What type of plastic is a shroud? (The one used around a fan in front of a car radiator). Mine has a crack which I want to fix using some sort of epoxy or JB Weld, but some plastics can not be glued. I'm not sure how to determine what type of plastic this is????
it's almost impossible to find out without expensive tests. it could be almost anything.
What's lost w/ a little epoxy and see if it'll hold? Always can just try a small spot on the surface somewhere that's out of the way and see if it sticks or just pops off after dry.
Depending on the crack size/location if thought it really was or was going to be a problem I'd consider whether could use an exterior patch of thin sheet metal w/ a pop rivet or two or similar mechanical repair if the epoxy thing didn't work well...
Or, look carefully -- the shroud on several of my more recent vehicles has been two pieces, to upper of which, in particular is relatively simple to remove and possible not terribly difficult to find used replacement for not that much outlay...
It looks like HDPE
If it is, epoxy is not going to work. I'd drill the crack to stop it and use a mechanical fix as dbp described. Put a blob of different glues and see if any stick to it.
First step would be to contact the manufacturer. As for a fix, I would be reluctant to rely on an adhesive alone, preferring instead to use fasteners to attach a piece of sheet metal along (and beyond) the crack. For a more permanent and solid repair, you could sandwich your adhesive between the patch and the shroud for extra strength.
BTW, you can always test an adhesive by putting a dab on the material and coming back after a few days to see how easily it scrapes off. I would start with something like a PVC cement or E6000 and go from there. Epoxy can be brittle, and might not be the best thing for a shroud that is subject to vibration and flexing.
Jon
I don't think that adhesives work well on HDPE but Hazard Fraught sells a plastic welding kit that might work...
nate
Crazy glue works on a lot of plastics, at least in my experience. That's what I would try.
snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
For some reason I'm not seeing the original post in this thread.
Automotive plastics like fan shrouds are often ABS. Sometimes it says so somewhere on the part..
I'd suspect ABS too and even PVC pipe cement might work.
HDPE essentially can't be glued.
Mancave:
Fixing your old shroud is as much work as replacing it with another used shroud.
I'd phone whatever company sells your kind of car locally and ask to speak to their Parts department. They will tell you what model years the manufacturer used that particular shroud, and how you can tell the model year from the car's serial number.. Then, just go check your local auto wrecking yards and see if you can find an identical shroud.
My experience here in Winnipeg is that a fan shroud for a car would probably cost $20 to $30 at an auto wrecker.
Most plastic parts now have a code or molded in letters spelling out what type of plastic was used in its manufacture to facilitate recycling. It's even on milk jugs. I suppose the OP can find the label that can show what type of plastic it is then look it up online. ^_^
TDD
Wouldn't it be simpler if the OP just used duck tape? He can use gorilla tape if it's on a big, heavy vehicle.
The drill stress relief hole is a good addendum, thanks...
I thought gorilla tape was only used to fix gorillas? O_o
TDD
I decided it was HDPE, for what that's worth.
Our Cavalier was in a fender-bender a couple of years ago. It had signicant splits in the inner fender (aka splash shield), air intake duct, and window washer bottle, etc. Glue did nothing. Instead, I 'welded' them with a soldering iron. I just grooved the joints with the iron, and then 'swirled' the adjacent material to fill it over. We kept the car another 2 years, and these held up.
I've used that technique on other plastics. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But, it seemed good on the car. Try googling
G
I used that fiberglass and resin kit stuff form the autoparts store on one and it worked great, then painted it black.
Don't use JB Weld or other epoxies; they don't work well except on polyester. Even super glue doesn't work, but worse it can prevent the right glue from working. A lot of plastic car parts are marked HDPE, UHMWPE, ABS, PVC, PC, PP, or ABS + PC. I'm guessing the radiator shroud is HDPE or ABS.
Apply some lacquer thinner or carburetor/throttle body spray, and if the plastic dissolves its ABS, PVC, PC or a blend of those two. ABS and PVC glue really well, but with PC you have only one shot because the plastic changes to something that can't be glued.
Plastics that don't dissolve usually have to be welded back together with a soldering iron or wood burning iron (has nonstick tip) and a scrap of the same material. PC dissolves but is usually better fixed by welding it. HDPE doesn't weld as well as PC or nylon, so you may have to melt some metal screen into the cracked area with a heat gun. Look into Kayak repair because Kayaks are made of HDPE.
Go to a craft store or order online better yet if you have a ww grainger buy some plastic welding rods. You can get them from Walmart online. You should get a batch of different plastics pe pp abs pvc nylon etc. Get a soldering iron. Buy a kit at harbor freight. Or a good one with a feeding tube in the heating element. Pay no attention to the instructions. It will tell you not to melt the base material. If you don't whatever you stick to it will fall off. Look for recycle instructions. If it's newer it will prob say what plastic it is. Most likely it's pp or abs. If it's a place where it could easily get damaged take some steel screen and lay it on the break. Take your soldering iron or welder and melt the plastic through the screen until it is embedded well into the plastic then take the proper plastic rod and melt it over the screen and make sure it's fusing with the base material. If not try a different rod. There are some flat ones that come with harbor freight cheap kit that work pretty well with several plastics. Pe and pp are the two toughest plastics to glue. Most super glues won't do it. Locktite has a two part glue with an activator that works very well on pe and pp. Jb has a uv light glue that I've had good results with. But welding is the best. It takes a but of practice to get used to how the diff plastics react.
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