Cracked Luggage

[MrBob]

This appeared after my last trip.



The pannier is made of some sort of plastic and the crack is located at a stress point, obviously.
How to repair this? Currently, I'm thinking of using JB Weld on both sides of the crack reinforced with some kind of rigid material. Is there some way to weld the crack?

[Twilight Error]

Originally Posted by MrBob

This appeared after my last trip.



The pannier is made of some sort of plastic and the crack is located at a stress point, obviously.
How to repair this? Currently, I'm thinking of using JB Weld on both sides of the crack reinforced with some kind of rigid material. Is there some way to weld the crack?

Stitch it with stainless wire, seal the crack and wire holes with JB weld.

[Dave in Wi]

It may be weldable depending on what kind of plastic it is. Look for a mark that tells you. A fair number of motorcycle shops can weld plastic.

[74C5]

Stitch it with stainless wire, seal the crack and wire holes with JB weld.

+1
i.e. safety wire.

Works friggin' awesome on seat tabs for dual seat bikes where only the rear is locked down and the tongue on the front one keeps it from falling off.

Other than that, rivet on some doublers on at least one side.

[concours]

Is that from your Connie? It doesn't look familiar to me. I punted one off when I pulled out around a car in a traffic jam, forgot how wide Connie's ass was. Broke the aluminum bracket off, bag went airborne, my nephew behind me cought it with one arm while riding his Suzuk with the other, lol
Anywho, I'd vote for doublers as well, riveted and sealed.

[JimVonBaden]

Safety wire and hot glue, painted black and it has held for 10K miles and three years.

Jim

[Tsotsie]

If the plastic is ABS (which most bike parts are) the best glue type is a Methyl Methacrylate based adhesive. Permatex Permapoxy 5 min plastic weld, item 84115. It comes in a handy two part applicator and is reasonable.

This welds/melts to the ABS and does not sit on top as JB Weld and other general epoxies and plastic adhesives do. It bonds to and forms part of the methacrylate in the ABS. Your neighborhood stores will not carry it as it is specialized. Buy it on-line. Follow the instructions - you only have 4 minutes set-up time. The Loctite equivalant is H3000 which is an industrial only packaging that needs special applicators. That together with some 'stitching' will make a very good bond. Its color is near opaque and will go yellowish in time. After full cure it is paintable with plastic type spray.

[MrBob]

Originally Posted by Tsotsie

If the plastic is ABS (which most bike parts are) the best glue type is a Methyl Methacrylate based adhesive. Permatex Permapoxy 5 min plastic weld, item 84115. It comes in a handy two part applicator and is reasonable.

This welds/melts to the ABS and does not sit on top as JB Weld and other general epoxies and plastic adhesives do. It bonds to and forms part of the methacrylate in the ABS. Your neighborhood stores will not carry it as it is specialized. Buy it on-line. Follow the instructions - you only have 4 minutes set-up time. The Loctite equivalant is H3000 which is an industrial only packaging that needs special applicators. That together with some 'stitching' will make a very good bond. Its color is near opaque and will go yellowish in time. After full cure it is paintable with plastic type spray.

I see the Permatex on Amazon for less than 8.00.
I watched a video of a repair made using this product and was impressed, though not by the price.
http://www.urethanesupply.com/PlastiFix/
I don't need to be in a hurry to fix this so it's turning into another learning experience for me. There are some very interesting methods used.
Also, it's looking like the Connie will be for sale before too long so the repair needs to look spiffy.

[squish]

I've not done it but I have heard of folks taking abs grinding into a dust, mixing the dust with abs glue from the plumbing section. Using that as a glue past to both fill the crash and hold the parts together. Using abs sheet to back up the crack.

[Tsotsie]

There are supposedly 2600+ types of plastics. Unless you get the specific adhesive for the plastic 'family' they dont really work - sit on top. General epoxies etc claim to adhere plastic, but they do not.

If you dont want to 'stitch' it together as well, cut a V trough on the inside along the split line. Sand the area along V where you will apply the adhesive with 60 grit paper and apply the adhesive as a filler and 1/4" on either side. An $8.00 or less tube of spealized adhesive is a lot cheaper than new plastics.

[ibafran]

I cracked the plastic fairing on my 05 Tri Sprint. Super glue made a good bond. I used the super glue and plastic beads that the nail techs use for manicures. Spent about $30 at Sally's Beauty Supply with plenty of left over for the next crash.

[usgser]

Before you repair it I suggest you stop drill the ends of the crack.

[MrBob]

Originally Posted by JimVonBaden

Jim

If Tim Burton owned a body shop.

[KtmPedro220]

Quite a good job by JimVonBaden.

[MrBob]

Originally Posted by Dave in Wi

It may be weldable depending on what kind of plastic it is. Look for a mark that tells you. A fair number of motorcycle shops can weld plastic.

The stuff I bought to fix ABS doesn't work, so I guess it isn't ABS. There are no symbols on either bag indicating the type of plastic. It seems that plastic can be identified by testing it for buoyancy and burning it to detect certain odors. Meh.
If the plastic is polypropylene, as I suspect, then welding is said to be the only reliable repair.
Plastic welding can be done using hot air, direct heat, or an ultrasonic welder.
There are direct heat welders that look a lot like soldering irons. Hot air is like a heat gun. Ultrasonic units look like big money investments.
It's possible to buy welding rods of like plastics though some Youtube videos show welding without this.
Drilling a stop at the end of the crack would be a good idea if it was to glued. It the weld is done correctly, there will no longer be a crack.