Plastic grill repair

[Richard Cranium]

Has anybody got a good recommendation to repair a grill that's broken in half? As you can see this was poorly repaired at one time, but it didn't hold.

 

[1968rt]

I used a thin piece of metal for strength and Jb weld. Put a little Jb then the metal clamp it together and let dry. Then apply more Jb for strength and to fill in cracks and imperfections. Solid as a rock!

 

[Daves69]

I'm considering trying this if you haven't seen it yet........
How To: Repairing Plastic Sharktooth Grilles


69 B'cuda grille surrounds are notorious for growing cracks just by looking at 'em the wrong way.

I have a section out of my driver side I need to fit a piece in.......

 

[pnora]

You find an old junk grille

I'm considering trying this if you haven't seen it yet........
How To: Repairing Plastic Sharktooth Grilles


69 B'cuda grille surrounds are notorious for growing cracks just by looking at 'em the wrong way.

I have a section out of my driver side I need to fit a piece in.......

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I was just going to post this method. Its what the pros use and it works.

 

[69 GeeTeeX]

I used a thin piece of metal for strength and Jb weld. Put a little Jb then the metal clamp it together and let dry. Then apply more Jb for strength and to fill in cracks and imperfections. Solid as a rock!

I've also done this but in addition drilled lots of small holes in the metal piece so the JB weld is holding on with a lot more surface area than just the perimeter around the metal. Metal piece sort of looks like a cheese grater before assembly onto the backside of the grill.

 

[747mopar]

I've seen at least 3 different ways on here, I've seen guys use acetone to dissolve ABS turning into a glue, Huntelk used some type of ABS rod and a heat gun... can't remember exactly what it was and I've used plastic weld on a few now with good luck. My Charger grill is still holding after thousands of miles so it must work? Here's a picture of one I'm doing right now, had to make 1 piece and repair a bunch of cracks, I pry on them to make sure they won't break.. seams solid.

From what I can tell the plastic weld is just an epoxy glue with a solvent that softens the plastic allowing for a strong bond. Loctite, JB weld and others all offer this in a 2 part tube, squirt it out, mix the 2 parts and start gluing plus it sand nicely. I always scrub it down then bevel the edges of the crack for more fill so there's something left once your done sanding. Something else I do when sanding is leave the backside of the repairs thicker, you never notice that extra material in the rear as long as the facing side is cleaned up to match.

A Dremel kit is a must as well.

 

[Fran B]

Clean off old epoxy. Buy a roll of gauze and JB epoxy. Mount the two pieces so you can access hidden area. Epoxy the two pieces spread epoxy 1" on hidden area and put and few layers of gauze mixed in with the spread epoxy.

 

[pnora]

The problems with most epoxies they are not completely compatible with the part being repaired. The Acetone and plastic from a like grille will bite, bond and cure. The repair will be stronger and more workable that any epoxy. My experience is the epoxies look to have done their job but like to crack at the repair area when flexed.

 

[Bighouse]

I’ve used fiberglass mesh tape as a reinforcement for 2 part plastic repair material. And some really rough 40 grit scratches for the stuff to bite.

 

[kiwigtx]

You need another grille with the same type of plastic in it - especially if you intend to bond the pieces together.

Mixing two different types of plastic will not hold long-term. Guessing the type of plastic doesn't help either.

If you have a bumper repair shop close by, I would call them first - they seem to do that here - Bumper & Grille repairs go hand in hand.

 

[440 4 speed]

I think most of the 67-70 plastic pieces can be repaired with ABS glues. I have made some glues with either acetone, fingernail polish or methyl ethyl ketone. 66 consoles are not ABS, they appear to be fibreglass.

 

[QuickBpBp]

Use a plastic welder for strength then finish it with whatever epoxy or JB weld..

 

[59pwrwgn]

I got a acetone and abs glue from the plumbing department when I fixed my 69 charge grill.

 

[440+6]

Amazon product ASIN B07QQ48FG7
most body shops have these to repair plastic bumpers, might be able to get them to melt a couple to hold it together then epoxy or melted plastic.

I thought this could be done by heating paper clips or something.

 

[Photon440]

Plastex. It does the job.

Plastifix looks like the same deal but I've never bought any. Broken ABS Automotive Grille Repair with PlastiFix

 

[Richard Cranium]

I used a thin piece of metal for strength and Jb weld. Put a little Jb then the metal clamp it together and let dry. Then apply more Jb for strength and to fill in cracks and imperfections. Solid as a rock!

I took your advice. Got to mix up and apply a little more JB Weld for the backside and then Smoothen out the crack & repaint the front.

 

[kiwigtx]

I took your advice. Got to mix up and apply a little more JB Weld for the backside and then Smoothen out the crack & repaint the front.



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Careful now....you'll end up with people asking you to repair their grilles.

Nice job.

 

[Bighouse]

Looking good

 

[Fran B]

Used Plastic Wood as body filler on plastic models. was great for making flared wheel wells and other body mods. Looks like you need some.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Used Plastic Wood as body filler on plastic models. was great for making flared wheel wells and other body mods. Looks like you need some.

The crack is actually filled with the epoxy. You can see through it because it's clear, but it's actually almost completely filled in.