Best Glue for plastic?

DorsetDude

DorsetDude

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Keith
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Ive managed to snap the flap off that folds in over the petrol cap on my car. :banghead:
Looking at it its snapped off at two narrow strut/peg type hinges.
Have had a quote for repair and its £112 including painting to match.:dummy: So I was wondering if maybe I could repair it instead, hence queries on best glue?
Also how would I hold it steady while glue sets?
I imagine if it was pinned and glued would be very strong repair but the accuracy of me doing that probably beyond my skills.

Any ideas?

Cheers.
 
If it’s a hard rigid plastic then superglue is fine. Anything that’s got a bit of flexibility to it though and you might be better off with Gorilla glue. Either job would really work better with some extra support, either a support strap glued across the join on the back or some metal pins drilled into the joining edges (assuming the flap is thick enough). Gaffer tape will be ok to hold it while the glue sets.
 
Depends on the plastic, some glues won't stick to some plastics (glue in plastic bottles??) For strength I'd say epoxy glue held in place initially with superglue but the only way to find out if it works is to try it. Make up a small drop of epoxy and put it on exposed plastic, leave it to set and try getting it off.

My own experiance with trying to fix things like this is it never works well and you're better off replacing the offending part. You could check eBay for spare caps.
 
What make and model as £112 seems a little high
 
As Steep/Hugh says, depends on the plastic. Some plastics glue very well with suitable solvent glues while others are all but impossible to repair. If there's a recycling mark on the part, try a search for a glue to match the plastic type. Failing a specific glue, Gorilla Glue seems to work pretty well on a lot of things. Maybe a scrapyard will have the flap in the right colour?
 
Breakers for same colour flap and swap yourself, not difficult and prob almost as quick as fiddling with glue tbh.
 
If the flap is made of a suitable material, plastic weld will bond the two broken bits together as good as new. Just don't press them together too hard during bonding or you get a ring of melted plastic squidging out round the edge of the join.
 
Q Bond. It also comes with pots of black or grey fibres which help strengthen the bond. Dries within 10 seconds too. Just apply the glue then sprinkle the black fibres over the area, the glue melts the fibres and it sets.
You can buy a kit off eBay for about £10.
 
Look around the inside of the flap, it will most likely have its material embossed into it, then choose a suitable solvent. Beware though, it probably isn't going to be that simple in practice! If they're only charging half an hour labour though it can't be hard to fit, so find one from breakers/ebay and diy
 
I'd put the actual cap back on until I had put the screw down somewhere safe because I WOULD drop the f*****g thing down the filler spout! :(
 
DorsetDude said:
Ive managed to snap the flap off that folds in over the petrol cap on my car. :banghead:
Looking at it its snapped off at two narrow strut/peg type hinges.
Have had a quote for repair and its £112 including painting to match.:dummy: So I was wondering if maybe I could repair it instead, hence queries on best glue?
Also how would I hold it steady while glue sets?
I imagine if it was pinned and glued would be very strong repair but the accuracy of me doing that probably beyond my skills.

Any ideas?

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Look on eBay. My dads broke as well and we found a replacement on eBay for £20.
 
ecoleman said:
Look on eBay. My dads broke as well and we found a replacement on eBay for £20.
Click to expand...
Tried googling for ebay, every link I clicked came up with "sold out" and then presented me with loads of spares for mk 4, 5 and 7's. Gaaaaa! Also not clear from the pics if the "flap" includes the bit that goes behind that screws on to the bodywork, on which the hinge is mounted.
 
Model makers glue - available from a model shop - made for sticking / melting / welding plastic together, should hold it, buy the very strong stuff (ie for model airplanes)

Holding it whilst glue sets - do it dry, get some masking tape and set it up dry, once happy with portion etc, remove some tape, glue and replace masking tape - alternatively, remove all the mechanism and do on a bench...
 
Model makers' glue tends to be good for polystyrene but not so good for any other plastic. If the flap is marked with 06 and/or PS, the glue should work.
 
Oops - missed that, however mk6 brings up 7 results (and more for estates but they're different) none of which are more than £45, the cheapest is £15 (but has scratches). There are loads more mk6s being broken too https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...id=m570.l1313&_nkw=golf+mk6+breaking&_sacat=0 Try partsgateway as well.

Looking at some of the pics the housing is marked as EPDM and PP - The flap itself doesn't seem to be stamped and I wouldn't expect it to be Polypropylene (it certainly isn't EPDM). If is its, well you ain't going to glue it basically - it's a 'greasy' type plastic, incredibly difficult to get to stick and even if it does, it won't be weatherproof.
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Oops - missed that, however mk6 brings up 7 results (and more for estates but they're different) none of which are more than £45, the cheapest is £15 (but has scratches). There are loads more mk6s being broken too https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...id=m570.l1313&_nkw=golf+mk6+breaking&_sacat=0 Try partsgateway as well.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. theres a silver one on there for £25 but he's listed it as a petrol "cap". I will try and contact him and find out if its actually the flap bit. If it is that could be a goer. thanks.
 
Sticking plastic is difficult, however check out Speedy fix, Q-bond or Plastex on YouTube. They are basically super glue and baking soda or baby powder. Prices vary from £5 to £30+. Google is a good friend.
 
I have some at home, and have used it on all sorts. In fact, one of my old GoPro window mounts snapped, and 2 years later, I can still user (granted as a back up for mounting my phone)...
 
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