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Hobgoblin

Joining ABS body parts

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Hi,

I want to know the best (strongest) way to join parts of a hard body together. Basically on a Blitzer Beetle (SS, MB etc) I want to join the nosecone to the main body, then try and fill and sand it so it appears seamless.

I used the kit screws and super glue for my first one and it didn't not work but it eventually cracked and it feels like it's going to snap at the seam. 

Not sure if there's like super Epoxy or solvent weld stuff (I designed a product at work which is an Abs clam shell which is solvent welded together and it's watertight) or its best to king of melt it together with a bit of sprue and a soldering iron.

Any thoughts appreciated,

Cheers!

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Why not use the solvent you used at work?

I have a few solvents around for joining various plastics, cant remember the name of the one i use for abs, i can check later though.

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I find the friction welding method the best. There's a post on it somewhere on here, but basically you get a rod of ABS and hold it in the chuck of a drill or dremmel and, with it spinning, feed it into the join. The friction melts the rod and softens the panels and you get a lovely rock solid join.

Soldering iron is another way, but it's a lot more messy and liable to burn through.

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Contacta glue is more than sufficient, I’ve used it on a couple of Blitzers for the same purpose, the body itself gave up the ghost before the glue joint after a heavy front end smash.

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I use Plastruct plastic welds. Abs to abs and styrene to styrene cement type is the strongest. It never cracks from the same spot once its welded. Also you can undo your work by applying cement again.

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Liquid Poly, or liquid polystyrene cement is as cheap as chips and more than sufficient.

I've been using the same bottle now for almost 15 years and it still works great.

It melts the surfaces together and forms a weld. This is not only as strong as the surrounding material, but because of capillary action, you can both position the parts before applying the cement,

and keep appying it to melt the plastic even more. This is great because it's self-filling. If you hold the joint vertically, so any excess runs harmlessly away (rather than between the plastic and your fingers/a clamp)

material is forced outwards to fill the seam when you apply some pressure to the joint. It can then be sanded off to give a flawless surface.

In my opinion this is far superior to any filler, because all the material expands and contracts at the same rate, which avoids potential problems when a hairdryer is used to help fit stickers.

 

Both Scorcher bodies below used this method -

img46480_516201643502_2.jpg

img46480_516201643502_4.jpg

 

 

It also gives a flawless seam on driver helmets -

img46480_711201882530_5.jpg

 

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