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Old January 12th, 2010, 05:01 PM   #1
breebles
ninjette.org member
 
Name: Bre
Location: Bay Area, CA
Join Date: Dec 2009

Motorcycle(s): 2004 Ninja 250

Posts: 15
cracked fairing? broken tabs? plastic fix paint prep how-to as requested

ok I'm painting my gfriends ninjette, she's breebles, I'm josh. I know it's confusing but I'm using her account on here to share some info.

it's pretty much done, just need to buff and polish the clear coat. I did lots of plastic repair so I can help people with ?'s on this topic.

I'm a painter by trade, but I mostly restore homes. bikes is a side thing. anyways I am using the new PPG waterborne stuff for the base coat and using a 2 part urethane clear (Omni 2.1 mc262/mc267). love the waterbase paint, it's the best auto paint I've ever used.

for the plastic repairs I used this stuff: 3M 05895, Automix EZ Sand Flexible Parts Repair Kit. it is amazing stuff. I learned a lot about plastic repair. and some evercoat polyflex plastic filler, for gouges and whatnot. that stuff is great, too. very strong, but you can bend it in half without it cracking once dry.

I even made my own peg/mounting boss thing(not sure what the proper term is) out of random materials and jb weld and attached it using the automix stuff. it's super strong!

here's what the bike looked like before:


here's the photoshopped plan:


between clear coats


here's one of the newest pics from the last clearcoat still in the spraybooth:


an example of the damage:

both sides are split at these corners




an example of a small crack, it ends where the drill hole is


the stuff:


both sides of the fairing had cracks in the top corners of the fairing where it curves around. to fix I drill holes and grind in grooves like stitches for the filler to sink into. so on top when it is sanded flush you are left with a good amount of product holding it together. on the back side it can be built up so this is unnecessary. on the crack on the flat section in the middle I grind in a v-shaped channel over the crack for the filler to sink in. drilling a small hole in the end of the crack stops the crack from spreading further.

fixin:












primed:




I also used the 'ding king' to pull a dent in the gas tank. I love this tool! it works great.


I fixed a tab first using the automix by digging channels, filling, etc. it held up great and even took a fall without snapping. after the fall I had to reattach another tab, which I did using another technique I learned about. I plastic welded it together w/ a soldering iron and then melted a piece of squiggly mechanic's wire into it for strength. this seems to have created a pretty strong bond. we'll see down the road if either fails...

the wire method:


here's both tabs, bottom one attached w/ automix.


I also attached that peg I made out of random stuff and jb weld w/ the automix. I stuck it on there with a bit of wire, then ground in grooves in the peg for the filler to sink in and hold it on better. I used a dremel sanding drum, filled it with the automix then wrapped it around the peg to make a base. it ended up being very strong, I can't pull it off.









hope this can be helpful to people doing plastic repairs. any ?'s just ask.
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