{"id":4487,"date":"2019-01-22T12:38:18","date_gmt":"2019-01-22T11:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/?p=4487"},"modified":"2019-12-05T15:40:57","modified_gmt":"2019-12-05T14:40:57","slug":"how-to-repair-a-cracked-by-plastic-welding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/blog\/how-to-repair-a-cracked-by-plastic-welding\/","title":{"rendered":"How to repair a cracked by plastic welding"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ast-oembed-container\" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Plastic Weld_Damage Undone\" data-src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/309879332?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>Three steps to a swift, smart and durable repair<\/h2>\n<p>They might be small, but\u00a0<strong>cracked and broken plastic panels<\/strong>\u00a0can be some of the most difficult repairs to make. However, with a few tweaks you should be able to save the part and turn a tricky job into a solution that works for you and your customers.\u00a0<strong>Being able to repair these parts will not only bring more work into your shop but also help the environment by reducing wastage.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here, Rapid Repair Specialist Wayne Beardmore, owner of\u00a0<strong>Damage Undone<\/strong>, gives his tips on plastic welding and explains how he honed his approach with the help of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/uk\/automotive\/automotive-refinishing-range\/\"><strong>Q1 automotive masking products.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Stage one: Identification and welding<\/h2>\n<p>Firstly,\u00a0<strong>identify the type of plastic you\u2019re working on<\/strong>, majority of the bumpers will be Polypropolene (PP) and this is easy to work with. You can normally find this marked on the back of the panel or part, and this will tell you which plastic welding rod you need.<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve got that information to hand, the\u00a0<strong>next step is to make the surface as flat as possible.<\/strong>\u00a0Heat any protruding edges to ensure they align with the rest of the area, then use a die grinder and burr to create a groove along the crack. Using a Hot Air Welder melt the plastic welding rod into the channel you\u2019ve created, making sure both substrates are fully joined.<\/p>\n<h2>Stage two: Skimming and sanding<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Next, you\u2019ll need to prepare the surface for skimming with glaze.<\/strong>\u00a0To do this, sand the welded area level using a mini DA sander, starting off with a 50 or 80 grit disc.\u00a0<strong>Protect any swage<\/strong>\u00a0lines by running a length of tape along them;\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/uk\/product\/automotive\/q1-premium-masking-tape\/\">Q1\u2019s automotive-specific masking tape<\/a>\u00a0bends nicely around curves<\/strong>, ensuring you to know where the edge is when you come to skim. Once the main section has been skimmed with a thin layer of glaze, peel back the tape and feed the skim carefully down over the swage line.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Now it\u2019s time to sand.<\/strong>\u00a0As with any filler or primer work, you should use a guide coat to view any imperfections, such as high or low spots, on the skimmed area.\u00a0<strong>It\u2019s important to protect any swage lines again with masking tape, before sanding.<\/strong>\u00a0Sand the area again, then prepare it for priming with a DA sander and 400grit disc.<\/p>\n<h2>Stage Three: Priming and painting<\/h2>\n<p>When it comes to priming, the aim is to\u00a0<strong>make the area of repair as small as possible.<\/strong>Wayne likes to do this\u00a0<strong>by making a soft border around the repair area with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/uk\/product\/automotive\/q1-premium-foam-masking-tape\/\">Q1\u2019s 13mm Premium Soft Edge Foam Masking Tape<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You should also\u00a0<strong>protect the rest of the car before priming.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/uk\/product\/automotive\/q1-premium-protective-film\/\">Q1\u2019s Premium Protecting Film<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is easy to apply and is treated with corona to help it stick to the car with static. This makes for an altogether quicker priming process \u2013 Wayne uses Glasurit UV primer and the Telsa Cure UV lamp, which takes between 30 seconds to 1 minute to cure.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/damge-undone-q1-masking-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1056\" height=\"634\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1056px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1056\/634;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/damge-undone-q1-masking-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1056\" height=\"634\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><strong>By this point, you\u2019ll have made the repair<\/strong>, and skimmed and primed the area, but\u00a0<strong>you\u2019ll still need to make sure any areas of the car which don\u2019t need painting are fully protected.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/uk\/product\/automotive\/q1-premium-trim-masking\/\">Q1\u2019s Premium Trim Masking Tape<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/uk\/product\/automotive\/q1-premium-masking-paper\/\">paper<\/a>\u00a0are just the ticket<\/strong>, enabling you to paint, lacquer and fade with confidence.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wayne also uses Q1\u2019s 13mm Premium Soft Edge Foam on the blending out areas.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/damage-undone-plastic-weld.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1056\" height=\"634\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1056px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1056\/634;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/damage-undone-plastic-weld.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1056\" height=\"634\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>Finally a light polish is applied using Farecla G360 over the fade out area to finish the job off.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Damage Undone made the switch to Q1 products after experiencing the premium performance quality for themselves<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 is it time you switched? Find out more\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/uk\/automotive\/automotive-refinishing-range\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three steps to a swift, smart and durable repair They might be small, but\u00a0cracked and broken plastic panels\u00a0can be some of the most difficult repairs to make. However, with a few tweaks you should be able to save the part and turn a tricky job into a solution that works for you and your customers.\u00a0Being &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/blog\/how-to-repair-a-cracked-by-plastic-welding\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How to repair a cracked by plastic welding<\/span> Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":4495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4487"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4487"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4603,"href":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4487\/revisions\/4603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shop.q1tapes.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}