What are the basic items I would need in order to fix the cracks in my fairings? Does anyone have a how-to up on this? and is it something that is pretty straight forward, meaning could relatively anybody undertake this? I just feel like I could do this and if it is a reasonably cheaper alternative to buying new plastics then I'm in...

How badly are the fairing cracked?

you could just get a plastic welder.

Quote from: bassmechanicsz on June 23, 2009, 01:13:43 PM
How badly are the fairing cracked?

you could just get a plastic welder.

I need to get my camera working... but the right side is the one that needs fixing, the peice at the very bottom, almost under the bike where it connects to the left fairing has cracker completely across (zip ties holding it on).. then the middle of that same right fairing around where my knee would bee has a vertical crack about 7-8 inches long... I'll try to snap a photo or 2 here... how much is plastic welding?

amazon has one for $150 and that is a whole kit so everything you would need theoretically to fix the fairing.

http://www.amazon.com/Urethane-Supply-Mini-Weld-Airless-Plastic/dp/B001DIHDHG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1245788714&sr=8-1

I have never done it or seen it done so i can't tell you know how strong the bond actually is.  Always looked cool and i was waiting to have an actual need for it to buy one.

Yep the plastic weld is the way to go and if the prep is done right the bond will be awesome.
Fiber glass will work as well but for a factory repair go with the plastic welder and get a dremel. 

anyone ever use the plastic welder? is it a concept similar to soldering? I love doing projects at home, but is this gonna be something I end up giving up on after a weekend, or ever worse make my fairings in a crappier condition then they are now?  Any why is fiberglass frowned upon? does it really run the chance of ripping back open?

any thing can rip back open, it's all in the prep work.
I have used the plastic welder and it works great.
You need to V the cracks with a dremel on both sides and make sure you use the right plastic so it will bond right.
You can do it but you have to just give it the right amount of time to prep it good.
I have also used fiber glass and yes it will work too it will just be more work to blend it in.
If you go with the plastic weld, I have a book that will help you out a lot.
Just let me know.

If it's cracks that fit together well you could use ABS glue. It's basically ABS dissolved in solvent it will make very clean and strong repairs with minimal prepping needed for painting. It's readily available at home depot for pipes and is cheaper and takes less skill than plastic welding. Also if you want to fill in larger areas just take small chunks of ABS pipe dissolve it in the glue and make an adhesive ABS putty, just prime the area with adhesive and putty it in the crack.

Quote from: qwertydude on June 24, 2009, 01:02:05 AM
If it's cracks that fit together well you could use ABS glue. It's basically ABS dissolved in solvent it will make very clean and strong repairs with minimal prepping needed for painting. It's readily available at home depot for pipes and is cheaper and takes less skill than plastic welding. Also if you want to fill in larger areas just take small chunks of ABS pipe dissolve it in the glue and make an adhesive ABS putty, just prime the area with adhesive and putty it in the crack.

lol I read an article about dissolving legos in acetone and making a paste similar to your suggestion, would putting chunks of abs pipe in that glue dissolve the pipe tho?

That glue is simply ABS and solvent so yes small chunks will readily dissolve in it, getting those small chunks can be a challenge, maybe a Blendtec blender (will it blend?).

Or a cheese grater. Although, dissolving ABS pipe to use as a glue seems really iffy to me. I would stick with the plastic welder  or ABS glue to hold it together and some bondo to make it look nice.

yeah the legos/abs chunk ideas although creative, are still a little out there for me.. who knows im going to the depot of homes tomorrow to get this all figured out...

Quote from: qwertydude on June 24, 2009, 02:06:05 AM
That glue is simply ABS and solvent so yes small chunks will readily dissolve in it, getting those small chunks can be a challenge, maybe a Blendtec blender (will it blend?).

ugh... ABS smoke.  It Blends!

Here man, i posted this awhile back because someone had dropped their bike. 
http://www.r6messagenet.com/forums/r6-how-guides/105455-how-fix-your-broken-fairings.html

ABS plumbers cement works good to.  I pieced my exes bike back together after she put it into a wall.  You could plastic weld the crack then use ABS plumbers cement as a bondo alternative and just sand and shoot.

I posted a picture thread (that nobody read   ) when I repaired my headlight fairing... I used the $7.00 fiberglass kit and bondo from Autozone, lots of sanding. It wasn't bad.  Just don't use your bike gloves when you're doing the fiberglass work, and don't do it inside the house....

I use this one from Harbor Freight and it works good. I use it to make custom cold air intakes for guys trucks and cars

http://www.harborfreight.com/welding/plastic-welders/plastic-welding-kit-with-air-motor-and-temperature-adjustment-96712.html

JB Weld...
See my post here
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=57206.0

My fairing was cracked into 2 seperate pieces... Taped the front of the fairing with masking tape in the right location and then turned it over, dremeled out a groove with a pearshaped bit about 1/3 the way thru the fairing then roughed it up with an 80 grit sanding drum. jbwelded the groove and let it dry... turn over the fairing after about 3-4 hours (24 hours is best if you have the ability to let it cure that long before continuing) and repeat on the front side of it going in about 1/3 and roughing it up.. pile the jbweld has high as possible (should be higher then the fairing plastic itself) then let it all cure for atleast 24 hours. then take a sander with 80 grit to it until it is about level with the plastic and start progressively using finer sand paper until it is smooth across...


I use jb weld for just about everything on my bike since it has a huge tensile strength and bonds to most known materials... had a pinhole rust leak on the underside of my gas tank... sanded everything and applied a layer of jb weld (can be seen in the post above)... Once cured never had another leak from the gas tank.

O GOD ITS ALIVE AGAIN!

necromancy is punishable by death... 2 year old threads need to be left dead

Well then I should be to blame for that, sorry. Im new and going through pages of threads looking for anything educational.

From the abyss!!!  Old threads are great.  There is soo much good stuff down there.  I'm on page 6 hundred something,....