Several of my inerior pieces are broken on my 72.

I an in the process of cleaning, repairing, and re-dying the interior and I would like any advice I can get on the best epoxy to use to repair the plastic backing used on the console and dash pieces.

I also have a broken console side panel (the plastic one that screws to the sides of the console under the dash.

Thanks,

 

If the pieces are solid plastic and are broken completely through, then the way to mend them is to butt two-pieces-at-a-time together and use blue painter's tape to hold them in place. Tape should be placed on the outer (good) surface. Place part face-down on a surface that will help keep the two pieces oriented properly while they cure.

I would recommend that you use the two-part JBWeld epoxy in the tubes. First, use lacquer thinner or paint thinner to lightly wipe any oil/grease/contaminants off the back side of the broken area. Then, mix up some of the epoxy and use a toothpick to put just the smallest amount down into the cracked joint. You will have to bend the two parts apart a bit to open the crack, but you don't want to cause the tape to pull off the front of the part. That tape will keep the epoxy from squishing out on the front of the part and making a mess.

Carefully push the two parts together and lay them flat on the surface you have selected. Now you can smear the rest of the epoxy along the backside of the crack. It would be best to have a strips of strong material (thin metal strip; thin, but sturdy, plastic strip) to place down on top of that smeared epoxy. That will act as a stiffener and help the repaired part retain its shape and have some strength that will resist refracturing. Make sure that any stiffener material you use will not interfere with the proper reassembly of the part when repair is completed.

After curing, remove the painter's tape from the frontside. If you did a good job putting the tape on, there will not be any epoxy residue on the front side of the part. If there is some residue, you need to pick it off the part surface before you redye the piece.

If the part is broken in multiple pieces, add one broken piece at a time to build the repair carefully. Make sure that you add pieces in a sequence so that the next piece will not have difficulty being engaged with earlier repairs. Also, make sure that there is no excess epoxy on the broken edges/surfaces that are not being repaired at the time. Excess epoxy on the joint surfaces will prevent proper engagement of later parts.

I would recommend that any pieces broken into 4 or more pieces be replaced...if it is financially feasible. You can find used interior pieces in 'good' condition at most Corvette parts swap meets (like the Corvette Expo show in Knoxville, TN last weekend). Those pieces are usually much less expensive than aftermarket replacements and can be cleaned up and redyed to look like new. Since you will be redyeing anyway, that should be no big deal. If you need to buy 'new' parts, Willcox is a Forum vendor with a good reputation for customer service issues.

If you have broken parts with vinyl facing, I suggest that you replace them. If they just have cracking on the surface or pitting that needs repair, cut any loose edges off flush with the surface. Use blue painter's tape to line the edges of the area to be filled; this will minimize any spill-over of repair material onto the 'good' surfaces of the part. Carefully fill any voids with polyester body putty or surface spot putty. If the void has any significant size/depth, you may want to fill it in stages so that you don't have thick sections trying to dry. When finally dry, you can put a finish layer on the surface to get the repair flush with the surface. As the putty is drying, you can use a toothpick or small plastic 'tool' to re-grain the surface of the repaired area. Try to match the appearance of the vinyl surface as best you can. Once completely dry, you can use a bit of fine (#000 or #0000) steel wool to buff the repaired area. This will smooth the ridges/grooves of the graining to help blend the appearance of the original vinyl to the repaired area.

Then, just clean surface well, dry and shoot on new coat of vinyl dye.

Good luck!!

 

The substrate on original consoles and dash pads may be made from a type of resin. When I removed the console from my 68, the PO has literally laid up a fiberglass patch to repair a break. It worked. The repaired console was still in one piece by the time I got to it.

 

do as 7T1vette suggested, but i would recommend dental repair acrylic instead of the epoxy. it actually checmically bonds to the abs(?) plastic backing of the panel pieces, and you can build out broken or missing areas. if you have a friendly dentist talk to him, or go to a local dental laboratory. the stuff is a powder-liquid combination. i ran a dental lab for 15 years, and i probably used more of that acrylic fixing my car than i used fixing dentures!

 

Plastic Fusion and/or Plastic Weld (same stuff, different brand names) are both excellent for repairing ABS plastic. Scuffing the parts before gluing is a must... IMHO

Willcox

 

Thanks for the great ideas. I would hate to ruin these parts trying to reapir them.

I'm going to look for that Plastic Fusion at the hardware store. I do have some J-B Weld and some Rhino glue, which were my first thoughts.

I'm going to see if I can find that dental repair acrylic. I have some broken plastic threads where the speedo and tach are screwed to the plastic dash pad that need to be repaired. I bet the would work very well. Does it stick to metal? I would like to fill the stripped holes with resin then insert the screw so it will dry around the screw so I don't have to drill and tap the plastic.

I bought some SEM plastic and vinyl cleaner and some SEM Vinyl prep to prepare the parts for repair and dying. I will be cleaning up the parts this evening and prepping for the repairs.

 

You'll have great luck with the "Fusion". Just make sure to scuff... It gives the glue something to bite...

Another trick is to use a bonding strip over a crack it if you have extra support or reinforcement. Oh, you can paint it too..

 

So far, so good. I used acetone to clean the broken pieces. I scraped off the old glue and crap that was on there before and scuffed the pieces with some 80 gritt sandpaper.

I mixed un the plastic weld stuff I got at Advance Auto and stuck the peices together. I bought 15 minute 2-part adhesive, so it gave me some working time. I then used tywraps to hold the console together, I ran the tywraps through the bolt holes of the metal subframe and around the rear. This held the console in it's correct position while the epoxy dried. Worked like a champ.

The dash panel sides where the door meets them were cracked. This went to gether fine, but you can see a bulge under the vinyl and tell it was broken. I am not that happy with this repair. I might try to re-do it.

The other pieces i glued together held just fine.

I need more epoxy and more acetone.

The acetone is doing a great job of removing the tough grime from the vinyl and plastic pieces. There were a couple pieces that were dyed and the dye was flaking off. The acetone ate right through the old dye and I will be able to start over. With the SEM prep, the new dye should stick just fine to the pieces.

I am having difficult fixing the speaker grille where some of the vinyl is cracked. I tried some of the epoxy, and it worked OK, but I need something better to fill in the cracks. I may try some body filler. I need to fill in a couple places where there is noting supporting the vinyl.

Another thing i need is a way to re-shape some of the original fiberglass roof panels and seat back panels, where they have warped over the years. I am going to try soem heat tomorrow to see how that works. Any suggestions here will be welcomed.

 

Curby - any pictures to post?

 

SEM 39768 Problem Plastic Repair Material

This stuff is unbelievable.......everyone that owns a corvette should have it on hand for repairs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get some NOW and THANK me latter.....

 

Curby, I just did the same thing to many of my parts on my interior resto... 7T1 gives PERFECT information there. I mistakenly used superglue on the first joint, the break was clean so it turned out okay, but the SEM product 73 mentions is what I used for the rest. I also used an SEm vinyl dye that has everything looking better than new, and hasn't yet rubbed off. We'll see about the seats, they make me a little nervous. Good luck with your project.