great thing.
Repaired an ABS boat with ABS glue and plastic sheet rock joint screen. Worked great same as your slurry.
how has the repair held up? I have an abs boat I need to repair myself - any tips welcomed :)
Thanks for the video. Some other suggest also use of acetone with ABS. While seeing you applying the aluminium fire screen layer, I wonder how it could work adding glass fibre or carbon fibre laminates as layers.
Well done! Im in the US and have the same exact roof top tent. I bought it used and have no idea what brand it is, ive never seen another like it until this video. Its holding up well, but great to know the fix.
Thanks for sharing!🎉 I'm going to try this for my roof box, also have a big crack. Hope it helps🤞🏻
This video just solved my little crack in my electric skateboard ABS enclosure. Brilliant - saved me lots of time and money.
Glad it helped 👍. I've also used it to repair a crack in an eBike battery enclosure/case made of ABS and it worked a charm as well.
@@fortheloveofvideo6306 great tip to share with my ebike friends!
Thank you very much for posting this astonished I'm kind of a shame to myself that I've never thought of anything like this.
I have repaired restored fixed more different type of things that I can count and I've used multiple methods to reinforce repair plastics of multiple kinds, with a plethora of different materials, but for some for a reason this idea never crossed my mind....
But it's in there now!
This is genius, repair the plastic with the plastic! and unlike using heat, its not really changing the structure of the existing plastic.
I have personally used black ABS plumbing cement/glue to repair abs boats & other large items. I use it with fiberglass cloth and have also embedded washers etc in the glue/cloth layers when a fastener hole needed reinforcement. I do as much of this from the back/unseen side as possible and have repaired broken automotive trim saving a trip to the salvage yard for a pricey obsolete part. The fiberglass cloth works extraordinarily well, just use a bondo paddle to squeegie it into the cloth and let dry between layers. (The fumes are horrendous... and don't smoke!)
Great job but I somewhat disagree about the flyscreen. I’d think it helps quite a bit because it adds tensile cohesion.
Try mixing in some milled glass fiber, it should make it even stronger! I use it mixed into epoxy and it works great!
Excellent! I was planning to send my cracked automotive part to get 3D scanned, remanufactured, then prepped, painted, and finally shipped back to me where I'd install it. Would have been weeks, if not months, plus very expensive! Instead, I will fill the stripped mounting bolt hole and repair a crack before repainting the part myself. Since it remains 'ABS' material, I can sand it down and prep it nicely for primer + paint. Thanks!
Glad the video helped, hope the repairs work out well!
Excellent work! I like how you documented everything and showed the before and after. For folks that complain about visual stuff. It could always be sanded and painted.
Doesn't really harden enough to sand. Apply as smooth as possible and use a thick primer
Thank you! I had come up with the same combination of screen and ABS Slurry before seeing your video. But your video did confirm that this method will work well for ABS repair.I have been building a popup roof for my van using 2 full-size ABS pick-up truck canopies (roughly 8' x 6' x 27"). I also used Methol Ethyl Ketone (MEK) to bond large pieces together and used the slurry as a filler.
Happy to help! Hope your popup roof turns out well 👍
Super cool. Try drilling each end of the crack to stop the Propagation before repair. (like a 9/64" bit). A thick layer of RTV works well too. Not all RTV is the same, Permetex Right Stuff 1 minute gasket maker (black) is my go to glue/band aid for almost everything. It is vulcanized to the surface verses glued, and flexes without popping off. (example PERMETEX # 25229)
The stuff is rated to hold 250 degree F coolant across an unsupported 1/4" gap at like 30 psi. I cover the outside seem of my plastic radiator end caps and never had those repaired seems re-fail. 3/16" thick application.
It also re-vulcanizes to itself so you don't have to remove the old properly attached RTV remains if repairing the repair.
I brag on "The Right Stuff" all the time. It can also be put into "service" right away. Best gasket maker out there.
This is the solution I am looking for. Great video. I have been given a Yakima Skybox that is cracked up. This slurry along with some sheets of ABS should do the trick and I will end up with a nearly free roof box. Thanks!
A MASSIVE Thanks Man, Ive been searching for solution for my cracked motorbike seat base, Im going to try this looks like it'll work
I have been repairing plastics for nearly 30 years. Your idea of using the mesh is the way to go to distribute the loads and stress better .
It is a shame that it is almost impossible to buy acetone in my country. It is regulated because it used in the process of making illegal drugs . Cheers!
Have you tried beauty salon suppliers, salons use acetone to remove nail polish😊
@@cyrilpeterlee1
It would be nice if you posted links to the specific tools you used, including the gun.
I’d definitely use screen in a similar repair if I ever need to do one, both for its grip and additional strength. Can’t really see a downside to having wire embedded in the patch.
I usually just go nuts with a drill on some scrap ABS and use the shavings instead of the larger chunks as that dissolves much quicker. Of course, that can be tedious for larger volumes.
this is a good method as is plastic welding with copper wire for strength depends on the nature of the job
I think that the screen was a great idea. Nice work. Thanks for the tip.
I'd guess plasterboard/drywall jointing tape would work well too - strong/cheap/easily found
The slurry is a really good idea. I also like the idea of melting the plastic with acetone in order to embed the wire screen. You did add strength, maybe unnecessarily.
Brilliant Video..! Used this repair inside a Sears Xcargo 20 roof box. Took the O P suggestion of no mesh and multiple layers.
Incredible strong adhesion to box. 4 coats seemed durable on 4"x5" area using a 2" plastic putty knife.
Repair is sealed and flexible like original box.
Tested 3 hard scrap plastics in a mason jar, only one melted. Chose that one. Added more.
If you make the slurry a little thinner you can add glass cloth to reinforce.
fly screen was definitely the right choice here. personally i would have used a more watery consistency.
I now use MEK , Methyl Ethyl Ketone it's better than Acetone , faster melting when you want to stick broken parts together , acetone is very slow to react . ABS plumber's fitting is a very cheap source for ABS , MEK your hardware store in the paint dept.
Hello. If you don't drill a small hole at the end of a crack to stop it, it will continue its way.....
this is game changing thanks , i wonder what other types of plastic this will work with
All styrene based plastics.
Will this work with pvc as well? I would think so! Im going to try some pieces of pvc pipe and see if it will dissolve in acetone! Lots of things are made out of pvc and the manufacturing process poisons the planet along with being non recyclable ! If parts of whatever can be repaired it will save the planet maybe in some small way! Thx for getting the gears in my mind working!
Looking for a way to modify a wide body kit due to some things not lining up properly. This seems to be the fix for filling the gap
What an absolutely brilliant idea. I broke a tab on a grill insert on one of the cars. This concept will work well. I've seen people use a soldering iron to weld but this is would probably work better. The aluminum screen is a good adding tensile and sheer strength (kind of like re-bar in concrete). Fiberglass matting would have worked to I imagine (but probably adds more cost. I'll probably use some sort of fabric as the tab needs a bit of flex (and is really only needed as a spacer.)
A HUGE thumbs up!
superglue and Baking Soda sets very quickly as well, and makes good tack welds for ABS plastic.
@@scurvofpcp that tip should be printed on the tube. It makes superglue so much more useful and you can file and sand the result in minutes.
@@kirkc9643 And tap it, on the off chance you need to rebuild a screw hole.
Job looks good. I did notice a couple of spots that you might want to touch up. Towards the end you did a close up of the final product. If you look closely youll see the end of the wire screen. It didnt get completely covered with the slurry. You can actually see the ends of the wires where they were cut. I have no doubt the structure is strong. I also think you were right in using the mesh for extra strength but with the mesh exposed even a tiny bit that leaves a weak spot that will be vulnerable to the elements. Also it leaves room for movement of the mesh against the abs. Over time it will most likely be the cause of failure uf you have one. As a rule you should try to go beyond the damaged area by about an inch if possible that includes the mesh support if used. The mix you made looked perfect. Good video
Good point with making sure the edges of the mesh are well and truly covered, I think that is a good idea. Next time I use this method I'll be keeping this in mind. Fortunately for this repair it isn't exposed to the elements (underside of roof top tent cover) so won't ever be an issue hopefully.
@@fortheloveofvideo6306 thats good its on the underside and if i remember correctly you used aluminum screen. Its also kind of funny you sent this message about an hour ago. I was thinking about you. Im in the middle of reconstructing a garage door opener motor and controls housing. The unit is flawless as far as operation. Its 15.years old but was rarely used. However a bone head doing some work here knocked the hell out of it with something. I think a 2x4. Long story short. I had just worked on it the day before. Adjusted the door and track. Within an hour of him getting here it was not raising and was eratic. I finally climbed up to check things and saw the logic board wasnt attached to the ABS/PC plastic console and the motor cover was only held together by the bulb cover and the metallic tape to reflect heat from the bulbs away from the plastic. The logic board was literally dangling from the wires and was shorting against the frame. Cant buy a replacement. So im piecing it together. Using jb weld uv light cure. And plastic welding. An hour ago i started cutting stainless steel mesh to embed into the panel and the front of the engine cover. There wasnt a single piece bigger than a dime. Jesus i need to get out more. You didnt need to know all of that crap. Ill blame it on the methylele chloride, acetone and ABS/PC fumes from the welding. I miss model glue!
I would like to hear how it holds up over time.
Thanks for this video. I’m rebuilding my 1988 Suzuki GSXR-750 after stripping the paint (8 layers) off the fairings I found that there were some pretty substantial separation of the plastic that needed to be fixed. I also found that they were after market fairings made out of ABS, which many products won’t stick too. I just went out and bought some acetone and ABS and am looking forward to slathering it on tomorrow.
Need to repair a cowling on a Ninja 500. How did this work for you?
Bro is out here saving lives!!
Tried on undercover tonneau cover that was cracked on the underneath side and worked perfectly.
Thanks for your video
Amazing work, well done, and thanks for sharing!
I've fixed a 3D-printer part what was injection molded with ABS. Makerbot didn't want to replace the part for me because it was too old of a machine so I had to improvise. Going to install it right now, let's hope the reinforcements work!
Hopefully it does the job 👍
That fucking sucks when companies don't want to help u out due to how old 1 of their products are. Improvising & thinking outside of the box r a must to when dealing with low manufactuering products made with plastic. I call it a factory flaw from these evil companies knowing their device are made to fail.
Would love to know how that worked out for you. I'm enjoying the hilarious self-referential irony that the manufacturer didn't want to deal with a broken part in a product that's made to solve pretty much that very problem.
What a brilliant idea! Thank you very much for sharing these great instructions!
I like your idea of using screen as an additional support. I would bet if you're concerned about adding strength, you could use aluminum screen as long as you have the clearance for the added mass it would provide once coated with the slurry. Very smart thinking on this though; I like it.
Edit: watching the video again I hear you say you did use aluminum screen. I expect that did add considerable strength. I'm in the process of the "slurry repair" on a Yakima Rocketbox I picked up used and it works amazingly well. I haven't gotten to the areas I'll use screen on yet though.
Following up my comment a year later, the spot I repaired was too high of a stress location and easily tore the aluminum screen material only my second time out. My repair spot was on the lid, halfway back on the length of the carrier. Not to be outwitted by physics (ha), I sanded it all down and abraded the aluminum fabric away. I then picked up a 10-dollar steel mesh kit by Bondo which is adhesive backed so made it a little handier to hold in place. I used the mesh on the outside of the carrier, going around it section by section to secure it in place with fresh slurry, and then building it up later by layer over several days so it was nice and thick and I could tell each opening in the mesh was filled in and built up. I then used the second piece on the inside of the carrier using the same process. It's now beefed up considerably where the original crack was and I think now the repair will outlast the rest of the carrier!
Credit to the uploader of this video; had he not done it I never would've even thought to use this method. This kind of stuff is what makes TH-cam worth it.
Great video for showing how to make and apply abs slurry. After the abs slurry dried, the coating would be fleixble or brittle. Thanks.
Once the slurry dried it basically became hard plastic again. It's definitely not brittle, and has only a very small amount of flex which I would say is much the same as an other ABS product. Obviously the more layers you use the thicker it gets overall making it more rigid and less flexible. The repair in the video was quite rigid once dried due to the overall thickness I made it. Hope this helps.
@@fortheloveofvideo6306 Great info. I will try it. Thanks again.
@@next1mpact not a problem, good luck with your repair 👍
thanks for sharing, very well done and informative. bonding the mesh in would add a lot of strength too.
This looks great I'm gonna try using this to reinforce a plastic inlet manifold on an engine for running boost!
Glad you liked it 👍. That's another application for this method I hadn't really thought of. Let us know how it turns out.
Awesome video, thanks! I'll try it on my motorcycle fairings.
I used the same ratio to mix up some slurry and applied it along with some carbon fiber cloth to fix some cracks in my ABS motorcycle plastics. It worked incredibly well and I think they're now stronger than original. It was hard to get the longer crack to bond, so after a few layers on the backside, I traced the crack with a super fine dremmel cutoff disc from the front to open it up, & filled it with slurry. Saved me over $800 in new plastics. Thanks again.
question : can a person make the slurry and store it in a jar on the shelf then do a few repairs with same slurry.or will it just harden or can a person just keep adding acitone as needed or does it need to be made every time a repair is needed . only asking becuse i have a few things i can do this with but never in the same week.
I use lacker thinner instead of acetone. It's sticks more and is better at breaking down the ABS, not say acetone is not good, just found is less effective.
Great video thanks for that. I have a roof spoiler I have just removed and found the underside has damaged so I will give this method a go and then bond the spoiler back on with VHB adhesive as all mounting points with the studs have deteriorated. 😀
The alu screen looks like a perfect sollution. Wondering if it is possible to make a whole fender.
I reckon it's possible, but getting the shape and finish just right could be hard.
You are a genius my friend. Thank-you for the fantastic idea!
That's way cool! And Acetone is very accessible unlike some other chemical another video mentioned.
mek methyl ethyl ketone or plumbers priming fluid which the later is available
Excellent man, great video with a great solution to a problem 👍
Finally some one has come up with a practical solution for ABS repairs
Great video. I think this technique could.also be used to repair cracks in ABS luggage 💡🧠
Thanks for the info - I used the technique to repair a golf flight case - one thing how do I get the slurry off my paint brush - a jar with acetone doesn’t seem to work 🤷🏽♂️
I used cheap brushes and simply discarded them once the job was complete as there was no way I could find to clean them back to a usable state. Between coats I was able to use acetone to soften the brushes up enough to use them again with the slurry.
Thank you for doing the homework on this shared project. Do you know if this slurry will adhere to metals?
If you encapsulate metal it works well, like a bolt head dipped in the slurry and let dry for example. Not sure how it would go if you just applied it to a flat metal surface though, I have never tested that. My suggestions is do a test piece, and probly a good idea to scuff up and clean metal first, especially if aluminium to remove oxidation and contaminants to give the best chance of adhesion.
This is really awesome, I'm looking to repair some old computer cases and reinforce some structurally weak spots BEFORE they break. If I can do that on the inside it should help reinforce it better. Is there anywhere you found a beige or white color though? or is it always black? I did a quick search and found some rod shaped ones in beige/natural color. Think it might work? They used cheap as hell ABS plastic back when they made these.
As long as it's 100% ABS it should work regardless of colour. I've found eBay a good place to find various sizes and colours of ABS.
Man I wish I knew about this when I was trying to repair the cracked dash in my 03 yukon but now I have a new awesome weapon to add to my arsenal!...thanks a million bro!...
Always good to have more useful things in the arsenal. Hope it comes in handy in the future 👍
@@fortheloveofvideo6306 rite on man!...30 plus years mechanic and always trying to learn new things!...you never know everything!...
@Big Chief Drink a Brew, from Yankton! thanks bro!
Great job...very well thought out and documented! and a money saver too..fantastic!
The most easy way of fixing i have cracks on my rrt and was hoping that someone had the same issue
Hope this video has been helpful. Let us know how your repairs go 👍
Thankfully I came across your video! I'm going to try this I was in a scooter 🛵 collision The guy hit me on the left side and part of my pannel/floorboard has a hole And I was so bummed and nothing really offered any real solutions other than to just deal with it!! But I don't want to be driving around exposed to rain or things I can get inside and damage the vehicle so this actually looks like a very viable and real fix! I was thinking of using screen tape and then ABS over top for patch
It worked!! Such a game changer then you so much
My comments seem to be superfluous to what others have said. So, I will just say 'thanks', I had no idea you could do this, and it's has got me out of a big bother.
Actually Stainless steel mesh adds a great amount of Strength & rigidity to the repair, if it's thick enough I weld in heated steel clip of if it's thin I use staples which I heat with a soldering iron and push into the plastic along the crack before putting on the top coat with SS Mesh you used.
Oh my GOD! This is literally the only real helpful video. I watched like 10 videos of ABS Slurry but most of them were for 3D printing which is not what I was looking for. Thank you so much for making this video. I do have 1 question, once you make this ABS Slurry, how long does it last shelf wise after you use it? Thank you very much for your helpful video. I have subscribed to your channel. 😁🙏
Really glad you found this helpful, that's why I make these videos! To answer your question, I've had some ABS slurry made up and stored in a glass jar for around 4 months now and it's still liquid. As long as the container you store it in has an airtight seal it seems to last a while.
Knew about acetone and thermocol aka polyesterene,never knew it could melt abs too. Thanks for sharing, you earned a sub
Thanks for the sub!
How long will it take for the plastic to melt. After about 30 minutes I don't see much change.
That's a great idea! Thank you for that
Damn, this is genius!!
Hi, I just want to thank you very much for your very insightful video on repairing the plastic cracks, what a great result. The one I have had major cracks on all corners and was a nightmare until I came across your information> I feel as though I owe you for all you did to come to a solution. The only thing I am now facing is I am unable to sit the top back on evenly! I get the front over the rail and its sitting correctly but then the back will not go over the rail. I have reversed the operation back first sits well but then the front becomes the issue, it will not go over the rail and sit correctly. ANY suggestion would be gratefully received! Once again a BIG thank you.
Hi Chris, really glad the video helped, it seems to be a common problem with these tents. With the fitment issue, I think I know what the problem is and may require the removal of some of the ABS at the bends where the plastic curves to become the sides of the roof of the tent, if that makes sense (its the curve in the thumbnail of the video). From memory, there wasnt much clearance on the inside of the bend, so if the plastic was built up too much it would make contact with the aluminium frame when trying to fit it, hence it wont push down at one end or the other. I'd use an electric sander or something similar (maybe even angle grinder with sanding flap disc but be VERY careful as it eats away VERY fast) to remove some of the built up plastic to give the clearance you need, just in the bend of the corner. Also, when u do get it on, make sure you use quality sealant (I used multipurpose sikaflex) to seal the bolt holes. Because water sits in these low areas where the bolts are, cheap sealant will eventually give way and water will get through when tent is packed up (trust me on this! lol).
If you did want to show your appreciation for the video you can buy me a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/LoveOfVideo as a thank you, it really helps me to make videos like this and supports the channel, these videos do take a bit of time to make. Let me know if you need anymore help. Cheers.
I will try this on a cracked laptop - the top has a crack near the hinge. The one thing I will do extra is drill a hole at each end of the crack as you would with any metal crack welding repair. I will use cable ties for the ABS slurry mix and some thin wire mesh from JayCar to give it further strength. Fingers crossed.
Good luck with the repair. An easy way to test if the laptop plastic is actually made of ABS is to rub a small amount of acetone on the plastic in an inconspicuous area and see if it starts to melt/soften. I've come across some plastics that look like ABS but once I do this test I discover that they aren't and this method with ABS slurry wouldn't work to repair them.
@@fortheloveofvideo6306 - Thx I'll give that a go first.
Awesome!! Ill be using this method to strengthen my cracking dash.
cool ,I have ABS bumper docks . One end leaks ,would you try this fix for a more heavy repair? this dock sees water 6 months then out 6 months winters as were in Canada ont cheers .
You could give it a go, you would really want to build up the layers though I think.
let u know I fared.@@fortheloveofvideo6306
Hey, I’m trying to customize a stock seat pan. It is a black plastics. I need to add some plastic to it to get the desired shape to the fender that I want. Then cover it with my leather. What do you suggest to use. I thought about using heat and plastic weld the same type of plastic and metal mesh to keep its shape so it matches and I can use staple gun with the leather. I have not tried this yet. There is fiberglass, but I don’t know how well fiberglass and this type of plastic play together. The other option is shaping a piece of wood to the desired shape. It will be easy to shape and I will be able to staple the leather to it. However, even though it will be hidden and covered by leather, I will know that it is there. I have pictures. I’m open to any suggestions because I don’t want to mess this up. I only have one. I was curious if I used the slurry and heat and glued on thicker pieces of plastic if it would hold and work???
All depends on what plastic the seat pan is made out of. I'd imagine it's probably either ABS or HDPE. To test if it's ABS you can get a cotton tip bud and dip in pure acetone and then rub on an inconspicuous spot on the seat pan. If it starts to get soft and you get black sludge on the cotton tip bud then it's ABS. If not then it will be a non-ABS plastic.
If it's HDPE you can use a heat gun to attach extra HDPE sheets to the seat (plenty of TH-cam videos on how to do this) and basically build up to desired thickness/shape, and then you can use an angle grinder with a flap disc to curve and shape it as desired. I recently did this on a kayak made of HDPE, flap disc worked a charm to get desired shape quickly, needed extra sanding to tidy up though. Or you could also use timber and shape with a flap disc if you did want to go the timber option. Good luck whatever you go with, and I would recommend practicing on something else before attempting the seat (speaking from experience 😅).
Fantastic review mate. Just wondering if how is the repaired part after a year. Did it crack again. I am thinking of using ur method to repair a crack roof pod. Also especially driving to corrogated roads did it crack again. Looking forward for ur response. Cheers
We actually sold the tent just a few months ago, but in the 8-9 months following the repair it remained as solid as ever, no signs of stress or further cracking. I'm very confident this repair would last a long time, especially when reinforced with mesh or similar. I've used this method to repair some other smaller items since, and have been very happy with the results. One thing to be aware of is not to paint coats on too thick, multiple thinner coats are definitely the way to go, just like in the video. I reckon this method would work well for roof pods/boxes, definitely recommend adding the mesh though.
How about using the ABS slurry in a 3mm tip spray gun and spray it in the finishing coats? What do you think?
Not sure, I think it would glug up too much even in a 3mm spray gun. And if you make it too thin/runny it doesn't set as strong. This stuff gets messy too, so being able to simply dispose of a paint brush afterwards makes clean up easy.
Thanks for posting this video - looks great! I have a similar problem with a trailer lid, but with very fine cracks. Your video shows the underside, did you treat the outer/upper side in the same way? I'd like to make the outer of my lid completely water proof and would ideally like it to look 'unrepaired' too... any advice?
Apply slurry as per video and then wet sand to a nice finish. I haven't tried wet sanding yet, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.
Well I first tried acetone which didn't dissolve at all and now trying MEK, its only been a few hours but not seeing any progress so far. I don't know what I am doing wrong but really need this to work!!
I suspect the plastic may not be ABS if you're not seeing any progress. I've had this happen previously, where the plastic looked very much like ABs but would not dissolve in acetone. You should see discolouring of the acetone within 30 seconds or so if the plastic is indeed ABS.
@@fortheloveofvideo6306 the first try I was pretty sure wasn't ABS but the second try came from the under fender and I am pretty sure is ABS but I bought an ABS Fitting from the hardware store so I will try that next.
Great idea, I have two moulded propylene trays in the basement in my fifth wheel RV that are cracking. I would like to try this method of repair, however what would prevent the slurry from softening the plastic I’m trying to repair?
I haven't tried acetone with propylene, so I'm not sure how it would react. You might find the ABS slurry doesn't actually stick to the propylene. You could test a small inconspicuous area of the propylene with acetone to see how it reacts, I have a strong suspicion that it doesn't react at all with propylene. My suggestion would be to find a repair method specific to propylene, such as plastic welding.
Maan.. This video got me nervously excited !! I Thank You Soo Much Sir .. For sharing.
Highly appreciated !!
Will give u a Like on this video for sure.