Anybody repairing their own fenders?? If so, what setup / method do you find works best??

Thanks

 

it doesnt come out very clean looking does it...
i consider small cracks and scratches "battle wounds"



in other words i am too cheap to fix em...

 

I work construction and this past year I put LLPDE and HDPE liners on a landfill, a process called capping. Anyway the crew welded the liner panels together. So, a quick chat with the foreman, a 5 minute in feild training and he told me I was ready to repair. He sent me home with equipment and materials. within 30 minutes had mine and the kids quads all welded up. Now the fenders were a softer PE than the materials I practices on and I made a mess of the first weld I did. Of course I welded the showing side of the biggest crake first. Welded the mounting tabs back on the kids an stopped all the squeeks and rattles. Been riding hard since with no problems. The foreman on the liner crew told me that they welded a criss cross pattern onto their Ranger that they use on some sites and he said it made it 10X more rigid. He said it was pretty ugly, but if you took your time you could layout some nice designs

 

ajo771,

what type of plastic rod did you use????

 

I was hoping someone would "tell the secret" to making the plastic weld nice, but it seems ya'll have the same experience I have - it will stick together, but don't count on a "pretty bead" like welding metal.
I have 2 different setups - 1 is a hot air system, the other is basically a glorified soldering iron with a special tip and adjustable temperature. Finding the right plastic rods has been a pain, I've gotten to where I just use old fender pieces cut into thin strips as my "rods", but even then different fenders are made of different plastic, so the "rods" don't always stick good either. The hot air system seems to work the best, but it is hard to keep from blowing holes in the hot, soft plastic.

Thanks for the input - if anybody else has helpful information, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

MY WAY IS EASY. I have a trubo space heater, all i do is stick a old screwdriver in it along with a old tire iron.
I use them when it tures red then I run te screwdriver down the crack.then i hold it together untill it hardens.
After all cracks are together I smooth it put using the tire iron I rub lightly over the welded line in a side to side movement to fill the holes and divits.After its Kinda smooth I sand it with a heavy grit to take out the high spots.lastly I use a Heat gun at high temps to melt the scratches made by sanding.The heat gn melts the scracthes almost new.Sometimes you can't even tell it was broke.
I don't use rods or peices of cut plastic Just push it together as you melt it . KInda mix the two sides of the crack. Sometimes you have to wear rubber gloves and help it,by using your fingersto smooth a spot out.
IT WORKS FOR ME EVEN IT IS A WHITE TRASH FIX !!
Thanks
MATT @ TEAM BRICKTUCKY RACING

 

the trick i used is i got a low temp propane torch and heated it up real good on both sides of teh carck put it together let it dry for like 30 seconds so it stays together then heat it up again and put a piece of sheet metal on the other side and with a big flat head screw driver puch it in a lil in twist and kept doing it over and over until u think u got it good then heat it up one last time and get somthin hard like a piece of sheet metal and put on both sides and get it nice and flat as smooth as ya can the get the some sander paper and smooth it out


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1999 250 trail blazer
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k&n filter DG exhaust
titan 489 xts on the back
maxxis razors on the front
full skid plate,bash gaurd
rebuilt trans,D.I.D chain
pro amor belt,scott grips
the newer model tie rod ends
12 t front 36 t back sprokets
neon shifter ****, pro burner lights
and i made a stronger back caliper holder
so it doest brake when ya hit big rocks

 

it was actually a spool of "welding rod". Got it from Lee Supply in PA. Black only from these guys.

 

WHITE TRASH FIX!!!! Check this out... Quick set JB weld on the back side of the crack. You have to clean the plastic with acytone?(spelling), dry it, and put a very thin coat between the two pieces, hold them together for a couple minutes , wipe the outside clean and let it sit. Looks great.
Now thats white trash, but, it works.

Jes [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

http://www.atving.com/atvconnection/...tic-Repair.cfm