Kykdaar
Grey Hound
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2007
- Messages
- 7,610
- Reaction score
- 1
- Location
- Wingate Park - Pretoria
- Bike
- Zundapp (all models)
Episode 1 - Surveying the damage and repairing the cracked fairing
I bought the Transalp with some cosmetic damage as a result of the bike falling over a few times. The previous owner was a bit short :mwink:.
The first two photos shows both shrouds cracked and with a number of deep scratches. As I am going to Namibia in a few months time I do not yet want to replace the shrouds with new ones and was wondering whether there would be a cheap way to fix themâ?¦.so I asked the dogs and one of the stranger suggestions made (by Bobnob) was to use Legos :
.
Yes I know..............., I was also sceptical but after doing some research it started to make sense :thumleft:. Thanks Bobnob ;D
I wonâ??t bore you with the details, but modern plastic bike fairings are apparently, just like your childâ??s Lego blocks, made from Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene or ABS. ABS is much favored in the automotive industry for its hardness, gloss and toughness.
The first thing is to decide how you will repair the cracked fairing. This should be done on the inside of the fairing, but there are a number of ways to do this â?? plastic welding (making use of a soldering iron) or gluing with superglue (and baking powder) or using something like Q-bond.
I chose Q-bond supported by a woven cloth, but in hindsight I will try my hand at plasic welding next time. Cheaper ;D
After the cracked fairing has been repaired it is time to tackle the damage to the outside of the fairing. I took an old enamel cup, threw about 10 small black Lego blocks in it and covered it with Acetone. A warning here â?? try and wear a mask and gloves and leave the cup outside or in a very well ventilated area. This is very potent stuffâ?¦â?¦.try and limit your exposure thereto as much as possible and don't bend over the cup and inhale the fumes.
It takes about an hour for the blocks to dissolve in the Acetone. I left it alone for about 2-3 hours in total until the black goo in the cup was no longer runny, but looked and felt like a smooth paste. I then stole one of my wifeâ??s nail ivory boards, put on the mask and gloves and started to apply the goo to fill the crack and to build up the area immediately adjacent thereto.
The stuff goes on very nicely and I was happy to see that it dries to a hard glossy finish in less than 30 minutes :thumleft:. The repair is extremely strong as it is plastic that bonds onto plastic. That is the secret of this method and probably the reason for itâ??s successâ?¦..no foreign filler material is required and the bind is very strong.
Episode 2 to follow........... ;D
I bought the Transalp with some cosmetic damage as a result of the bike falling over a few times. The previous owner was a bit short :mwink:.
The first two photos shows both shrouds cracked and with a number of deep scratches. As I am going to Namibia in a few months time I do not yet want to replace the shrouds with new ones and was wondering whether there would be a cheap way to fix themâ?¦.so I asked the dogs and one of the stranger suggestions made (by Bobnob) was to use Legos :
. Yes I know..............., I was also sceptical but after doing some research it started to make sense :thumleft:. Thanks Bobnob ;D
I wonâ??t bore you with the details, but modern plastic bike fairings are apparently, just like your childâ??s Lego blocks, made from Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene or ABS. ABS is much favored in the automotive industry for its hardness, gloss and toughness.
The first thing is to decide how you will repair the cracked fairing. This should be done on the inside of the fairing, but there are a number of ways to do this â?? plastic welding (making use of a soldering iron) or gluing with superglue (and baking powder) or using something like Q-bond.
I chose Q-bond supported by a woven cloth, but in hindsight I will try my hand at plasic welding next time. Cheaper ;D
After the cracked fairing has been repaired it is time to tackle the damage to the outside of the fairing. I took an old enamel cup, threw about 10 small black Lego blocks in it and covered it with Acetone. A warning here â?? try and wear a mask and gloves and leave the cup outside or in a very well ventilated area. This is very potent stuffâ?¦â?¦.try and limit your exposure thereto as much as possible and don't bend over the cup and inhale the fumes
.It takes about an hour for the blocks to dissolve in the Acetone. I left it alone for about 2-3 hours in total until the black goo in the cup was no longer runny, but looked and felt like a smooth paste. I then stole one of my wifeâ??s nail ivory boards, put on the mask and gloves and started to apply the goo to fill the crack and to build up the area immediately adjacent thereto.
The stuff goes on very nicely and I was happy to see that it dries to a hard glossy finish in less than 30 minutes :thumleft:. The repair is extremely strong as it is plastic that bonds onto plastic. That is the secret of this method and probably the reason for itâ??s successâ?¦..no foreign filler material is required and the bind is very strong.
Episode 2 to follow........... ;D
