Disassembled my grill, have some broken pieces...

[Rack]

I disassembled my grill last night. Getting it ready to clean/sand/paint, etc...


There's a few broken plastic parts though and I was wondering how I'd go about fixing them.








The last one is the hideaway door. I was wondering why the door hung low on the driver's side, now I know why. The plastic piece that keeps it from "over closing" is broken off.


I guess these aren't too major, but I'd still like to fix them before they go back on the car. Anyone know how to fix broken plastic? The pieces that broke off are gone, I don't have them.


Also, would it be safe to powder coat the vacuum bracket? Probably didn't word that properly. ALso, the bar that attaches to the bracket?


Here's what I'm talking about...

Brackett...



Obviously I'd remove the vacuum canister before powder coating it. Is the metal strong enough to throw in the oven or will it warp?

Here's the vacuum bracket bar I was referring to...




The bar is no longer attached. I should of taken a pic after I removed it. Anyway, you can see it on there. Is it safe to powder coat it?

[4402tuff4u]

My plastic was broken similar to yours where the plastic spacers go and the fastening grill screw/spacers goes thru. What I did is I purchased a a few stainless steel "fender" washers at the local hardware store that fitted inside that opening. Buy the one that covers the whole space if possible. I can't remember the diameter. What I did is cut a piece of cardboard that fitted snug inside the space and brought it with me to the store. Once I got the fender washers I drilled the center out to allow the plastic spacer center piece to fit. I also trimmed part of the washer extending beyond the plastic. I then used a dab of 3M scotch weld epoxy adhesive to glue the fender washer to the inside surface. I then filled the missing plastic chip on the outside with JB weld compound. Sand and shape it with a file. The fender washer will reinforce the plastic and will now take the load. Fender washers are wider than normal washers, but are very thin, so you wont interfere with the grill hardware. You could also use thin metal too. I liked the washers. I don't have pictures of this work. I did the work one weekend and had left the camera at work. Worked pretty good for me.  

The other piece you mention could also be fixed with a glued on piece of thin metal and then filled in with JB weld for the missing plastic. Again, over apply and sand/shape it with a file. My flaps/eye lids were in good condition. Just remember that all the plastic is brittle from the years of use - sun, cold, rain, heat, etc.....so just using an adhesive or plastic filler will only work temporarily. In my opinion, you have to reinforce it in those high strenuous areas. Good luck!

[Nacho-RT74]

I posted this on another thread ( even wasn't usefull since tabs were metallic LOL):

I have repaired plastic tabs on several parts of my car melting the edges of both broken areas with a welder/solder and joining for a while the plastic is melted. once they match, then use the welder/solder to melt together and mix both plastic pieces and even give them a good finish. After that, some epoxy glue over the surfaces and sand it like it was "bondo".

Never will get the same strong than a solid one piece casted plastic part, but better than just use epoxy or crazy glue.

I still never have done this but you can also after the first matched melted plastic pieces make with a dremel some groove between both plastic pieces, insert some heavy wire and once and again melt platic over this insert, or just fill it with epoxy glue... maybe will get better strong piece.

Or maybe after this melted job, make some small holes with a drill and then seam it with wires and then cover them with epoxy...

just some ideas. I ave done just the melting job.

On matched area you could also melt another platic piece coming from somewhere over the area repaired area and mix every thing together like you were solding wires with tin

[Rack]

Thanks for the replies/ideas, 440 and Nacho.


I was even thinking of getting a piece of 2x4 and carving out a piece/mold that matches (roughly) the piece that is broken. Then getting a separate piece of plastic and melting it into the mold, then glueing that piece to the grill. Is there any glue that would actually hold it? Maybe I could even melt the mold with pcs of fiberglass paper to help reinforce it?

First things first I need to clean the grill. Need to head over to target and get some Simple Green. Gonna try cleaning it the way Shakey described in an earlier post (I think it was Shakey).


I think using a metal piece is a must for the eyelid. Don't want to do a halfass job there and have to remove the grill again when the door starts drooping.

[Rack]

Cleaned the driver's side of the grill assembly today (well, I did the first stage of cleaning).

Found another piece of plastic that is broken, and is close to breaking all the way off.






This next pic is what it should look like...




There's also another broken piece that I didn't take a pic of (just forgot to do it). That one will be difficult to fix.

Will I be able to fix these pieces well enough to make them perfect (or very good) or would I be better off replacing them?


Also, what metal parts of the grill assembly is it safe to powder coat?

[DanishDude]

Haven't tried this on Charger grill parts, so proceed with caution.

But some types of plastic can be fused/glued using nothing but common Acetone. It dissolves many types of plastic, yet evaporates quickly. You can test in an invisible spot with a small drop of Acetone. If the surface is a bit tacky once you wipe away the fluid after a few seconds, you can fuse the material with this technique.

Carefully clean the surfaces to be bonded, preferably without further damaging the jagged edges. Remove any burrs and loose debris in particular. The idea is that you should be able to make a simple press fit, which will make the crack temporarily invisible. Cleaning alcohol is your friend here for most materials.

Make a small fixture or similar, which will hold the pieces in place and firmly together while the 'glue' sets.

Once you are ready, start by applying Acetone to both sides of the joint, but without putting them together at first. Try only getting Acetone on the surfaces to be bonded, not all over the rest of the part. You might want to use a small woodden toothpick for applying the Acetone.

Allow the Acetone to evaporate, then do it again. And again. And probably a few more times. The idea is to soften up the material, before you join them for real.

Now join them, right after applying a new Acetone cover, press together firmly and immediately remove any Acetone overspill from the surroundings.

After a few hours in a warm spot, the Acetone should have completely evaporated and the plastic set again. The bond is not as strong as it originally were, but quite good enough for many applications.

There are also specialist glues available for almost all materials, but this obviously requires that you can positively identify which synthetic material it is that you have.

Frank.

[Rack]

That's a good idea, Frank.


I'm gonna test it out tomorrow.

[terrible one]

I am in the middle of my grill repair. A lot of broken pieces are being cut out, and ones from a donor piece spliced in. I am using Locktite Quick Set Epoxy that I picked up at the hardware store for bonding the pieces, and I have been very pleased with it. It can also be used as sort of a filler, kind of like bondo with metal. It sands and blends with the plastic quite nicely, and I doubt it will even be noticable after paint. I've had great results with this so far, and it has proven to be VERY strong. Just thought I would throw my experiences into the mix.

[Rack]

Thanks, TO. I'll go pick some up at Lowe's later. Not gonna start fixing anything till I get all three sections completely dirt/grease free.

[dads_69]

Try some Fusor #142 also. Its a plastic repair 2 part mix. You can but it at your local automotive paint store.
Mark

[Rack]

Man this sucks! I was sanding down the grill section and that piece that was barely on, fell off. 


I'll just finish that part completely (cleaning, sanding), then I'll worry about sticking it back on. I hope the passenger side is in better condition.

[terrible one]

That's a bummer man. I wish you luck on your repairs. My grill doesn't seem to be as bad off as yours and it is taking a lot of time and work.

[Rack]

Yeah it's taking longer then I expected, but that's ok. As long as I get it right.

I do need to get my car sanded down ASAP though cuz surface rust is starting to set in. I don't want to do major work like that till I get the title though. I've got a sand blaster and a place I can do the blasting. Now I just need the title, and hopefully I'll get it some time this week.