Identifying ABS plastic components?

Nov 08, 2006 3 Replies

Hi, I need to do a repair on an ABS garage door. I found some info on the Net explaining that ABS plastic could be dissolved in cellulose thinners to produce a paste for building up broken parts. Problem is how can I tell if a potentially suitable plastic item for dissolving is actually made of ABS. Is there some king of identifying test I can do?


You would probably be better off looking for a repair kit for the ABS door. Maybe the manufacturer could recommend one. Commercial ABS materials are normally not pure polymer but contain a variety of fillers and other chemicals, so in my opinion, it would be hit or miss.

Frank

Thanks Frank, I understand your point but I was looking for the easy option. I ended up dissolving a couple of dozen floppy disk outer casings in Acetone, then applying the resulting paste in combination with glass fibre matting. It worked out fine.

Good. I suspect the clear cases are plain old polystyrene but if it worked, what the heck ;) Frank

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