I am trying to glue my plastic radiator tank using Elmer's Polyurethane Glue just to see if it'll hold. I've heard that this worked fine on small pinhole leaks by a few people. The problem is that when ever the glue dries bubbles or foams are formed on the glue in about 2 hours. The foam is a bad thing because it's very brittle. What is the proper way to use this glue so it won't foam?
There is a product called "Plastic Surgery" that comes in a tube and is designed to weld plastics together. I presume the plastic surfaces need to be DRY. I've used it on an ashtray that broke, and it restored the product to NEW condition.
I bought my tube of the *stuff* at Kmart in the adhesives isle.
Another idea is actual plastic welding. You can buy sticks of plastic, and in combination with a heat gun you can weld the plastic as it melts into the radiator. I would consider that a permanent fix, after practicing on some scrap plastics somewhere. You need a small diameter orifice for the hot air exhaust of course. If you don't already own a heat gun, don't bother, as they are quite expensive.
Drill it then, tap it, and put a stainless steel metal screw into it. I don't know if you're trying to plug a hole or a linear crack. Each requires a different solution.
Poly glues foam when they cure. That is why they are used in loose joints. I usually repair cracked tanks using the plastic welder. The plastic welds easily just don't overheat it and scorch it.
I've very successfully used Plastic Surgery myself, after doing something spasmodic to one tower on one of those startlingly expensive Toyota distributor caps with integrated spark plug cables. Afterward, I bolstered the repair externally with epoxy.
Note that gooping anything on from the outside of a pressurized system is going to be a temporary fix at best. This guides the choice of what to use (Plastic Surgery maybe, if he can get at the sides and has all the missing pieces; glue probably not) and how to use it.
Worth trying, but keep an eye on the repairs and enough money in the bank to getcha a new radiator...
This bubbling is a feature of some polyurethane adhesives, which are designed to expand to fill gaps. I believe that it's a reaction with water. The piece doesn't have to be wet because there is water in the atmosphere. E.g. moisture-cured polyurethane coatings get their moisture from the air.
Get a two-component epoxy instead. Perhaps one of those that come pre-formulated with fillers that turn them into a putty.
There is that one product whose epoxy and hardener are both filled to form a paste and also dyed different colors (black and white). You keep mixing the two until the resulting paste is evenly gray.
There probably isnt'.
By the way, don't use this shit, it contains isocyanates, which are very hazardous to your health. Check out the MSDS:
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8.3 Exposure Guidelines
Diphenylmethane 4,4'-Diisocyanate 101-68-8 ACGIH TLV: 0.005 ppm (0.051 mg/m=B3) TWA
Note that 0.005 parts per million is a ridiculously small threshold limit value. Contrast that with the solvents typically used in lacquer thinner, whose TLV's are typically on the order of 100 parts per million! Xylene: 100 ppm; Toluene 50 ppm; Acetone 750 ppm. What else? Oh yes, Butyl-Acetate for slower drying: 150 ppm.
You don't want to get sensitized to isocyanates, because polyurethane foam is everywhere. Seat cushions, insulation, moldings in car interiors, etc.
I don't know, but most plastic radiators are made of fiberglass-reinforced nylon, and nylon is one of the easiest plastics to repair by welding it with a soldering iron. Be sure the iron's tip is very clean first, and it may help to tie some aluminum foil on the tip with wire. If you need some filler for the weld, GM dealers and radiator supplies have it. Repairs made this way in nylon are very strong, and I've even repaired small gears this way for mechanical tuners in old TVs.
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