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Plastic Welding

Gilk51

2
Joined
Jan 14, 2005
Messages
17,300
Reaction score
26
Location
Arlington, Texas
First Name
Charles ("Chuck")
Last Name
Gibke
The frame fixer, Kent, looked at Sam's GSXR's rear cowl & noticed it has one tab broken off - he recommended somewho who "welds plastic" - & that it was fixable.

On another forum, someone mentioned Harbor Freight's plastic welder on sale - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41592

Looks like it welds plastic just like you would weld metal - using plastic "rods".

Anyone ever tried this? How tricky is it? How well does it work?

Or anyone know of someone who does this regularly (shop or individual)?

We need the rear cowl and a crack in the right cowling fixed. We will probably need a new front cowling and a new left one.

Any advice appreciated...
 
Squeaky said something about welding plastic some time back I think, I have a couple tabs on my KTM that need it too.
 
Joe's Bikes and Boards
NW Houston

Joe does plastic welding. I'm too lazy and sleepy to look it up right now but there should be a post on him.
 
Chuck save your money, the welder that they have does not make enough heat to do the job right, the welding rod that they sell is also garbage. You need to get on of the hot foot set ups that work like a soldering iron, I have bought one from Harbor Freight a few years ago thinking they might work and if I charged you just what you what it cost to ship it to you I would be taking advantage of you. you are welcome to it if you would like..Bob


Gilk51 said:
The frame fixer, Kent, looked at Sam's GSXR's rear cowl & noticed it has one tab broken off - he recommended somewho who "welds plastic" - & that it was fixable.

On another forum, someone mentioned Harbor Freight's plastic welder on sale - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41592

Looks like it welds plastic just like you would weld metal - using plastic "rods".

Anyone ever tried this? How tricky is it? How well does it work?

Or anyone know of someone who does this regularly (shop or individual)?

We need the rear cowl and a crack in the right cowling fixed. We will probably need a new front cowling and a new left one.

Any advice appreciated...
 
Bob,
Do you know a good place to get a good plastic welder at a decent price? I have a friend with one, but would maybe like one of my own.
Thanks,
Vaughn
 
plasticweld hath proclaimed:
Chuck save your money

OK - I was looking at your site & noticed that you are in NY. I may want to get you to do some of this stuff for us - I really would like it done by someone who knows what they are doing (rather than botch it myself).

I'll take this offline - I need to get some pictures & we'll talk. :-D

What are you doing on a Texas forum anyway? :-P
 
LOL, yeah, scary!

Should I just run my inquiry through Sales@EmpireGP.com?
That is what the web site has.

I like his signature (last line)!
 
Another option to a plastic welder is using ABS glue which is available at almost any plumbing supply shop. Make sure you get a glue that is just for ABS plastic though. The ABS/PVC/whatever type of glue doesn't work well.

I have the Harbor Freight plastic welder and never could get it to work properly. Save your money and purchase a good one instead. Anyone want to purchase a plastic welder! :-D

Carl
 
http://urethanesupply.com/ you can go here to get a welder, DO NOT buy the kit they sell buy the replacement element 6003HT and part number 6027 for a tip, wire it direct and skip there adjustable control panel, staight current works best, this will cost you about $60 Their welding rod is also junk go to MSC industrial supply "you will have to google them to get a web site" and get their ABS rod, it is half the price and twice the quality.

To be honest there is a lot to welding plastic if you are going to do it right, it is no different than stick welding metal with a electric arc welder, You can buy one at Sears, it doesn't make you a welder.. Anyone can learn how to do it, there are a bunch of simple things that mean the difference between it lasting and it cracking, Plastic is in many ways just like glass, there may be nothing wrong with the glass next to that big chip from that rock on the highway, it does not mean that the glass is in poor shape because it cracks from one edge of the window to the other. Making a repair in plastic is very similiar, you have to prevent one from ever starting on it just grows with the flex of the plastic from the wind of riding down the road. If you really want to do this I would talk you through it over the phone if you like, and are willing to do a bunch of plastic practice parts before you tackle your bike, if you worked in my shop it would take you a few months of doing it every day to become competent, a year to fix the tough ones.

The cost to have us repair your parts is pretty cheap, we can repair and put the part into primer for you so that it is ready to paint, we do this for other body shops around the country and for others who would like to paint their bike themselves, Send me some info at Sales@EmpireGP.com and I will give you prices for what you want done

What am I doing on a Texas Forum

" TexasT" posted a link to our site, I keep browser records of every hit that comes to our site, I can tell were you came from, if you used a search engine to get there what words you typed in and even any mispellings you used to find us. I know what pages you looked at and how long you spent on our site.

Texas T has posted nice things about us a couple of times, it does not escape my notice or my favor when he finds a bike and wants me to do any work, he will recieve the friends and family price, I dont' always post something up when I see a link to us or some even commenting about us. When I saw that you were actually thinking of buying the welder from Harbor Frieght I figured I better speak up so you didn't lose and money.

I also belong to about 45 sport bike web sites with forums, I often check them for people looking for parts, or if they have questions about painting or repair. I help just about anyone and have always found it good for business. Over the years this has gone from trying to convince people that it could even be done to something now considered when a rider goes down. I got in this business out of desperation, you can read about it on my web site in the About Us Section of the site. I figure anyone asking questions is only in the same spot I was 6 years ago


Gilk51 said:
plasticweld hath proclaimed:
Chuck save your money

OK - I was looking at your site & noticed that you are in NY. I may want to get you to do some of this stuff for us - I really would like it done by someone who knows what they are doing (rather than botch it myself).

I'll take this offline - I need to get some pictures & we'll talk. :-D

What are you doing on a Texas forum anyway? :-P
 
1. I met Bob through email when I asked some ( A BUNCH OF ) questions about reparing a lot of plastic on a damaged bike for sale on eBAY. The quality of his response even though I didn't wind up buying that bike is what convinced me that he was "good people" even if he does live up there in that "part of the country". :-)

2. This response on TWT only solidifies my intent to do business with him in the event I need it in the future.

3. I like dealing with smart business people, and especially those who are web-savvy enough to use their logs to their marketing advantage (even on a holiday weekend).

4. As to his sig line, check out some of the "squid" videos he hosts on his site. By the way Bob, a couple of the videos are duplicated. I think Double Yellow comes up when you try to get the very first one on the list.

5. Bob, thanks for the discount offer. That is very kind of you.

6. I want to remove the Kawasaki emblems from the sides of my tank when the bike arrives. I understand that some dental floss used in a sawing motion between the emblem and the tank will work, and then some Goo-Gone will clean up the adhesive. But I'm thinking of moving the emblem to the bodywork somewhere. What adhesive should I get to keep them in place once I move them?
 
(even on a holiday weekend)

Huh? Not for me... :-(

Well, I have a job I want him to estimate - I'll try to get everything together tonight. Sounds like the safest bet.

Here is the condition of our GSXR parts (4 plastic pieces):

front cowl - damaged, cracked, pieces missing - will get a new one.
http://www.texasarlingtoncs.us/pics/gsxr/fairing/frontcowl_rightside0682.jpg

right side - cracked - looks like it could be set in place & reinforced from the back - it is big & I am afraid to ship it - will do the repair.
http://www.texasarlingtoncs.us/pics/gsxr/fairing/right_crack0692.jpg

left side - in 3 pieces - horribly scratched - took the brunt of the sliding.
http://www.texasarlingtoncs.us/pics/gsxr/fairing/left_piece_0693.jpg
http://www.texasarlingtoncs.us/pics/gsxr/fairing/left_piece0695.jpg

rear cowl - scratched, one tab broken off - this is the one I think I want good ole Bob to do.
http://www.texasarlingtoncs.us/pics/gsxr/fairing/rear_tab_gone0689.jpg
http://www.texasarlingtoncs.us/pics/gsxr/fairing/rear_scuffed0691.jpg

In the process of taking & cropping pics...
(added links to pics - they are big, tho)
 
I would also use some heat to soften up the double sided tape that holds in on, your method is correct.. I would go to a store that sells auto paint supplies and get some more of the double sided tape, it seems to work best, heat up the area and the tape before applying..bob

Texas T said:
1.

6. I want to remove the Kawasaki emblems from the sides of my tank when the bike arrives. I understand that some dental floss used in a sawing motion between the emblem and the tank will work, and then some Goo-Gone will clean up the adhesive. But I'm thinking of moving the emblem to the bodywork somewhere. What adhesive should I get to keep them in place once I move them?
 
Greeves TFS said:
Joe's Bikes and Boards
NW Houston

Joe does plastic welding. I'm too lazy and sleepy to look it up right now but there should be a post on him.
Bump for Joe...

Joe's Bikes & Boards
12710 McSwain
Cypress, TX 77429
281-320-2767
 
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