Mother-in-law did a little damage to her brand new Subaru Legacy's bumper. I've got everything sorted except for a torn fog light mounting tab, integrated into the inside of the bumper:
I assume the plastic is polypropylene. Internet seems to say I'll have to weld it, because adhesives/epoxies don't work well.
Is this true? I'm not against going at it with a soldering iron but it'd be easier if there's an adhesive that works well.
Does such a goop exist?
This is the one I am aware of:
DS6218_Fusor152-153.pdf (lord.com)
But it requires an applicator gun and the cost of the cartridge and gun would probably be more than desired for a repair that small.
I would personally weld it, maybe melt in some stainless mesh for strength.
I have become a huge fan of the hot stapler since I started using one at work last year. Works with any thermoplastic and does a good job of even bonding dissimilar materials. I just fixed this headlight bracket on my Saab this weekend.
The cartridge/gun looks great but more than I'm wanting to invest in.
Coincidentally, I have a spare headlight for my silver Saab that has exactly the same break. And today I learned there's such a thing as a hot stapler. This may be the ticket. Thanks.
Tom Suddard recently posted this. Seems applicable...
"I worked at a body shop in high school, and one of our regulars was a local buy here pay here lot. His jobs always came with strict orders to do everything as poorly/cheaply as possible.
One time I was tasked with installing a new headlight in a Civic that looked almost exactly like your P71. And the work order said something to the effect of "grab a few of those quick-knead epoxy tubes, make epoxy balls, and use them to replace all of the missing headlight mounting tabs.
So I made a few balls, pressed them where the mounts should have been, and then stuck the headlight into the car like I was assembling a Mr. Potato Head.
Somehow it worked perfectly. I would never do it on something I liked, but maybe worth a shot here?"
Ok this made me remember one of the most jank repairs I did a couple times. I took a piece of copper wire and bent it in a zig zag pattern the bent the two ends up. Attached them to jumper cables and squeezed them tight while pressing down on the crack in the plastic. A friend connected the other end to a battery while I pressed down melting the zig zag copper wire in to the plastic over the crack. I think I did three. My friend would disconnect the battery on command. Yes it got hot. Yes you need HD jumper cables yes you can damage your self but it worked. Cut off wires sanded and covered with a two part plastic bonding agent then sanded and painted.
I did some more poking around and saw a DIY version of the battery-cables-and-wire method, but the power source was a microwave oven transformer. Also saw a method where you press a paperclip into the plastic with a soldering iron.
I think the easiest approach for me is what EvanB noted: welding and mesh. To keep it GRM, I'll get stainless mesh from a strainer at Goodwill, which will likely cost a couple dollars.
In reply to dean1484 :
Hmmm, that gives me an idea...
Take your mig welder, spool out however much wire you need, bend some zig zags in it, disconnect the drive roll and attach your ground clamp to the end of the wire. Pull the trigger and melt it right in. You might even be able to turn the heat up or down as needed!
Filling that one away in the brain bank for later. Thanks!
Forgot to mention that a friend tried this with a higher amp battery thicker copper wire and lighter jumper cables and melted all the insulation off the jumper cables. I may have got lucky and stumbled on the combo that worked.
TheRyGuy said:In reply to dean1484 :
Hmmm, that gives me an idea...
Take your mig welder, spool out however much wire you need, bend some zig zags in it, disconnect the drive roll and attach your ground clamp to the end of the wire. Pull the trigger and melt it right in. You might even be able to turn the heat up or down as needed!
Filling that one away in the brain bank for later. Thanks!
That actually sounds like a really good idea.
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