Plastic and tab repair with PLASTEX.

General forum on fairings, seats, tanks, tail sections, painting and other bodywork modifications

Moderator: rztom

Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
pstamper
- - - - -
- - - - -
Posts: 1743
Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 8:56 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Plastic and tab repair with PLASTEX.

#1 Post by pstamper » Sun Apr 17, 2016 5:02 pm

Shown this before but for those new to forum great product to use.. I know there are other methods to repair plastic but the Plastex Repair Kit is the best and easiest to work with for me. Every tab was broke on the side panels and the belly pan was damaged similar to my other bodywork with a low side on the right. The kit comes with a silicone type mold bar that is heated and shaped to fit a good part. You secure the mold to the panel needing repaired and you fill up with the material. Product is workable in 15 minutes if you want. The clutch patch took a little extra work due to the panel I used for the mold was from another bike. A heat gun and a little work and fits great. I am going to patch one hole on belly pan and be sure the new one lines up well for a good fit. Here are some shots before sending it for paint. Hope painter does decent job. It is going to be for track bike bodywork. Tired of the carbon fiber grey.

MID PANEL LOWER TAB BEFORE
Image

BELLY PAN MISSING PLASTIC FROM LOWSIDE
Image

Image

Image

THIS IS THE MOLD BAR AFTER HEATING AND FITTING TO OTHER PANEL
Image

MID PANEL REPAIR
Image

LOWER FRONT SIDE PANEL TAB REPAIR

Image

BELLY PAN PATCH AND IT DOES FIT BETTER THAN PICTURE SHOWS. ZIP TIES SECURING IT
Image

Image

Image

silverstrom
- - - - -
- - - - -
Posts: 3236
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2012 7:36 am

Re: Plastic and tab repair with PLASTEX.

#2 Post by silverstrom » Sun Apr 17, 2016 5:53 pm

Not to cast doubt on the perceived wonders of Plastex, but as an alternative for those that cannot afford it or cannot get it, you can do the same yourself with ABS plastic and acetone. Combine the 2 in a small glass jar to form an ABS paste, or file/shave the ABS plastic to get a coarse powder and then drip acetone on it, which is what you get when you buy the Plastex kits. I have repaired dozens of fairings and panels and I only use acetone and ABS. I just restored 3 full sets of TZR bodywork. The TZR plastic I just did required corner pieces up to 12 sq inches to be fabricated and using the paste it was easily done. I use heavy (aircraft use) aluminum tape as a backer and to create moulds, corners, etc. The cost for these repairs is pennies per use.

To repair cracks in your plastic you simply cover the outside with heavy foil tape and drip straight acetone into the crack from the inside. Let it sit overnight and the next day you have a permanent repair. The acetone fuses the crack solid.

To repair holes you cover the outside with heavy foil tape, but this time apply more foil tape to the exposed area so that you have the shiny exterior of the tape visible through the hole as viewed from inside of the panel or fairing. Now apply the ABS/acetone paste to fill the hole. Let cure and you have a permanent repair. I buy ABS welding rods in white, red, black, and blue. They just happen to all match the Yamaha colours perfectly. I cut them into small pieces and use them to make the paste. Cheap and plentiful online.

I use small glass jars, such as baby food jars, to make the paste. Anything with a tight fitting lid. Once you're finished with it put it on the shelf until you need it again. The acetone will evaporate over time, so just add more and you now have that paste back and ready to use. Add ABS and acetone as needed and you can carry on with that jar forever. It couldn't be easier or cheaper.

User avatar
pstamper
- - - - -
- - - - -
Posts: 1743
Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 8:56 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Plastic and tab repair with PLASTEX.

#3 Post by pstamper » Sun Apr 17, 2016 9:02 pm

When I run out of the kit that is what I will try. Hopefully nothing will need repaired for a while.

silverstrom
- - - - -
- - - - -
Posts: 3236
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2012 7:36 am

Re: Plastic and tab repair with PLASTEX.

#4 Post by silverstrom » Sun Apr 17, 2016 9:55 pm

I should write a how-to with video and/or photos and provide links to the ABS rods. It really is easy to do and the results are impressive, even with large repairs. I've just finished the TZR plastic and will start on RZ plastic as soon as I'm caught up here. When that happens I'll do a play-by-play and post it.

Vin
- - - - -
- - - - -
Posts: 925
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:16 pm
Location: Cheltenham, UK
Contact:

Re: Plastic and tab repair with PLASTEX.

#5 Post by Vin » Mon Apr 18, 2016 2:26 am

Great job pstamper :smt023

I have used Plastex several times with good results but I would love to see that write up John for future repairs :cool:

rd84
- - - - -
- - - - -
Posts: 1618
Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2005 7:12 am
Location: Leicestershire, UK

Re: Plastic and tab repair with PLASTEX.

#6 Post by rd84 » Mon Apr 18, 2016 8:49 am

Thanks to the above guys for taking the trouble to share techniques for panel repairs - sounds a really good way of doing it.

Cheers
Paul

MK
Posts: 487
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:54 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Plastic and tab repair with PLASTEX.

#7 Post by MK » Mon Apr 18, 2016 1:39 pm

I don't know the price of the above featured kit, but on the German RD Forum you can find this manual featuring a TDR250 panel repair:
http://forum.rd350lc.de/viewtopic.php?t ... =technovit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It's using Technovit, a polymer resin for claw treatment for cows, sheep and similar.
An appropriate kit is around 20-30 Euro.
Bye
Martin

User avatar
ixe13
- - - - -
- - - - -
Posts: 373
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2010 2:51 am
Location: Quebec city Canada

Re: Plastic and tab repair with PLASTEX.

#8 Post by ixe13 » Mon Apr 18, 2016 3:11 pm

https://www.polyvance.com/_pdf/thebook.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Post Reply