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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
if you have some dremel skills and your hands dont shake too much ...
remove the trim piece
gorilla tape the exposed side
flip it over
dremel an S shape into the back so that it is deep enough a paper clip can sit in it.
shape a paper clip to fit in your S shape
drop it in
fill in with JB weld.
YOu can buy picture frame corner joint that are a piece of zig zag steel but that may be to hard to get teh cut right.Regardless of the design you bend in to the paper clip it will be strong enough and wont pull apart. If you are good put 2 in to prevent twisting
3M panel adhesive will bond and repair most anything/any kind of plastic. What I've found is that Bondo bumper repair is the "same" adhesive. Try it and you will very happy with the results.
Thanks for all the replies. So,....as NO one on the Sunshine Coast stocks any of these. I had the local repco order me the JB Weld plastic epoxy. Should have it in a couple days. Will start by removing and trying to heat and get it back into shape.
Can't rush these things.
But hey, I've put this repair off for about 20 years.
Yes I am finally down to such little things.
Yes the car is running great, stopping great, handles like it's on rails, interior is good, but these last little details.
Once again, thank you everyone for your feedback and advice.
You got it Derek, l'll be certain to post up my repair efforts.
it looks like a new rear window moulding will cost me around 600 bucks AU delivered to my door. I figure what do I have to lose.
Yes in the states thats a 120 dollar part. The joys of living on the other side of the planet.
Ya know, I never really notice it when driving. Only when loading things in the back. I guess that's why it was easy to put it off for so long.
I'm thinking the rear view mirror could come in handy, so I think I'll leave it on.
plastic welding with a soldering iron or heat gun also works, but more for parts that don't show. you start heating trim that thin and bad things are gonna happen.
Yes, I agree. Even the heated staple idea doesn't sound good on something this thin. Which of course is why I started this thread. Looking for ideas.
Cutting groves in the back side just won't work. To thin. Putting in heated staples, just to thin.
Fly screen with the correct epoxy sounds like the best bet. I have the JB weld plastic epoxy on order. Will pick up this Saturday.
Fly screen still needs to be sorted.
Thanks to everyone for there thoughts and ideas.
But I have decided on a direction now.
And yes Derek, I'll post it up.
Mine is broken in pretty much the same spot. I figured it shrunk and wants to be in this condition so I'm gonna align it the best I can, hot glue a tongue depresser on the outside, take it off, use the JB plasic weld with a plastic splint on the inside of the trim, remove the hot glue, fill the gap with The JB weld, sand, then texture all of the outside.
Yep. That's essentially what I said too! It 'melts' that type of brittle plastic and creates a very strong repair. The glue doesn't necessarily hold the joint ...it's the melted surface on each side of the plastic which fuses the plastic together once joined. And it's super-cheap. You can help soften (melt) the edges to be joined by softening a little more with some lacquer thinner (and a tiny brush) and then apply the super glue.
Doesn't work on all plastics, but on those 80's hard interior plastics the bond can be as strong, or nearly as strong as the original if done right. I glued a whole bunch of plastic trim in my Land Rover many years ago (which is full of cheap, hard plastic). LOL. Soft or flexible plastics it doesn't work well on.
