Anyone ever try to repair a cracked dustcover? Here's what I'm thinking. Use a sharp tool along the crack to form a tiny "valley," or "trench" on the top side. Apply model airplane glue in the tiniest amount along this valley hoping that it will penetrate the crack a bit and fuse the plastic. Follow the normal restoration procedures to smooth down the repair as best as possible. Even if a line is still visible at the crack location at least the crack won't continue to propagate. Thoughts?

Plastic is a bear to glue and I'd avoid solvents as your plan uses. Try that 2 part tube stuff with the primer and glue and see how that works.
FWIW, a repair is really only a stopgap or something for a secondary system. I'd pop for a nice solid one for anything in the main rig, maybe from a parts or broken TT auction??

I just repaired the dust cover on my PL-560, not cracks but an actual break around one of the hinges.

As you're considering doing, I used model airplane cement. It worked just fine from the standpoint of strength but the repair is far from invisible.

After the cement had completely set up I scraped the repair down with a glue scraper to restore the flat surface. Then I sanded and polished the area. It came out well but you can still see the old breaks.

For stress cracks I might try plexiglas cement. It comes in a small bottle or vial with a fine hollow needle. It's a very thin liquid, designed to infiltrate the seams or joints in plexiglas constructions and fuse them. I think that's worth trying before carving out a trough in the dustcover to pour the cement into.

John

I wasn't aware of plexiglas cement. Sounds perfect. I'll have to seek it out... any suggestions for a source? Thanks!

I agree that this is not a "be all and end all" solution, but I'd like to keep the dustcover from becoming unusable. It's got some very serious cosmetic flaws... looks like someone put something hot on it or something with a solvent... The picture is before I polished the cover. It looks a lot better now. The crack is the line on the left side of the top. The semi-circular marks are the scars from heat or solvent; they are not scratches, the plastic has been deformed in those areas.

I wasn't aware of plexiglas cement. Sounds perfect. I'll have to seek it out... any suggestions for a source? Thanks!

There's some on the auction site but I don't think it's the product I used. I haven't worked with this stuff for years and years but, as I remember, I bought it at a local brick and mortar store that sold various plastics and supplies. Maybe there's a place of that sort near you.

John

Google "acrylic cement".

http://www.rplastics.com/weldon4.html

To stop a crack from growing, drill a tiny hole through the material right at the end of the crack.

For stress cracks I might try plexiglas cement. It comes in a small bottle or vial with a fine hollow needle. It's a very thin liquid, designed to infiltrate the seams or joints in plexiglas constructions and fuse them. I think that's worth trying before carving out a trough in the dustcover to pour the cement into.

John

Here's the stuff John is talking about:

- Weld-on #3 (SKU# 10774)
- Small BD-25 Typo Applicator (SKU# 25658)

Can be ordered from Tap Plastics (http://www.tapplastics.com/)in Stockton, California, 209-937-9300 or online.

I just fixed my HK ST7 dust cover that had shattered around one of the hinges with this stuff and it is, indeed, like water but sets up really fast.

Hint: make dang sure that the applicator has had its cap fully installed. No air can be allowed to leak into the applicator otherwise, it will spit the Weld-on 'water' all over the place. Once this stuff touches the plastic, it starts to work.

The applicator is a droplet type with a fine needle point. You will only need a few drops even though you're ordering 4 oz of the stuff.

The label says that it will set up in a few minutes but will take 24-48 hours to full set before use.

Cheers,

David

Thanks. I'll see if I can find it locally, otherwise will order online.

I've got a VPI cover that came Fed EX in 2 pieces.:tears: The corner had broken off around one of the hinges (fairly large piece). I'm thinking of using some "Duco" cement to fix it. Anyone familiar with this product. My wife bought a tube for another project. Says it works on phenolic plastic, but for polystyrene plastic, to use Duco model cement. Does acrylic fall into any of these plastic types?

I love Tap. :)
http://www.tapplastics.com/info/videofiles/windows/Glue_Acrylic-Ver2.wmv

Lots of other neat vids on doing stuff:
http://www.tapplastics.com/info/video.php?


Carl