plastic welding question

[ATCT]

I was wondering if anyone out there can recommend a plastic welder for fender repair. I have a rear Tecate fender that has a crack in it. I'm not a fan of the Maier replacements for it, so Iwas thinking of trying to restore the fender.

Second, what are the chances of the plastic rods matching up with the actual red of the fenders? The Tecate RED is different from the Honda red, so I get the sense it's not going to match up.

At one point, someone requested a step by step procedure on doing the plastic welding, but I don't think anything ever came of it. Anyone have pointers out there?

Maybe I should just get the Maiers and save myself the hassle. I'm doing a restoration, so I want it to look nice. However, I DO plan on riding it, so seeing absolute perfection is unecessary.

Opinion?

[Hair Bear Bunch]

My method is far from photogenic, but it does seem to work.
I use a 100w soldring iron, with a 3/8" wide tip. Simple as that. No rods. If it's a crack, get someone to hold the sides together so they fit, then very slowly rub the iron along the crack (less than 1/4 inch per second) using a fine back and forth motion as you go so as to 'mix' the molten plastic from each part. Then repeat on the other side.
If you have a piece missing, well, I was lucky to find a piece of what I think was an old red plastic vegtable rack. Cut a piece the right shape and used the same method to 'weld' it in place. Luckily, it appears to be a similar compound plastic and fixed right in!
I've used this method to reair my BigRed rear fenders nearly full width and 1/2 the length at different times without any reiforcement, and it does hold together well, but it does leave a 3/8" wide scar.
My main concern from your piont of view would be that your plastic may be a different compound, it may be more or less tolerant of heat application, so speed of the iron would be a factor. Main thing is, get an odd piece of plastic, break it in half and practice first! Once you get the idea, it's fairly straight forward.
I'll try and get you some pics later today.

[GIJoeBob]

I've used this product before and it works great once you get past the horrible instructions.

http://www.whitehorsepress.com/product_info.php?products_id=4123

[Kryten]

This is what I used. Plastic Welding Kit (http://www.rockymountainatv.com/productDetail.do?navType=type&webTypeId=140&navTitle=Tools%2FShop&webCatId=22&prodFamilyId=3540)

Instructions are easy to follow and it works great. It comes with various colors of welding rod and says the clear rods take on the color of the plastic which I can't really verify since I used all of the clear rods on white plastic.

[brapp]

i have used a torch and a small fine tiped screwdriver and mixed them together

[ATCT]

So how does it end up looking after the weld? Can you get it looking fairly professional, or is this merely a way of fixing a crack so your fenders are still functional, but look like a frankenmonster....? I don't want a garage queen, but if I'm throwing some dough into it, getting a bunch of stuff PC'd, it would be nice if the plastics somewhat matched.

If this is the case, you think I should just go with the Maiers (even though I think they're kinda ugly for the Tecate.....)?

[Kryten]

The weld should look decent if you take your time and do it correctly. You can always wet sand later to smooth it down. I went with plastic renew after welding to get these results. From a few feet away, you can't really notice.
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/4334/1986200xsept2005ie6.jpg
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/617/1986200xmarch20065ys8.jpg

[ATCT]

Wow. That's really good. That was a major crack. Mine's not as big, but I also have a bunch of rivet holes. I guess my next issue is, there's a pretty heavy layer of sun fade on them. I hope I don't have to scrape so much off that they flap in the wind. lol.

[Kryten]

I had the same problem with the surface showing tiny cracks throughout, it took lots of sanding to remove that top layer. However, it was no where near enough to weaken the plastic. I think I started the sanding process with 120 grit and ended with 400 before applying the plastic renew.