Plastic splitter repair

[grim_d]

The front splitter on my legacy was eaten by the road last night and has suffered substantial damage.

A genuine replacement is around £750 by the time it gets here.

So I'm planning to repair it, it's made of polypropylene which makes things tricky.

I've ordered some PP welding rods to repair the structure and my plan is to skim the damage with a flexible filler then use one of the "plasti-dip" type products so that it can easily be redone when it gets more road rash.

I'm looking to the knowledge of the masses for recommendations of a good flexible plastic filler that can both stick to PP and will be tolerant of the flexing of the item, and brand of plastic coating, the internet is awash with various brands.

 

[pedrobedro]

We repaired one with resin and mat then filled it and painted it. It was an Irmscher for a Vauxhall and it looked spot on when done and painted

 

[hotponyshoes]

Plastic staples

 

[Screwdriver]

Yeah. Hot staples and welding is the best fix. Careful sanding will give a decent finish, not found anything that will stick to PP. A large glassfibre repair will stay on but it needs to be strongly keyed to the surface it doesn't really adhere to it.

 

[grim_d]

Plastic staples

Yeah. Hot staples and welding is the best fix. Careful sanding will give a decent finish, not found anything that will stick to PP. A large glassfibre repair will stay on but it needs to be strongly keyed to the surface it doesn't really adhere to it.

Didn't know that was a thing!

I've bought a cheapo hot stapler, between that, filling with rods, some careful sanding and some liquid vinyl I think I might just get away with a repair!

 

[Screwdriver]

Didn't know that was a thing!

I've bought a cheapo hot stapler, between that, filling with rods, some careful sanding and some liquid vinyl I think I might just get away with a repair!

They work great, you want a decent selection of types, mostly straight or right angle. Don't forget to twist slightly after you'v buried the head. That will probably only make sense after you've had a bit of practice. I use hot staples for bike fairing repairs, you can fix plastics even if they have shattered into a dozen pieces. I also hot air weld but the staples provide all the strength.

 

[ajlelectronics]

We repaired one with resin and mat then filled it and painted it. It was an Irmscher for a Vauxhall and it looked spot on when done and painted

The key (pardon the pun) is to use epoxy resin rather than polyester resin. You can buy a kit from West Systems to do plastic repairs like that.

 

[PhillipM]

PP is a swine to get anything to stick to long term, even epoxy. Might be okay for filler but expect it to pop off if it flexes the next time it's hit.

 

[grim_d]

PP is a swine to get anything to stick to long term, even epoxy. Might be okay for filler but expect it to pop off if it flexes the next time it's hit.

My hope is that I can get it smooth enough with PP filler rods and sanding. Plasti dip by its nature doesn't adhere to it's substrate so should be ok!