Plastic welding? Fiberglass

[Addicted to eaton]

Im putting a 7 Inch touch screen in my GTP (lilliput) The one i got off of bob. Anyways I want to install the screen in it like bob did in his Cutlass. What materials did you use? I was going to used Fiberglass but i remember you using something different. I know how to fiberglass but im sure you did something diffrent?

[BXX]

Have fun with that. Get ready for a lot of sanding, and I mean alot.

 

MEK + bits of ABS plastic equals a nice plastic paste

 

I ended up using USC Chromate Lite body filler. Your more than welcome to use any filler. I chose the Chromate Lite cause it was one of the lightest weights, easy to sand, and quite hard.

[slick]

Just remember not to make it all filler. In fact, just as you would while doing bodywork, use only what is necessary.

[BXX]

Yup, use the ABS paste as much as possible. It will make it strong as hell. However a decent amount of filer will still be needed

[GnatGoSplat]

On my double-DIN conversion, I used poor man's plastic welding. Basically just a 15W soldering iron and melting the scrap pieces that were cut off of the bezel itself. It was pretty rough, but strong. Then I finished with ABS paste which still left pin holes, so I filled the pin holes with JB Weld, but any filler will do. JB Weld isn't a filler, but what I had handy, and it's very smooth. Filler probably sands much easier, ABS wasn't that easy to sand and is very time consuming.

You can't make ABS paste from ABS plastic from the car, because it's a fire retardant plastic that has some kind of talc added into it. It just crumbles when soaked in MEK. You need to use ABS plastic like the kind you can get from stereo installers (the black textured sheets work well). Plastic from the casing of old electronics works well too.

 

After having worked with both fiberglass and ABS+MEK, go with ABS. It's considerably easier to work with.

[Addicted to eaton]

Thanks guys. Now where can i buy this stuff at? lol

[Garrett Powered]

I have been meaning to try that MEK paste. when I tried body filler or anything like that it would just crack. I am sure it would work good for a skim coat and shape up. if you used Rage, that stuff sticks good and flexible in thin coats. worthless if you want to fill a crevasse between a couple bezel pieces.

 

is there a way to like brush on a layer of the paste and then texture the surface so it looks like normal textured abs when it dries? otherwise I would think its necessary to sand and paint it.

[GnatGoSplat]

is there a way to like brush on a layer of the paste and then texture the surface so it looks like normal textured abs when it dries? otherwise I would think its necessary to sand and paint it.

 

Not very easily unless you had some kind of reverse mold of the texture. You'd also need some kind of release agent so the ABS paste doesn't stick to the mold. Another problem is the paste dries very quickly. You don't have nearly as much time to work with ABS paste as you do filler because the paste dries at the rate MEK evaporates.

[Skunkworks_Zed]

On my double-DIN conversion, I used poor man's plastic welding. Basically just a 15W soldering iron and melting the scrap pieces that were cut off of the bezel itself. It was pretty rough, but strong. Then I finished with ABS paste which still left pin holes, so I filled the pin holes with JB Weld, but any filler will do. JB Weld isn't a filler, but what I had handy, and it's very smooth. Filler probably sands much easier, ABS wasn't that easy to sand and is very time consuming.

You can't make ABS paste from ABS plastic from the car, because it's a fire retardant plastic that has some kind of talc added into it. It just crumbles when soaked in MEK. You need to use ABS plastic like the kind you can get from stereo installers (the black textured sheets work well). Plastic from the casing of old electronics works well too.

 

After having worked with both fiberglass and ABS+MEK, go with ABS. It's considerably easier to work with.

 

 

I did a double-din conversion on my 95 GTP, and made ABS paste out of the dash pieces that I cut out However, they may have used a different type of ABS in the 94+ dash. Its definitely not flame retardant, as I found out on another car.

 

I used only ABS paste on mine, no other fillers. I tired some fibreglass filler (since the ABS paste sets quick, but takes atleast 12 hours to full harden) but it doesn't stick to the paste, it just reflows it slightly and peels off. As for sanding, I used various metal files, and it was as easy as sanding lightweight fillers with sandpaper.

[GnatGoSplat]

They could very well have changed something on 94+. On my 89, it has ABS in a circle, but above it is WMP. Best I could find is it's some kind of added fire retardant. My Silverado bezel was made of PC (polycarbonate).

Good point on the metal files, they do work really well on ABS. I used one where I could, but my 89 bezel has some spots where a file doesn't work very well due to the bezel shape (radio part is recessed into the bezel).

[Skunkworks_Zed]

I checked the bezel, and around the dash on my '95 GTP, and it just has "ABS" in a box, with no other text other than a p/n, and the typical CAV #. Odd that they bothered changing it.

 

Now that I think of it, when I did some dash work on my '93, the ABS went powdery as it was heated (grinding, and soldering it back together). It definitely didn't melt well.

 

I will agree, that using ABS paste is a better choice than fibreglass. Its less messy, easier to work with, doesn't stink, and there will be no worries about it cracking when the bezel flexes. Plus, since its the bezel's native material, theres no compatibility issues.