We went to the storage site to check our van yesterday and noticed the plastic cover on the "A" frame is cracked about 3 parts the way across.
My idea is to get 2 lengths of light steel to bridge (on the back side)the crack and encapsulate them in fibreglass & resin, my concern is will the resin bond to the plastic, anyone have any experience of this type of repair.
If its glassfibre (rough on the back) it will work. if its ABS (smooth on the back it won't.
Acetone is the solvent and glue for ABS and you can make a filler paste by drilling holes in scrap ABS and melting the dust/swarf into a paste with acetone.
I've just repaired some cracks with this on my A frame, I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you sear for plastaid on youtube you can see how this is used. Over here it is called plastech.
i had a crack in mine and fixed it with another flat piece of plastic,used lots of super glue.you can buy glue from a plumber dept used for gluing pipes together.if you are careful you will not see the crack after.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
Whatever you choose to effect the repair, it is good practice to drill a hole at the very end of each crack. This will stop the crack spreading further and the repair will be a permanent one.
If it is ABS plastic, don't reinforce with polyester resin(glassfibre resin) as it is likelty to melt the plastic. Drill holes at the ends of the cracks to prevent further creaping, roughfen the back surface to give a key, and reinforce with your metal straps then cover with Epoxy resin and matting (as used on foam cored surfboards). Fill the front of the crack and polish
Should do the trick
Brian
------------- there are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
Dont put steel in there mate,its just rust waiting to happen.If you must use metal,use aluminium,lighter and stiffer for size.But I would go with some rigid plastic,cut some out of a length of scrap UPVC window of soffit frame....your local makers will have a scrap bin full of it and will be glad to give you a bit.
i bought a large plastic box from the pound shop and cut the lid to the required size and shape.used this to glue on the underside of the A frame plastic.been ok for three years.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.