I had 2 cracked spitfire windshields and couldn't bring myself to order a 3rd one without attempting to repair them since one was just cracked. (the other had one piece break right off and cracked the rest) After googling I found out about Acrylic Cement. Guys use it to make fish tanks out of acrylic and it works well. I bought IPS Weldon 5 Oz 16 Acrylic Cement It worked pretty well. It doesn't really act like glue, it acts more like a weld. I used it on the 2 broken windshields and I can now flex them without re-cracking them. I haven't taken a ride with them yet, but they seem to be good.
Can you post some pics? Prices fluctuate quite a bit on that stuff! :huh A quick online search reveals Wal-Mart wanting $21 for the 5 oz tube. but can get it online for under $8 plus shipping.
correct me if i'm wrong... but shouldnt stop-drilling also prevent the cracks from spreading? i've done that with plastics and sheet metal. got pics of the repairs? does sound interesting.
Hello, Just finished shield repair 5 mins ago and saw this post, what timing. Cannot post pics but if someone wants to PM me with there email I will send over for them to post. You will see the work of a true craftsman. Heirhead
Well shoot, that would be a heck of an improvement over my normal practice of using zip ties to stitch it back together.
Here's my method which has worked well, but I warn you it's not the prettiest. On a dark/smoked windscreen it's alright, but I probably wouldn't do it on a clear one. With everything nicely held in place, melt/cut a trough in the back of the windshield with a soldering gun (I got my 230W one years ago from radioshack for about $30, but 100W or probably a lot less would work just as well) so everything is attached correctly. Scrape up the burrs or lightly sand with rough grit, and then fill in the trough you melted with plastic epoxy. Super cheap to do, and works just fine.
Hello, Thanks to Contevita for posting pics of my Beautiful repair of my Parabellum shield off dr650, also pictured. Clean crack do to pilot error. Wanted it to be strong. like a weld, stronger than the material. Edges of 16 ga, 6" steel are very sharp as you can see. Won't break in this spot again. Bending the steel both ways to the contour of the shield is tricky. Neighbors on Harleys won't ride unless I ride something else. Kind of gives off that macho Bobber look, you think? Heirhead Worlds worst mechanic
That picture is exactly what the acrylic cement repair looks like. It is not pretty but is simple to do and appears to be quite strong. That pic of the large lady made me laugh.
Chain links???? That's pretty crafty. Just my answer I was looking for some off the shelves "thingies" for a rivetted seat cover job.Usually blued when new, that's also easy to redo if working out of the scrap pile. Gun blue does have uses on motorcycle sometimes if just for looks. Looks like you rivetted on the bags also. BMW bags can be a real pita for that, twin walls in some parts with a space in between and if you poprivet may squeeze and they'll crack. Had to do that and ended up filling the void space with expansion foam just so I could rivet without more crackings. Someone just gave me one of them kits to fill gaps & cracks. That's industrial strenght CA and 2 little jars of black and grey powders to use as a filler then set with the CA. This stuff, Q-Bond: http://www.amazon.com/Bond-Repair-Small-Bonding-Adhesive/dp/B003YI421I
I wondered about abs cement. Good to know. Finally got to ride with the repaired windscreen using acrylic cement. Rode into a wind strong enough that my XR650L was wide open and doing around 95 km/hr. So far it has held up fine although the screen i tried out was only cracked and no pieces broke off. I will try the one that had a piece break off some other time to test the strenght of the repair.
About a month ago another inmate gave me a half windscreen to fix off his 4x4 Rhino(I think that's the make). It was broken on both ends... I ordered some, SCIGRIP weld on 4 Acrylic and Polycarbonate adhesive... www.multicraftplastics.com/manufacturers/scigrip/images/scigrip_weldon_4.jpg applicator... http://www.eplastics.com/core/media/media.nl?id=657&c=621686&h=1337ac7e767e2d030d9c and some 1/4" Polycarbonate rod(s). The smallest diameter I could find. http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/Le...-250-Diameter-Machine-Grade-Polycarbonate-Rod I studied the damage for awhile to determine the best approach. I decided to weld the cracks since the adhesive wouldn't get into the cracks. I started on the small crack in the broken off piece in the first pic. As you can see in the first pic above, I had already welded one side when I took the pic. I welded both sides then took a dremel and sanded it flush with the windscreen. Now the best way to weld plastic or polycarbonate is to create a "V" groove along the crack/break on both sides(not at the same time though) so new material can be introduced into the depth of the crack(so there is no crack left to flex). I used a cheap 30w soldering iron to make the groove as I didn't want to risk cracking the windscreen worse than it was using a dremel. It was SSLLOOWW going. It made about a 1/8"w x 1/8'd groove. I made sure to melt the second "V" down into the new material to eliminate all traces of the crack. Welding a 1/4" rod in to a 1/8" groove proved to be, uh...interesting! :huh The trick, especially with a 1/4" rod, is to twist/spin the rod so the entire rod gets heated enough. All the while heating(and not meting thru) the windscreen to the point of melting so some of the windscreen material mixes with the rod material. All while moving down the crack and trying to spread out the material so most of it isn't wasted(solidify above the crack). Yes it was a PITA! Here's a photo of the first weld before grinding/sanding. Notice the excess material that's going to get ground off... and after grinding/sanding... Then flip sides and repeat. I had to go back and fill in low spots then re-sand all the welds. Then I moved on to the broken off piece in the pic above. Since the break was clean I decided to use the adhesive. Worked like a charm! I tried the adhesive on one of the longer breaks(twice) and no go. Most of the crack was clean but where it turned was a little rough. I figured it wouldn't work but nothing ventured nothing gained! OK, I'll have to weld the rest of the cracks. The finished product... the "white" area to the right of the crack, under my hand is distortion from having heat in one place too long. Much longer and the plastic will start to bubble and melt(not good). :eek1 Other than that, its kind of ugly but back in one piece! I told him to put the stress test to it. I hope it holds up well! I have an older Aeroflow windscreen that has a few cracks in it. I have an idea for keeping the rod/repair semi transparent, if I can cut these rods in half's? Thirds? Quarters? I will post that repair when I get around to doing the work.
Very nice. Thanks for the pics. I suppose one could cut some unneeded plastic from some other part of the windscreen to use as weld rod. That would ensure that the right kind of plastic is used.
