The plastic waste bucket under the shute from my sink unit has some splits ,cracks and the odd bit broken off.
The oblong bucket was designed to fit in slides beneath the sink and is almost certainly a one off design to fit the unit. I don't think I could either get a new one or find anything similar to fit the slides.
So I would like to repair it .
My first thought is fibre glass using mat to strengthen the edges and resin to block the small holes/cracks
my question is are there different types and will it stick to plastic ?
Depending on the type of plastic it is sometimes possible to carry out a welded repair using a soldering iron and shavings/fragments of plastic removed from other parts of the object. I have done it quite a few times particularly with trims on cars were it was inconvenient or expensive to replace them. Suitable fabric could also be used to reinforce the outside by sticking it on with layers of laquer, paint, or adhesive...
Fibre glass may work very well for all I know and if I had some to hand that is probably what I'd use if it didn't lend itself to a welded repair.
Come to that you could possibly use the tray as a mould to make an entirely new one with fibreglass, perhaps even taking the intermediate step of creating a seperate mould with PU foam???
I would be inclined to do a mechanical repair first, by drilling some very small holes either side of each crack and using wire 'stitches'. Then spread some Stixall over the repair. That adheres to and seals most materials.
With splits, cracks, and bits broken off it seems the plastic has probably gone brittle. IMO repairs under such circumstances would be a complete waste of time.
GRP resin won't stick to plastics such as polyethylene - many hobby moulds for resin craft are made from it for that very reason.
In answer to your second question most layups are done with polyester resin. For extra strength on critical applications its also possible to lay-up with epoxy resin which is a lot more expensive.
The best course is to use the existing bucket as a mould.
You could use it as a female mould, draping the glass cloth inside or as a male mould draping the glass on the outside.
The latter is probably preferable as with female moulds resin can puddle at the bottom of the mould and with small shapes the insides are hard to work satisfactorily.
Drape some newspaper over the bucket to work out how much glass cloth you'll need. Two layers of light cloth should do it.
Paint on one layer of resin, and let it dry.
Paint on a second layer of resin lay the cloth on top and stipple it with a brush or roller till its soaked through with resin. Adding more resin as necessary.
When tacky repeat with a second coat. Then allow to dry.
The cloth doesn't have to go on in one piece. GRP hand layup is a pretty forgiving technology for non critical applications. Just so long as you've got one layer of resin impregnated cloth over the whole surface. Whether you want to leave the bucket in place is up to you.
The only problem is that GRP needs a minimum temp to cure which in this weather may mean making it indoors or in the garage. If you're used to it the smell isn't a problem. Before elfin safety kicked in people were breathing the fumes in for decades without masks and without too many problems. Allegedly.
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