Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
With thanks to bluestoesonnose who passed onto me some crashed and damaged fairings and tail from his collection of panels.
The right fairing had been down the road witth deep scaring and a crack at the indicator hole. The tail until was also cracked, scared and had holes drilled for mounting indicators. Both tail and rt fairing hasd been painted with go faster hammerite black stripey sections. Missing from the before pics is a perfect condition left fairing apart from a screen strut which had snapped cleanly off that he kindly threw in.
Thought I'd give the Plastex plastic repair system a go - ebay £18 -- and got playing with resin powder and lquid activator liquid after prepping the damaged areas with a compressed air powered die grinder and smaller drremel for fiddly areas to remove surrounding paint and expose raw abs plastic for a good key to the repairs Used the moulding bar in the Plastex kit to replicate a missing tail tab, and incorporated some fine glass fibre matt for added strength. Did the same as reinforcement to where the plastic had cracked and as a bridge on areas which were damaged and gapped.
The advatages of Plastex is that is cures much more quickly than epoxy resin, so it can be ground down in an hour or two and then flexible bumper filler can be used to fill the outside and be sanded with wet&dry - a sanding block is important to ensure a flat finish. Some plastic primer spray is then applied to show any imperfections which need further filling, or a spray with some high-build primer. The broken left fairing is as strong as new and just needs in warmer weather finishing with a final coat and lacquering.
The right fairing had been down the road witth deep scaring and a crack at the indicator hole. The tail until was also cracked, scared and had holes drilled for mounting indicators. Both tail and rt fairing hasd been painted with go faster hammerite black stripey sections. Missing from the before pics is a perfect condition left fairing apart from a screen strut which had snapped cleanly off that he kindly threw in.
Thought I'd give the Plastex plastic repair system a go - ebay £18 -- and got playing with resin powder and lquid activator liquid after prepping the damaged areas with a compressed air powered die grinder and smaller drremel for fiddly areas to remove surrounding paint and expose raw abs plastic for a good key to the repairs Used the moulding bar in the Plastex kit to replicate a missing tail tab, and incorporated some fine glass fibre matt for added strength. Did the same as reinforcement to where the plastic had cracked and as a bridge on areas which were damaged and gapped.
The advatages of Plastex is that is cures much more quickly than epoxy resin, so it can be ground down in an hour or two and then flexible bumper filler can be used to fill the outside and be sanded with wet&dry - a sanding block is important to ensure a flat finish. Some plastic primer spray is then applied to show any imperfections which need further filling, or a spray with some high-build primer. The broken left fairing is as strong as new and just needs in warmer weather finishing with a final coat and lacquering.
Last edited by Wicky on Tue Dec 29, 2020 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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VTR Firestorm and other bikes t-shirts
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Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
Great work mate, wish i had the skills with body work like some of the boys on here
I would need showing how to do something first hand before i feel i can confidently tackle it my self
I would need showing how to do something first hand before i feel i can confidently tackle it my self
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- bluestoesonnose
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Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
Absolutely awesome, never thought they could look so good, very well done
BTW I thought they were only fit for the scrap bin
BTW I thought they were only fit for the scrap bin
Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
Who's a clever Essex boy then?
Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero
F3, 954 USD front, K Tech springs, Braced swinger, Penske shock, Six spoke Mockesini wheels, Harris rearsets, QaT, Flywheel diet!, A&L stacks, stick coils, K&N, FP Ti jets, lashings of Ti & CF
F3, 954 USD front, K Tech springs, Braced swinger, Penske shock, Six spoke Mockesini wheels, Harris rearsets, QaT, Flywheel diet!, A&L stacks, stick coils, K&N, FP Ti jets, lashings of Ti & CF
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Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
I rate plastex very highly .
I've used it many times .
My rhs fairing came in two bits .
I used carpet tape to hold them in place from the painted side . Then cut the inside into a v shape . Then used plastex to join them together .
It bonds fast and is easily sand able for a smooth finish . Now I've had it painted you wouldn't know it was a cut and shut job .
I've used it many times .
My rhs fairing came in two bits .
I used carpet tape to hold them in place from the painted side . Then cut the inside into a v shape . Then used plastex to join them together .
It bonds fast and is easily sand able for a smooth finish . Now I've had it painted you wouldn't know it was a cut and shut job .
Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
I've never tried plastex, a bit pricey considering a can of Ipson P40 is half the price. I always use p40 for large holes and then P38 for the fine stuff and any large holes that need bridging I use wire mesh which is then filled over.
Youv'e made a good start there wicky. I take it the final colour will be Red.
(:-})
Youv'e made a good start there wicky. I take it the final colour will be Red.
(:-})
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- bluestoesonnose
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Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
Perhaps it me, but the mess (I tend to make) using P40, P38, mesh, etc put against the job with this other stuff seems to be worth it. And lets face it who wants to see mesh and the like on the inside of their body work?
Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
Yep dust is a bit messy and the downside to bodyfilling, but there is no more dust than using isopon bumper fill or any other body filler that need rubbing back to smooth over. Dust can always be limited by using wet n dry with a bucket of soapy water if one wants to keep the dust to a minimum. Not as effective as straight scratch though. And if you have a big enough hole then ether mesh or something else has to be used to bridge the gap as the filler wont stick to thin air. And can always be removed when the filler has started to go off and has enough strength to hold it's own, or be skimmed over.
(:-})
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Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
You're lucky it didn't sh1t itself.Wicky wrote:
The right fairing had been down the road with deep scaring
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
Pure gold as always Tony loltony.mon wrote:You're lucky it didn't sh1t itself.Wicky wrote:
The right fairing had been down the road with deep scaring
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Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
Try mixing the two together. This gives you the added strenght of the fibreglass yet the rubbing down of your filler. Kills 2 birds with 1 stone so to speak.cybercarl wrote:I've never tried plastex, a bit pricey considering a can of Ipson P40 is half the price. I always use p40 for large holes and then P38 for the fine stuff and any large holes that need bridging I use wire mesh which is then filled over.
(:-})
Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
That sounds like a top tip I have some repair work to do on my fairing lower at the rear where it goes narrow it snapped when I caught my boot on the lower. So I will give that a go as that is a particular that does need strengthening. Does a 50/50 mix work out OK?
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Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
Mmmmmmm stoned birds......pariah wrote:. Kills 2 birds with 1 stone so to speak.
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
The more glass you put in makes it stronger but does take longer to dry so add more hardner. Use a heat gun / hair dryer to set it going off quicker in this weather . Make sure you leave enough room for a scim of top filler to ultra smooth though.
Re: Plastic repair & prep on fairings with pics
Good post Wicky and a good job
Chris.
Chris.