Glueing a broken plastic refrigerator shelf

My wife put 2 cartons of milk on the same shelf and that proved to be too much weight for it and both back corners snapped off in almost identical pieces. I've never had success gluing two pieces of plastic together to support weight but I'd like to try something different and see if it works. I'm going to take my Dremel and drill about 6 holes in each side of the pieces to be joined. Then I'm going to insert pieces of a paper clip into each hole to act as reinforcement for the glue to adhere to much in the same way rebar works in cement. Has anyone had any success with this? I'm thinking if nothing else it will increase the surface area of the connection. Any hints on making it work better? I'm going to use Gorilla Glue to join the pieces because it will expand into the holes

Reply to
Joe
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Different product (soap dish) I cemented paper clips under and across the broken pieces. I used Phenoseal ( great adhesive caulking) to put all the parts together. It's been a few years without failure. MLD

Reply to
MLD

I'd suggest a 2 part epoxy glue. Gorilla glue is great on porous materials but doesn't stick to plastic, that's why you can pull off the cap even when its coated with dried glue.

Reply to
Jeff

You have no chance of succeeding without analysis of the species of plastic and what will bond to it. Few plastics admit a glue bond anything close to the strength of the original material (which, after all, itself failed), so your quest is quite futile. The notion of pinning is misconceived.

Polyurethane glue such as the overhyped brand you mention has its applications, but this isn't one of them, and you shouldn't be suckered by the phony labeling into thinking it is.

Glues and stuff to pour into your car are sold as easy miracles to solve hopeless problems. It's best to learn that not every claim on the retail shelf is credible, despite your natural credulity. Save your child's wonder for the toy store, and develop your aging cynicism for $10 bottles of stickum.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

"MLD" wrote in news:Nb1Wi.2576$mv.609@trndny08:

I had a plastic clamp for a clip-on fan break,and I used epoxy and popsicle sticks to reinforce it;you have to let the epoxy cure for a week or two before putting it under stress,to get it's full strength. The clamp has a very strong spring,and it's held up for about two years now. I used RAKA boat building epoxy and fumed silica thickener. I tried J- B Weld before that,but it didn't hold up very long.It seems to be a softer epoxy. System Three or West System epoxy would do just as well as the RAKA.

The popsicle sticks are stiff and give more strength than a paper clip will,and epoxy bonds to it better.

Polyurethane glues are crap.(Gorilla Glue)They also foam up,expand and make a mess.For wood,I guess they are OK.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

You need to test a few spots to see what will hold. I love to use crazy glue (Cyanoacrylate Adhesives) but it only works on certain plastics and basically solvent welds them together. In some cases it's stronger than the original bond.

Reply to
HotRdd

Buy a replacement shelf. Really.

Reply to
salty

That's weird, I was doing some reading last night and it was recommended to stay away from epoxy for plastic and then someone said polyurethane worked great on plastic. Confusing. I guess all plastics are different and some work best with poly and others with epoxy. I've had great success with Gorilla Glue. I think the people who don't aren't clamping the piece for 24 hrs. I've had the same experience you've had with JB Weld. Funny, I used it a decade ago to fix a crack in my radiator that sealed it shut now I have a problem getting it to join anything that is stressed, I wonder if they changed the formula. I'll try the Raka stuff you mentioned, any clue on where I can locally?

Reply to
Joe

I tried something similar with disappointing results. Your mileage might be better. Replacement shelves are way too expensive, So I'd just do without the shelf until the refrigerator gets trashed. I have good woodworking skills, so I'd construct a slotted shelf from white oak.

Reply to
Phisherman

Might work or more likely a shelf collapse and a big mess. Sounds like you just need new shelf supports. Probably not much more than the price of the glue. Try this:

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Reply to
TH

I had that problem too. To resolve it I got rid of the wife and had enough spare money to buy a new refrigerator.

Reply to
tnom

Joe wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com:

You are right.

Clamp plastic and you squeeze out the glue. Poly works best with wood because it's designed to cure in the presence of moisture already present in the wood.

sealing and -joining- are two different tasks. You need more bond strength for joining.Lots more for stressed parts.

AFAIK,RAKA is only available online,West System and System Three are at least equal and usually available locally(boat,woodworking shops),but System Three online has an EXCELLENT trial kit for $10(last I checked,awhile ago) postpaid,it also has generous samples of various fillers,the great Epoxy Book,a wonderful guide to using epoxies(a MUST read,IMO.),spreaders,mixing cups and sticks,and a big piece of fiberglass cloth.It will have enough epoxy for your application.

**And I don't have any financial association with them.**

I have used their trial kit and loved it.I still have the trial kit box,book,and some of the fillers.I also get glass cloth from a hobby shop,you can get very light weight cloths(top finishing) or heavier,stronger cloths. You can also use strands from the glass cloth in your repair.

the plastic I dealt with was similar to Bakelite.

your fridge shelf is going to get a lot of weight put on it,and it WILL need reinforcement.I would use the popsicle sticks,a bit of that glass cloth on both top and bottom,build it up thick(on the bottom side),and cure it for 2 weeks before putting it into the fridge.The Epoxy Book will really help you in this repair,and you can DL it for free from the System Three website even if you go with West System.

IIRC;

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Reply to
Jim Yanik

That would be the day, when you can get replacement refrigerator parts for the cost of glue. I'll bet you the price of the shelf is easily an order of magnitude more $$$ than the cost of glue.

Reply to
trader4

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 1 for success. I doubt it will take the weight of the shelf, let alone a couple of jugs of milk. If you get lucky, you may be able to find the parts at an appliance dealer that takes old units away when they deliver the new ones.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Phisherman wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Assuming the shelf itself broke, I was fortunate enough to be able to use those plastic coated wire shelf racks you cut to length (Borg item). Got it to fit in the existing clips fairly easily.

The rest of the old plated wire racks then looked like crap. Replaced them all.

Have you tried duct tape? :-)

"It's only temporary, unless it works." Red...

Reply to
Red Green

Wasn't talking about the shelf. It wasn't clear if the shelf broke, or just the supports. If he really just broke the supports, they're cheap.

Reply to
TH

According to HotRdd :

CA doesn't solvent weld most plastics any more than it does on metal or wood. It also isn't that good under continuous weight bearing duty in either cold or hot temperatures, unless you get the really good stuff (not the teensy tubes from a variety store), and even then it's not so hot...

Best to do some tests. Even model airplane glue might just do the trick depending on the plastic and careful application.

Reply to
Chris Lewis

According to Phisherman :

Go to some of the more generic appliance parts dealers that are online.

You may be pleasantly surprised.

Reply to
Chris Lewis

The only thing CA (superglue) works on is human skin. It is worthless for everything else as it is too damn brittle.

Try acetone. It temporarilly disolves the plastic into a goo. Brush some on the edge of both pieces. Touch to gooey sides together, and when it "dries" it'll be a single piece of plastic.

Reply to
AZ Nomad

Yeah, but it does work well on skin! I recently discovered how well when my 7 year old fell and made a nice gash on his nose that I thought would need stitches. Off to the E.R. where they stuck him back together with (medical grade) superglue. Within about 10 days the would healed perfectly with no trace of a scar. The Doc was right -- much better than stitches!

Reply to
Malcolm Hoar

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