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Repairing Broken Automotive Plastic Trim
Body shop technicians may sometimes find themselves scratching their heads over a plastic trim piece that isn’t offered by aftermarket manufacturers. In these cases, the only choices left are to spend a small fortune on the OEM piece, or to repair the broken one.
In this video, we highlight the simple, step-by-step procedure for repairing a piece such as this, using tools and supplies in Polyvance’s comprehensive line of plastic repair products.
Check out our Welding Rod List to pick out the perfect welding rod for your project. If you aren't sure which rod you need, visit our Plastic Identification page or perform a weld test.
Always wear proper safety gear while working!
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Products Used:
Note: This is a list of the Polyvance products that can be used to make this repair. This list does not include sanders, grinders, or other common tools you will need. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call technical support at 800-633-3047.
- 6125 Tapered Burr
- Aluminum Body Tape (several options available)
- Nitrogen Plastic Welder (several options available)
- Polycarbonate Welding Rod (several options available). *Note: We used polycarbonate here because it matched the bumper's plastic (we discovered this during the weld test). Choose the rod that matches the plastic you need for your repair.
- Hot Spot Cordless Rechargable Plastic Stapler
Video Notes:
- The 6203 Hot Spot Cordless Rechargable Plastic Stapler has been discontinued and replaced with the 6204 Hot Spot Cordless Rechargable Plastic Stapler.
- English Closed Captions have been provided for this video. Click on the CC button to turn them on or off.
- The length of this video is in no way representative of the actual time required to perform a complete repair and therefore should not be used for estimating purposes.
English Transcript:
If you regularly watch our tutorials, you'll recognize this liftgate spoiler from our video on welds test plastic identification. This part does not have an identification symbol. By means of a weld test, we were able to determine that it was made of polycarbonate. We can now repair its broken tabs using R07 polycarbonate welding rod.
The mounting surface of this tab is completely broken out, so we will have to recreate a great deal of its plastic. Begin by v-grooving the plastic around the perimeter of the tab. Using aluminum tape, reinforce the area that is to be welded. Weld around the broken area using one-eighth inch round polycarbonate welding rod. Then fill in the area using wide ribbon. Smooth using an airless welder while simultaneously reapplying nitrogen gas. Allow to cool and then remove the aluminum tape before continuing.
Sand the tab down using a 50 grit Roloc disc. Because the thickness of the tab that we just recreated is much thicker than a side piece, we will need to thin it using a rotary tool and a tapered burr. Still using a rotary tool and the tapered burr, grind out the slot tab to roughly match its fittings. Smooth the surface of the tab using a three-inch DA sander. Remove any excess plastic imperfections using a razor knife.
Now we're ready to move on to the next tab. This tab is still mostly intact, so it shouldn't be quite as tricky. Use Polyvance's 6203 Hot Spot cordless plastic stapler to tack the tab back in place. Use a tapered burr in a rotary tool to grind a v-groove along the crack. Apply aluminum tape, and weld the pass of one-eighth inch round welding rod around the tab and over the crack. Smooth the weld using the airless welder. Allow to cool and then sand using a Roloc disc. Use a rotary tool and a tapered burr as needed to recess the slot to match the tab. If the tabs you're working on have removable clips as these do, you can now test to see if it fits the recess you have cut. You may need to adjust the width of the slot. If so, take care not to remove too much of the plastic. If you wish, you may now apply a light coat of paint and then this repair is complete. Instead of spending a fortune on an obscure plastic part, you can save your shop time and money by performing this repair yourself using tools and supplies from Polyvance.
Look to Polyvance for all of your plastic repair product and training needs. We offer I-CAR Industry Training Alliance courses, as well as other hands-on classes in addition to the video resources you can find on our website and on our YouTube channel.
Products Used
