My toddler broke a storage container that I wanted to use. It's only $4usd, but I didn't want to throw out a good container. So I heated up my jimmy knife (a butter knife I use for various things) and melted the cracks back together. I know it's crude, but it worked. My box is now waterproof again and I can put my papers in it. Took forever to clean my knife, though lol. I might just buy a soldering iron for stuff like this again. Never know what's gonna break. thanks for the instructional video, very useful!
In our “throw away” society it’s great to see this! I was personally taught to always shave some plastic from a bit not on show to act as a filler, not so much the colour but it guarantees getting the exact same plastic mixture for filling. Top marks mate.
I just watched you . . . for 10 min . . . fix a bucket . . . a buuuucket. Then I realized that I wasn’t watching you because of the bucket repair. I was observing your enthusiasm at problem solving. To look at a damaged bucket, and say to yourself, "Yea, I can fix that!" I find totally, and utterly amazing. Kids these days would not have expended that level of intellectual energy. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you most kindly Raul, that's a really kind and generous comments, and makes me feel very proud of the video... we just load up exactly what we do here and hope others can get some enjoyment from it... of course in these days of throw-away we have no need to fix a bucket, they cost pennies....it wasnt about the bucket.. it was just a teaching aid to demonstrate hw to weld molded plastic together with household tools... hell, you can even do it using an old screw driver held over the kitchen stove to heat it.... Grandpa's mentality, served me all my life... thanks again and all the best.. Del.
That paper clip works like a charm! On cable ties being expensive, Remember you always toss out 3/4 or more when you use them anyways. Just save what you clip off for welding later. You'll soon have an ample supply if you do any sort of shop or auto work.
Hey William....i have never heard of that before, but what a brilliant idea, and you must bring real joy to less well off kids and their families...ill bet you get a great deal of personal satisfaction from that..after all, what is more fulfilling than making kids happy.... glad my video helped, and its an honour to be part of something so noble...take care my friend. Del.
Delboy. So I saw this technique elsewhere on RUclips where a guy repaired his mudguard using this technique, but your video's the 1st time I had seen someone embed paperclips to reinforce the joint. It made perfect sense and was great to see you show how it was done. During recent storms our new water but was blown over and smashed down a significant section of the top. This morning I sat with my soldering iron, some paper clips and a few cable ties and repaired the whole thing. Thanks buddy!
Thanks for this, I just repaired a badly cracked door on my plastic garden shed and it's worked a treat. Previously I had repaired it with glue but it didn't last long. I have seen your very instructive practical video on how to use a puncture repair kit.....really good.
A few months after watching one of your plastic welding videos a few years ago, I was out in my wood shop and the ABS plastic in my radial arm saw dust collector had split. Remembering seeing your video, I welded the crack back together. That was a few years ago. The welded crack is still welded and not cracked. So, thank you for your video! Respectfully, Kevin
I have repaired so much plastic stuff since i watched your vids on this, great little method, especially reinforcment with wire.Those fumes dont half burn your eyes tho. Love it, i dont mind breaking plastics anymore.
I had my plastic kayak welded after the nose got a big crack which went almost half the way round. The guy who did it welded it with a plastic seem then put stitches across the crack line too in plastic. Not only was it strong but it looked cool as well with the kayak being white with flames and the stitches in black. I would do it myself now I've seen this vid. Cheers Delboy!
Inspired.. went outside and welded up a plastic bucket that's been there for 8 years..I feel oddly satisfied for I didn't want to dump Beryl the bucket..we've become attached..
Man u just made my day! Broke some paneling inside my truck last night and been mad at myself all day. Thanks for the vid, very useful info. Damn I was mad lol
Amazing ... saw this vid yesterday, and today I was playing around with some DIY and storage boxes I bought on line some few weeks ago, and I realised the bottom one was cracked on a corner (most likely been dropped in transport) used some offsets from plastic pots and some metal wire to give it strength as well as the perfect shape to fit the multiple curves of the box. It worked perfectly !! Cheers Del !
Thanks Matteo, yes it's a great trick isn't it? I learned it watching two little fellahs sat on the pavement in a Thai street market fixing a plastic wheelchair wheel with some metal clips and strips of broken bucket... those people are so resourceful we could all learn few things from them! Cheers mate, Del
Ha! This is pretty funny seeing as I how I JUST got my airless plastic welder in the mail. I'll be the first to admit that it's basically a soldering iron on steroids, but it's designed to create welds as strong and as professional as its metal counterparts. Temp control, specialized tips, and best of all, application specific filler rods, such as PC, PP, PE, PV, and on and on. A standard soldering iron could probably be modified with a knob for temp, but that doesn't get you the correct plastic for the job and forces you to use a hot toothpick to push plastic around. That's what you're doing when using minimal filler, especially if the plastics are dissimilar. Anyway, the paper clip. Genius!! Totally using it.
I am the toy Librarian and also responsible for toy repairs as a lot of the toys are plastic I have to come up with some ingenious ways to repair things. Your plastic welding demo was great help. Thanks.
I bought a bike with a few broken fairings, so I will now stop my search for new fairings and get out the soldering gun! Funny part is I already have a soldering iron, I just never knew the proper technique. Thanks for the great video!
Nice video. I've seen a guy fix a roofing nail in the soldering iron to get a wide, flat tip to work with, but the spade tip screwdriver end looks a little more versatile. Dunno if you need this tidbit, but if you've got a Scotch Brite pad / scouring pad handy, those are great for wiping the schmutz off the iron (works well for regular soldering, too).
Ditto elebeu's comment, a few stitch 'welds' across the break and allow to set will make it much easier. I also use a spoon (lol!) either heat it up with a torch or put the iron on the inside of the spoon and roll the curved part over the rough bits......... :-)
Thanks great idea. I saw this technique a while back but they used another bit of plastic to make the joint stronger. But your idea of using the cable tie to add some extra plastic is a great idea or even better an old bottle that you cut up and we usually throw out. Thanks again
Sure thing buddy, cable ties work great on most fairing plastics, but if you want the very best plastic ever to build up the weld, then use a piece of the broken plastic that you're welding, it's exactly the same material, so will blend perfectly... good luck with it!
Great video, I used this to repair the handle on one of my broken electric drills, used zip-ties as "filler". (Maybe not a very solid weld, but the drill is ok to use when I use another drill for pilot holes and don't want to change bit all the time).
brilliant pure genus i take my hat off to you!!! i never would have use a paper clip could melt so easy, i could have this idea last week on a paper sheader haha. thank you for posting this.
Perfect. I liked the paper clip idea. Cable tie is the same as zipties? Dollar store item. I would put extra material on the surface, let it cool, sand it down to flatten it and then paint. Even stronger than original.
Why am 'I blowing the screen as you weld? Brilliant, obvious, simple, but never in 40+ years thought of doing it. love the reinforcing clips and filler .cheers Del Smooking time. Rich.
For the airbox on my chainsaw I used a hot flaming zip tie and allowed it to drip onto it. It fused together with the crack as a small blob and held rock solid. Love it.
Thanks do much for this video was out on my ktm motorcross bike and fell off in a ditch and bike landed on top of me and snapped the front mudguard in half and thanks to this I didn't have to spend money buying a new one
What about taking an old dustpan or any other kitchen plastic item, swing bin, washing up bowl, etc., take some stout scissors and cut a piece that fits the hole and then plastic weld it in, you can put some filler and paint afterwards on the outside -job done! Good luck with it, Del
Drilling at the end of cracks is a very common fix, and good pint well made there mate, once you weld it up its all melted back into one, you can leave the drill holes there anyway as it will leak...but i get your point... cheers mate, Del.
I had a friend who tried to duck tape a fan blade & when I mentioned plastic soldering w/zip tie's, they protested that duck tape would work better. They are firm believers now! Saved their fan blade!!!
I'm actually doing a part of my bike fairing at the moment. It's a broken lug and a couple of cracks on the inside, and like all Diy'ers on the cheap browsed around on RUclips. I actually saw the wheelchair repair that you mentioned. Excellent video. Then came across yours from the various links. Good job mate, and like you I won't be spending out money again if I can help it.
lol I was stiching plastic together back in the 80s with a soldering iron snd some copper staples from cardboard boxes, than I would hit it with the heat gun to smooth out the weld. just an extra step to make it esthetically pleasing to the Eye.
I have welded up my 120 gallon RV water tank successfully but I silver solder and stainless steel plate to the solder iron and then I use metal screen material to melt into the plastic.
Bro thank you for the video! Ive been having trouble with some plastic breaking around the headlight holder for my Mack diesel truck. I was curious if this was an option and your video confirmed it. Thank you sir! Greetings from Alabama, USA.
Congrats, I am sometimes tagged as "cheap" because I believe in repairing, reducing, reusing and recycling.... .doesnt matter how much water we take to the big fire, as long as we keep doing our part... . (the humming bird legend)
Excellent tutorial..This is going to help me tremendously..I'm always fixing home utensils.I need to weld 2 flat plastic sheets together so I'm going to try this method..
Hi Del, a few months ago I wrote to you to ask about how to change the cover for the rotor on my Triumph Thruxton. Two weeks ago I finally found the time to do it, and everything went well thanks to you. Watching your videos really help me and make me more confident in making the modifications I have always wanted on my motorcycle. I want to thank you for your videos, I watch them regularly and they are really helpful to me. You even made me discovered the band The Transitions, which I can't stop listening to now! I noticed you don't have a Quebec licence plate on your wall, if you are interested I would love to send you one to add to your collection. If you are, let me know where I could send it to. Keep up the good work, and thank you again for your video! -Richard
Hi Richard, that's great news buddy, glad you got it done and are happy with it! Am really glad you enjoy the videos, and that we've been able to inspire you to do your own mods! And yes, we'd love your plate for the Wall of Friends... if you drop Penny an email on : moonfleet10@yahoo.co.uk so she has your email, she'll give you an land address to send to... will look forward to it ! All the best, Del
Hi mate, as long as you put the metal stitch in it should be ok, but if it's a mount point, remember, it broke there in the first place and there was no previous break in place - now it's repaired it will only ever be as strong as new - perhaps mount a little looser to allow for some movement, possibly with some soft rubber washers to isolate the vibration, but a repair is only as good as the repairer! Cheers Del
Interesting video. If working with ABS plastic it would be advisable to wear a mask that prevents fumes. The fumes can be an irritant and particularly risk for asthmatics.
On places you need to do it on one side only I fix in a few points with rapid glue to hold together inline. Then cover the smooth / painted side with plaster. When it's hardened with a thin nail fitted in the same soldering iron you have I sew it in zig-zag, but deeper. At the end I go through with a hair dryer to get smooth the edges and wash the plaster out with the help of a little vinegar finally.
Same as a book librarian. A toy Library has a stock of toys for ages ranging from 1 to 5 and they are on loan to members for 2 weeks at a time. They range from puzzles and games and baby things through girlie things and boys toys. Slides, bikes, water toys action man, indoor and outdoor toys. Its a great organization and at 4 hours a week suits me fine as I am a retired Fireman. The kids call me the toy man.
If you don't have a soldering iron you can use a flat head screw driver and a lighter or micro torch it takes longer since you have to reheat the screw driver but it works I have repaired plastics like that before if a soldering iron wasn't available.
Hi del brilliant videos have helped me out loads. I've just returned to biking after a 15 year gap due to family n currently restoring a yammy 600 pre divvy. quick question what would you recommend to give the carbs a good clean out as bike has been standing a few years.? Cheers ads
Very much so Adam....any fuel that was left in them before it was laid up will have turned to crudd....give them a good strip and clean before you put any fresh fuel in and try to use them.... glad the videos can help you buddy... thanks for watching and take care.... Del.
cheers del much appreciate the reply. was going to give them a good clean but have had so many saying they need ultrasonic clean or to use vinegar or coke to soak them in when stripped to get the crudd u can't get at. what would u personally recommend?? to be honest I was just gonna give them a good clean jets etc n see how it runs after. cheers ads
Nice work... FYI... Most cable ties are made from Nylon and wont melt as easily and will have a considerable difference in smell and out gassing.... Your bucket is HDPE or High Density Polyethylene and melts a lot quicker than most polymers. Nice Job Moonfleet!
The simple tricks are the best, eh! I watched my grandpa fix split wellington boots using strips of old car tyre and a soldering iron when I was 10yrs old, nothing new under the sun eh? Glad it helped you save some money, that's the name of the game, Del
Thanks, mate, I have also seen a few videos of these types and I am inclined to try on my motorbike. I fell in one trip 8 times in the last January snow winter whilst returning home from work. My two panniers are split in various places and I have taped them down and obviously, it looks crap.
Oops posted wrong message... got bogged down with s many coming in... Sorry to hear you had a few falls.. but hey, if you ride in the snow, you Rock mate.. maybe less than 5% of riders will venture out into the white stuff... If you try a little area of this out of sight, you may be able to weld the cracks back together.. and with a little practice you can make a nice job of it.. good luck and let us know how you got on.. cheers. Del.
Sure, it will be my first time doing this type of welding buy I will make a video and of course give you the credits for it. Btw, I have recorded some of my trips on ice and snow whilst going to work and I was tempted to turn back but I managed to arrive, that was an experience and a half.
You're more than welcome buddy....im glad it worked out for you...the joint will never be as strong as before it broke...but its a sound repair and will last if you take care of it... thanks for watching my freind, i appreciate the support... cheers, Del.
Cool video, I didn´t know about this method before ... I´m kinda skeptical though, will the bucket still hold 10 liters of water without ripping open the weld again?
It did better than that mate, it would hold a full capacity of water and still be bashed around and knocked about in use.. and it eventually broke again, but in a completely different place, and my weld was still intact... it's all about getting enough plastic melted in to make it strong.... just like a metal weld!
awesome! my mrs reversed her minibus into my ST200 and cracked it. I was going to smash her head in with my torque wrench but decided not to as you made that repair to the bucket look easy! keep up the good work and ride safe.
I've be doing this for over 40 years and people would say I was crazy. I burst out laughing as you told the truth about the rip-off packages.All plastics have an identifier stamping marks stating chemical compositions. Just match and weld!
caught the bucket a little with the 'arm/shoulder' a little there. not sure what the correct term is. saw another one of your vids on this and it came in handy. fixed my fairings, but then dropped the bike (at 0-1mph and for the first time after a year) on the same day. my 'weld' recracked, but it didn't go as far the original crack, pretty sure it would of done much more damage had i not of welded it earlier...the question is. is the cup half full, or half empty?
A while ago i was looking around for a plastic welder and hot stapler to do a bumper repair. Found one for like $40 on up to $400!! I noticed that they all seemed to resemble my disposable $4 soldering irons. Bumper looks like new.
So brilliant! I would love to have seen the video of the Indian guys with the iron and paper clip. I was looking at getting a plastic repair set costing £330! I love this, and love saving money too. Thank you so much, I have now subscribed to your channel. :-) x
ha ha ha that takes me back...."Here's one i made earlier"..lol.. thanks mate, you are very kind, im glad it helped you out.. and yeah, being broke most of the time makes you learn all sorts of dodges and tricks to get by... take care mate.. cheers, Del.
I first saw it done by a little Tai bloke who was mending a wheel chair wheel that had broken, using a soldering iron and those thick copper staples that come in carboard boxes....when he was done it was stronger than the unbroken wheel.... simplel but effective aye.
If you backed up the weld with the steel clips i used, then it shouldn't have craked again, try building up the plastic on the back about 5mm thick using a couple of extra ties.. and always "half full" mate.. .life's too short aye..! cheers, Del.
Just inherited a written off VFR with cracked fairing bits. Most of the stuff on ebay is cracked as well. Brilliant video. So finishing = smooth down and use filler to get it level to put primer on?
Thanks it Julian, block sand the plastic to get the rough welded finish out, then a little skin of filler, primer and paint... good luck with it fellah, enjoy your project.. Del.
haha thanks mate, love the comments ... if you have kids with toys then you'll never be short of things to repair! ... and one of the greatest things to practice on otherwise is a dustpan, just give it a good whack with a screwdriver handle on the back and that should give you two handy halves to work with! Cheers, mate, Del
A quick point Del. Don't know how common knowledge this is. In the instance of a crack like that, if you drill at each end. Nothing drastic, just to stop any further stresses to a potentially wakened area. You're weld holds and the tear never grows. CP.
Delboy would this be able to be used on a motorcycle wind shield. I came off my motorcycle Tuesday due to oil/fuel on the road at a junction but luckily it was low speed. The wind shield has lost a couple of pieces off it so I was wondering should I try to weld it this way or just cut it down and reshape it. Thanks for any help. Oh by the way I was ok just tissue injuries.
+Ian S Hi Ian, i would say probably not, the screens are made from a far more brittle plastic, and even if you could get it to join together, you would see the ugly welds....so if it was mine, then like you say, yeah, cut and reshape it to look good again... !! hope that helps.. Del.
Did that tip come with your soldering iron, or did you cut off the end of a flat blade screwdriver and put that in? My soldering pencil has a pointy tip, but I think it has a set (grub) screw holding it in.
No Ron, this came with the soldering iron and it's made from copper, not steel so i could never have been a screwdriver tip, am sure you can buy blade shaped tips though!
Q: If it is abs why not just make abs cement using cheap superglue and ground abs plastic? The result would be a thick glue like paste which would melt in to the surrounding plastic when applied.
Are you sure a plastic bucket is ABS ? I thought it was polypropylene. Glad you pronounce “soldering” correctly unlike many people who incorrectly say “soddering”. The plastic welding of the bucket base looks like it won’t hold because the two layers (grey and yellow both need to be melted when they join or the “join” can separate. ABS has the higher tensile strength and is harder and lighter than polypropylene.
Is perfectly simple, the same with any welding in of a patch, the time invested in creating a patch that fits perfectly is rewarded in the neat finish - just follow as in the video!
Lasers that fix plastic are quite inexpensive these days and the bond forms very fast. Example:www.google.com/express/product/17106673578062432830_14271733926764969473_10046?mall=EastBay&directCheckout=1 Cheers!
Nice job. The only thing that I would add to your technique is to make "spot welds" every inch or two to hold the edges in alignment before starting to weld the seem. I noticed that the two edges were flexing.
![Plastic Welding 101 [How to Plastic Weld]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/44lih_dnhuo/mqdefault.jpg)
My toddler broke a storage container that I wanted to use. It's only $4usd, but I didn't want to throw out a good container. So I heated up my jimmy knife (a butter knife I use for various things) and melted the cracks back together. I know it's crude, but it worked. My box is now waterproof again and I can put my papers in it. Took forever to clean my knife, though lol. I might just buy a soldering iron for stuff like this again. Never know what's gonna break. thanks for the instructional video, very useful!
In our “throw away” society it’s great to see this! I was personally taught to always shave some plastic from a bit not on show to act as a filler, not so much the colour but it guarantees getting the exact same plastic mixture for filling. Top marks mate.
Agree 100% on the throwaway society - I detest it!
I just watched you . . . for 10 min . . . fix a bucket . . . a buuuucket. Then I realized that I wasn’t watching you because of the bucket repair. I was observing your enthusiasm at problem solving. To look at a damaged bucket, and say to yourself, "Yea, I can fix that!" I find totally, and utterly amazing.
Kids these days would not have expended that level of intellectual energy.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you most kindly Raul, that's a really kind and generous comments, and makes me feel very proud of the video... we just load up exactly what we do here and hope others can get some enjoyment from it... of course in these days of throw-away we have no need to fix a bucket, they cost pennies....it wasnt about the bucket.. it was just a teaching aid to demonstrate hw to weld molded plastic together with household tools... hell, you can even do it using an old screw driver held over the kitchen stove to heat it.... Grandpa's mentality, served me all my life... thanks again and all the best.. Del.
That paper clip works like a charm! On cable ties being expensive, Remember you always toss out 3/4 or more when you use them anyways. Just save what you clip off for welding later. You'll soon have an ample supply if you do any sort of shop or auto work.
Hey William....i have never heard of that before, but what a brilliant idea, and you must bring real joy to less well off kids and their families...ill bet you get a great deal of personal satisfaction from that..after all, what is more fulfilling than making kids happy.... glad my video helped, and its an honour to be part of something so noble...take care my friend. Del.
Delboy. So I saw this technique elsewhere on RUclips where a guy repaired his mudguard using this technique, but your video's the 1st time I had seen someone embed paperclips to reinforce the joint. It made perfect sense and was great to see you show how it was done. During recent storms our new water but was blown over and smashed down a significant section of the top. This morning I sat with my soldering iron, some paper clips and a few cable ties and repaired the whole thing. Thanks buddy!
Thanks for this, I just repaired a badly cracked door on my plastic garden shed and it's worked a treat. Previously I had repaired it with glue but it didn't last long. I have seen your very instructive practical video on how to use a puncture repair kit.....really good.
A few months after watching one of your plastic welding videos a few years ago, I was out in my wood shop and the ABS plastic in my radial arm saw dust collector had split. Remembering seeing your video, I welded the crack back together. That was a few years ago. The welded crack is still welded and not cracked.
So, thank you for your video!
Respectfully, Kevin
That is awesome Kevin, thanks for the great feedback!
I have repaired so much plastic stuff since i watched your vids on this, great little method, especially reinforcment with wire.Those fumes dont half burn your eyes tho. Love it, i dont mind breaking plastics anymore.
I had my plastic kayak welded after the nose got a big crack which went almost half the way round. The guy who did it welded it with a plastic seem then put stitches across the crack line too in plastic. Not only was it strong but it looked cool as well with the kayak being white with flames and the stitches in black. I would do it myself now I've seen this vid. Cheers Delboy!
Inspired.. went outside and welded up a plastic bucket that's been there for 8 years..I feel oddly satisfied for I didn't want to dump Beryl the bucket..we've become attached..
the best method is to buy another Tesco mop bucket brake it and use the parts to get the same color
+frxvt LOL
Or shave a little off the bucket itself
Kind of defeats the purpose ie saving money
Use a plastic cable tie
Hahahah
Man u just made my day! Broke some paneling inside my truck last night and been mad at myself all day. Thanks for the vid, very useful info. Damn I was mad lol
Amazing ... saw this vid yesterday, and today I was playing around with some DIY and storage boxes I bought on line some few weeks ago, and I realised the bottom one was cracked on a corner (most likely been dropped in transport) used some offsets from plastic pots and some metal wire to give it strength as well as the perfect shape to fit the multiple curves of the box. It worked perfectly !!
Cheers Del !
Thanks Matteo, yes it's a great trick isn't it? I learned it watching two little fellahs sat on the pavement in a Thai street market fixing a plastic wheelchair wheel with some metal clips and strips of broken bucket... those people are so resourceful we could all learn few things from them! Cheers mate, Del
It's fascinating material you offer to your audience. Thank you very much for contributing. A heartfelt thanks!
Many thanks for your kind words!
Ha! This is pretty funny seeing as I how I JUST got my airless plastic welder in the mail. I'll be the first to admit that it's basically a soldering iron on steroids, but it's designed to create welds as strong and as professional as its metal counterparts. Temp control, specialized tips, and best of all, application specific filler rods, such as PC, PP, PE, PV, and on and on. A standard soldering iron could probably be modified with a knob for temp, but that doesn't get you the correct plastic for the job and forces you to use a hot toothpick to push plastic around. That's what you're doing when using minimal filler, especially if the plastics are dissimilar.
Anyway, the paper clip. Genius!! Totally using it.
If you know the difference between the plastics just get clean donor material.
I am the toy Librarian and also responsible for toy repairs as a lot of the toys are plastic I have to come up with some ingenious ways to repair things. Your plastic welding demo was great help. Thanks.
I bought a bike with a few broken fairings, so I will now stop my search for new fairings and get out the soldering gun! Funny part is I already have a soldering iron, I just never knew the proper technique. Thanks for the great video!
Nice video. I've seen a guy fix a roofing nail in the soldering iron to get a wide, flat tip to work with, but the spade tip screwdriver end looks a little more versatile.
Dunno if you need this tidbit, but if you've got a Scotch Brite pad / scouring pad handy, those are great for wiping the schmutz off the iron (works well for regular soldering, too).
Ditto elebeu's comment, a few stitch 'welds' across the break and allow to set will make it much easier. I also use a spoon (lol!) either heat it up with a torch or put the iron on the inside of the spoon and roll the curved part over the rough bits......... :-)
I'm enjoying your videos and learning a few new tricks. Thanks bro.
Thank you so much for sharing the paper clip trick, that looks perfect for the item I need to reinforce!
Nice work dude! If everyone is doing this we can help save the environment quite much!
Thanks great idea. I saw this technique a while back but they used another bit of plastic to make the joint stronger. But your idea of using the cable tie to add some extra plastic is a great idea or even better an old bottle that you cut up and we usually throw out. Thanks again
Sure thing buddy, cable ties work great on most fairing plastics, but if you want the very best plastic ever to build up the weld, then use a piece of the broken plastic that you're welding, it's exactly the same material, so will blend perfectly... good luck with it!
Thank you so much for passing on your knowledge. This is something I need to do and until watching your video had no clue on how to fix it. Peace, Mo
Thanks Mo, have a practice on something scrap first so you get your technique built up a bit... then get stuck in.... good luck with it... Del.
I wonder if this idea holds water! :D
Merry Christmas to you and yours, Del!
Great video, I used this to repair the handle on one of my broken electric drills, used zip-ties as "filler". (Maybe not a very solid weld, but the drill is ok to use when I use another drill for pilot holes and don't want to change bit all the time).
brilliant pure genus i take my hat off to you!!! i never would have use a paper clip could melt so easy, i could have this idea last week on a paper sheader haha. thank you for posting this.
Perfect. I liked the paper clip idea. Cable tie is the same as zipties? Dollar store item. I would put extra material on the surface, let it cool, sand it down to flatten it and then paint. Even stronger than original.
Great video. Thanks for making it. Will try out this method of plastic welding. Cheers mate.!!👍🏼
Why am 'I blowing the screen as you weld?
Brilliant, obvious, simple, but never in 40+ years thought of doing it. love the reinforcing clips and filler .cheers Del
Smooking time. Rich.
For the airbox on my chainsaw I used a hot flaming zip tie and allowed it to drip onto it. It fused together with the crack as a small blob and held rock solid. Love it.
just used this method to fix a crack in a fairing mount hole, remembered watching this a while ago and turned out alright, thanks del
+SRC95 Cheers buddy, it is a really reliable way to make a quick cheap repair! Glad it worked for ya
Thanks do much for this video was out on my ktm motorcross bike and fell off in a ditch and bike landed on top of me and snapped the front mudguard in half and thanks to this I didn't have to spend money buying a new one
Nice one mate, glad it could help you...!
What about taking an old dustpan or any other kitchen plastic item, swing bin, washing up bowl, etc., take some stout scissors and cut a piece that fits the hole and then plastic weld it in, you can put some filler and paint afterwards on the outside -job done! Good luck with it, Del
Thank you alot. This is better than super glue or exposy repair. Weld is better than any glue.
Can be done the same if is pvc?
I will try it on my truck, will send you some pics of the end result! Thanks a lot your explanation is made really easy...
Good luck Emilio, hope it works for you Sir!
Drilling at the end of cracks is a very common fix, and good pint well made there mate, once you weld it up its all melted back into one, you can leave the drill holes there anyway as it will leak...but i get your point... cheers mate, Del.
I had a friend who tried to duck tape a fan blade & when I mentioned plastic soldering w/zip tie's, they protested that duck tape would work better. They are firm believers now! Saved their fan blade!!!
Ha ha, thats great, im glad it worked.. thanks for the recommendation buddy.
I used some pre-bent staples (from an office stapler) and soldering iron for small repairs. I'll remember the paperclip for bigger repairs.
I'm actually doing a part of my bike fairing at the moment. It's a broken lug and a couple of cracks on the inside, and like all Diy'ers on the cheap browsed around on RUclips. I actually saw the wheelchair repair that you mentioned. Excellent video. Then came across yours from the various links. Good job mate, and like you I won't be spending out money again if I can help it.
lol I was stiching plastic together back in the 80s with a soldering iron snd some copper staples from cardboard boxes, than I would hit it with the heat gun to smooth out the weld. just an extra step to make it esthetically pleasing to the Eye.
I have welded up my 120 gallon RV water tank successfully but I silver solder and stainless steel plate to the solder iron and then I use metal screen material to melt into the plastic.
now we are talking!
Great video . Thank you , I can now safe a bit of money with this handy knowledge.
Bro thank you for the video! Ive been having trouble with some plastic breaking around the headlight holder for my Mack diesel truck. I was curious if this was an option and your video confirmed it. Thank you sir! Greetings from Alabama, USA.
Thank you Sir, great to great to hear from you! Glad the video helped, simple stuff aye?!
Old video, but still works. Helpful hint to others: plastic welders can be pricey. Wood burning tools are cheaper! They are basically the same tool.
Wow that bucket is gonna look sweet on the front of yer bike
Congrats, I am sometimes tagged as "cheap" because I believe in repairing, reducing, reusing and recycling.... .doesnt matter how much water we take to the big fire, as long as we keep doing our part... . (the humming bird legend)
LOL was gonna ask if you did any plastic welding videos, then this popped on my recommended list for your vids, so fair play mate ...sorted!
Neat, using whatever you have some spare time to save some money, always a good idea.
Excellent tutorial..This is going to help me tremendously..I'm always fixing home utensils.I need to weld 2 flat plastic sheets together so I'm going to try this method..
Great video, im gonna weld some different threads onto some hot tub filters I bought that have course instead of fine threads that I need. Thanks
Recycling at it's finest! Good job!
Hi Del, a few months ago I wrote to you to ask about how to change the cover for the rotor on my Triumph Thruxton. Two weeks ago I finally found the time to do it, and everything went well thanks to you. Watching your videos really help me and make me more confident in making the modifications I have always wanted on my motorcycle.
I want to thank you for your videos, I watch them regularly and they are really helpful to me. You even made me discovered the band The Transitions, which I can't stop listening to now!
I noticed you don't have a Quebec licence plate on your wall, if you are interested I would love to send you one to add to your collection. If you are, let me know where I could send it to.
Keep up the good work, and thank you again for your video!
-Richard
Hi Richard, that's great news buddy, glad you got it done and are happy with it! Am really glad you enjoy the videos, and that we've been able to inspire you to do your own mods! And yes, we'd love your plate for the Wall of Friends... if you drop Penny an email on : moonfleet10@yahoo.co.uk so she has your email, she'll give you an land address to send to... will look forward to it ! All the best, Del
Hi mate, as long as you put the metal stitch in it should be ok, but if it's a mount point, remember, it broke there in the first place and there was no previous break in place - now it's repaired it will only ever be as strong as new - perhaps mount a little looser to allow for some movement, possibly with some soft rubber washers to isolate the vibration, but a repair is only as good as the repairer! Cheers Del
Interesting video. If working with ABS plastic it would be advisable to wear a mask that prevents fumes. The fumes can be an irritant and particularly risk for asthmatics.
On places you need to do it on one side only I fix in a few points with rapid glue to hold together inline. Then cover the smooth / painted side with plaster. When it's hardened with a thin nail fitted in the same soldering iron you have I sew it in zig-zag, but deeper. At the end I go through with a hair dryer to get smooth the edges and wash the plaster out with the help of a little vinegar finally.
wd this work with an asda bucket ?
That was the best idea i ever seen good luck
Same as a book librarian. A toy Library has a stock of toys for ages ranging from 1 to 5 and they are on loan to members for 2 weeks at a time. They range from puzzles and games and baby things through girlie things and boys toys. Slides, bikes, water toys action man, indoor and outdoor toys. Its a great organization and at 4 hours a week suits me fine as I am a retired Fireman. The kids call me the toy man.
Thanks delboy, would have been a really good end if you had filled the bucket full of water
Great job mate.thanks it helped me fix my lawn mower plastic gas tank leaked at the seams
If you don't have a soldering iron you can use a flat head screw driver and a lighter or micro torch it takes longer since you have to reheat the screw driver but it works I have repaired plastics like that before if a soldering iron wasn't available.
Hi del brilliant videos have helped me out loads. I've just returned to biking after a 15 year gap due to family n currently restoring a yammy 600 pre divvy. quick question what would you recommend to give the carbs a good clean out as bike has been standing a few years.? Cheers ads
Very much so Adam....any fuel that was left in them before it was laid up will have turned to crudd....give them a good strip and clean before you put any fresh fuel in and try to use them.... glad the videos can help you buddy... thanks for watching and take care.... Del.
cheers del much appreciate the reply. was going to give them a good clean but have had so many saying they need ultrasonic clean or to use vinegar or coke to soak them in when stripped to get the crudd u can't get at. what would u personally recommend?? to be honest I was just gonna give them a good clean jets etc n see how it runs after. cheers ads
Nice work... FYI... Most cable ties are made from Nylon and wont melt as easily and will have a considerable difference in smell and out gassing.... Your bucket is HDPE or High Density Polyethylene and melts a lot quicker than most polymers. Nice Job Moonfleet!
Whatever they're made from, they melt together perfectly with enough heat...!
Safety and protection is real . Burning plastic is the worst.
Saw this and used the technique on my busted fairing.Thanks, you saved me £250 quid.
Nice one Glenn....just in time for those new winter gloves you promised yerself..lol.. cheers matey... take care.. Del.
Might not be the best finished reparation, but the general idea about iit is pretty good. Thanks for posting.
The simple tricks are the best, eh! I watched my grandpa fix split wellington boots using strips of old car tyre and a soldering iron when I was 10yrs old, nothing new under the sun eh? Glad it helped you save some money, that's the name of the game, Del
The fumes always made me nauseated. Wear a respirator to dodge the mustard gas🤢
Indeed, and better than pins, nails or tacks..because they loop at the ends and form a lock so it can slip out..!
Thanks, mate, I have also seen a few videos of these types and I am inclined to try on my motorbike. I fell in one trip 8 times in the last January snow winter whilst returning home from work. My two panniers are split in various places and I have taped them down and obviously, it looks crap.
Oops posted wrong message... got bogged down with s many coming in... Sorry to hear you had a few falls.. but hey, if you ride in the snow, you Rock mate.. maybe less than 5% of riders will venture out into the white stuff... If you try a little area of this out of sight, you may be able to weld the cracks back together.. and with a little practice you can make a nice job of it.. good luck and let us know how you got on.. cheers. Del.
Sure, it will be my first time doing this type of welding buy I will make a video and of course give you the credits for it.
Btw, I have recorded some of my trips on ice and snow whilst going to work and I was tempted to turn back but I managed to arrive, that was an experience and a half.
You're more than welcome buddy....im glad it worked out for you...the joint will never be as strong as before it broke...but its a sound repair and will last if you take care of it... thanks for watching my freind, i appreciate the support... cheers, Del.
Cool video, I didn´t know about this method before ... I´m kinda skeptical though, will the bucket still hold 10 liters of water without ripping open the weld again?
It did better than that mate, it would hold a full capacity of water and still be bashed around and knocked about in use.. and it eventually broke again, but in a completely different place, and my weld was still intact... it's all about getting enough plastic melted in to make it strong.... just like a metal weld!
Moonfleet41 Okay, thanks for the info ... will practice first then try it on the small rip I have in my front bumper ... :)
awesome! my mrs reversed her minibus into my ST200 and cracked it. I was going to smash her head in with my torque wrench but decided not to as you made that repair to the bucket look easy! keep up the good work and ride safe.
+Ashley Rogers Hi Ashley, sounds like she had a lucky escape there! Good luck with it, hope it goes well for you mate ....
Use a small circular motion with the iron tip as you move along that will help bund both sides more .
I've be doing this for over 40 years and people would say I was crazy. I burst out laughing as you told the truth about the rip-off packages.All plastics have an identifier stamping marks stating chemical compositions. Just match and weld!
caught the bucket a little with the 'arm/shoulder' a little there. not sure what the correct term is. saw another one of your vids on this and it came in handy. fixed my fairings, but then dropped the bike (at 0-1mph and for the first time after a year) on the same day. my 'weld' recracked, but it didn't go as far the original crack, pretty sure it would of done much more damage had i not of welded it earlier...the question is. is the cup half full, or half empty?
A while ago i was looking around for a plastic welder and hot stapler to do a bumper repair. Found one for like $40 on up to $400!! I noticed that they all seemed to resemble my disposable $4 soldering irons. Bumper looks like new.
Glad we could help, William ... what a interesting job you have! What is a toy librarian?
good job del. appreciate your vids.trying to produce some myself.
So brilliant! I would love to have seen the video of the Indian guys with the iron and paper clip. I was looking at getting a plastic repair set costing £330! I love this, and love saving money too. Thank you so much, I have now subscribed to your channel. :-) x
ha ha ha that takes me back...."Here's one i made earlier"..lol.. thanks mate, you are very kind, im glad it helped you out.. and yeah, being broke most of the time makes you learn all sorts of dodges and tricks to get by... take care mate.. cheers, Del.
I first saw it done by a little Tai bloke who was mending a wheel chair wheel that had broken, using a soldering iron and those thick copper staples that come in carboard boxes....when he was done it was stronger than the unbroken wheel.... simplel but effective aye.
If you backed up the weld with the steel clips i used, then it shouldn't have craked again, try building up the plastic on the back about 5mm thick using a couple of extra ties.. and always "half full" mate.. .life's too short aye..! cheers, Del.
Just inherited a written off VFR with cracked fairing bits. Most of the stuff on ebay is cracked as well. Brilliant video. So finishing = smooth down and use filler to get it level to put primer on?
Thanks it Julian, block sand the plastic to get the rough welded finish out, then a little skin of filler, primer and paint... good luck with it fellah, enjoy your project.. Del.
Nice one
That's for that. 👍
I've got to repair a plastic hdpe pond rim. Just practiced on a milk bottle.. Works a tread.
The bucket is made of PP, it says on the bottom. And the other container is probably PE or PP, not ABS. Nice tips though.
haha thanks mate, love the comments ... if you have kids with toys then you'll never be short of things to repair! ... and one of the greatest things to practice on otherwise is a dustpan, just give it a good whack with a screwdriver handle on the back and that should give you two handy halves to work with! Cheers, mate, Del
A quick point Del. Don't know how common knowledge this is.
In the instance of a crack like that, if you drill at each end. Nothing drastic, just to stop any further stresses to a potentially wakened area. You're weld holds and the tear never grows.
CP.
Delboy would this be able to be used on a motorcycle wind shield. I came off my motorcycle Tuesday due to oil/fuel on the road at a junction but luckily it was low speed. The wind shield has lost a couple of pieces off it so I was wondering should I try to weld it this way or just cut it down and reshape it. Thanks for any help. Oh by the way I was ok just tissue injuries.
+Ian S Hi Ian, i would say probably not, the screens are made from a far more brittle plastic, and even if you could get it to join together, you would see the ugly welds....so if it was mine, then like you say, yeah, cut and reshape it to look good again... !! hope that helps.. Del.
Did that tip come with your soldering iron, or did you cut off the end of a flat blade screwdriver and put that in? My soldering pencil has a pointy tip, but I think it has a set (grub) screw holding it in.
No Ron, this came with the soldering iron and it's made from copper, not steel so i could never have been a screwdriver tip, am sure you can buy blade shaped tips though!
Q: If it is abs why not just make abs cement using cheap superglue and ground abs plastic? The result would be a thick glue like paste which would melt in to the surrounding plastic when applied.
Yeah why not....
Good work mate, glad to see it being used in the field... well done for getting stuck in... cheers and thanks for watching, Del.
Are you sure a plastic bucket is ABS ? I thought it was polypropylene.
Glad you pronounce “soldering” correctly unlike many people who incorrectly say “soddering”.
The plastic welding of the bucket base looks like it won’t hold because the two layers (grey and yellow both need to be melted when they join or the “join” can separate.
ABS has the higher tensile strength and is harder and lighter than polypropylene.
Is perfectly simple, the same with any welding in of a patch, the time invested in creating a patch that fits perfectly is rewarded in the neat finish - just follow as in the video!
Have you tried the new laser plastic welding. The cost is reasonable. Just wondered how it would work on body panels.
NO John, never heard of it buddy, lasers cost money...soldering iron's in the draw..!!!
Lasers that fix plastic are quite inexpensive these days and the bond forms very fast. Example:www.google.com/express/product/17106673578062432830_14271733926764969473_10046?mall=EastBay&directCheckout=1
Cheers!
That's not a laser though, it's an adhesive that's cured by UV light.
This is genius! I will have to use your method one day. Thanks for the Vid.
Nice job. The only thing that I would add to your technique is to make "spot welds" every inch or two to hold the edges in alignment before starting to weld the seem. I noticed that the two edges were flexing.
@Delboy; have you ever tried melting Lego-bits in acetone and using that to mend plastic fairing?
Penny won't let me have Lego - as I swallow the small pieces, which makes me unwell !
Dammit', Penny's a cruel mistress... ;-)
nice job.greetings from croatia