Plastic Crack Repair

cv2065

Just found about a 3" crack starting at one of the rivet holes around the power receptacle in the rear body, moving towards the rounded part of the housing. Couple of questions.

1. How can I fix this properly while maintaining the integrity of the red paint? I've seen the plastic welding kits as well as the 3M kit, but those looks if they will compromise the paint by filling, sanding then repainting, and I don't have the original color to blend, so it would be a full repaint.

2. Can I use a 2 part epoxy from the back side to weld the plastic together without further issues down the road?

3. Will the crack continue to grow? This is the molded plastic and not fiberglass.

I was getting ready to cut for speakers and headlights, and don't want to have to do all of this twice or deal with it again down the road if I'm going to have to eventually replace the rear body anyway. New body kit is about $500, so that's an appealing option, as the color is molded into the plastic, but the price tag is not.

Thoughts?

BGW

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Gearhead1956

I would say the 1st thing you need to do is to find out why it cracked.

Did it get hit?
Are you pulling/pushing to hard to plug it in?
That would be the easy fix.

But if the body is in a bind, that will need to be resolved to keep the crack from returning!
Is the body/ frame flexing to much where you ride it? Off road, jumping curbs, Etc.!

Most of the time you can stop a crack from getting larger by drilling a small whole at the end of the crack.
But you should still address the flex issue. You could use some glass mat behind the plug or cut a piece of thin steel to put behind it and rivet it to the body. Will act like a large washer.

I would drill the whole, V shape the crack from behind and use the plastic weld on the back side. You can put some tape on the front side to keep the plastic weld from pushing thru. I have used this method on car bumper covers with good results.

Good Luck

cv2065

I just got the cart a couple of weeks ago, and don't recall seeing the crack when inspecting the body. Called the guy I bought it from and he wasn't aware of it either. I suppose it could have happened on delivery but not sure. Definitely looks like someone jammed the power cable in too hard. Doubt its a flex or binding issue from what I can see.

Can you explain "V shaping the crack from behind" a little more in detail? Will the plastic weld bind the plastic together in the front for a more or less seamless repair?

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Gearhead1956

V shaping the crack, make it look like a valley that does two things.

Give the weld more surface to adhere to and also cleans that area. I would sand around the backside and clean it very well!! Don't just fill the crack, but put a layer of the plastic weld from crack outward. That will have more holding power!

I you cracked it during transport and not a flex issue, that a good thing.

cv2065

Thanks!

tag50

Band-aid approach. Drill the end of the crack to stop it then cover with an oversized kick plate of aluminum diamond plate or stainless.


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JATRUH78

Definitely Band-AID it! Or get a thin piece of ABS plastic cut to shape and make a new facia around the plug port just bigger. Abs comes in 1/16", 1/8" thickness. You can get it at any BEST BUY or CAR STEREO SHOP. The only thing you'll have to do is drill out the aluminum rivets and replace. You can cut it with a razor blade and shapes nicely. It looks like the the black plastic in an automobile dash area.