Superglue as Bondo!

[crazy steve]

I just wanted to mention that if you need to repair any gouges, or in my case, fill the holes for the emblems, on the plastic sidecovers, 'Bugs superglue trick works great! Took about ten minutes for both, including sanding! Slick!!

[mr_misfit138]

Do you have a link to that? I was gonna fill the emblem holes on my side panels, and it sounds like this would be perfect.

[natemoen]

JB weld works great for those side emblems too.

[crazy steve]

Do you have a link to that? I was gonna fill the emblem holes on my side panels, and it sounds like this would be perfect.

Don't need a link; all I did was put some masking tape over the outside, filled the hole with superglue (liquid, not gel), then pushed some common baking soda into the glue. The soda dries the glue almost instantly, I did it two more times to get a little thickness. Flipped the covers, pulled off the tape, and repeat. Sand the 'lump' down flat, and you're done...

This was posted for rebuilding the locking tab where part of the sidecover latch is broken off, where it also works great, so if it'll take that use, this is no sweat...

[mr_misfit138]

With the superglue, do you have to do a little and then let it cure, and then some more, and then some more... until the holes are filled, or did you back the hole with something and fill it completely in one go? I guess that's what I should have asked in my other post.

[CRXSi90]

Here are a few thoughts that I wanted to unload:

Superglue (cyanoacrylate) sets up by reacting with moisture in the air. POR-15 is a cyanoacrylate paint.

The thought of mixing Epoxy sounded excessive for some of my simple gluing/filling jobs, but after doing it a few times, it is really not that bad. And epoxy is more chemical resistant than superglue. (but harder to remove if you mess up)

You can use various fillers (talc, glass blasting media, metal shavings, etc) with superglue or epoxy to save on adhesive, reduce shrinkage, and possibly improve strength.

[mr_misfit138]

Thanks! Looks like I got one more thing to add my XS to-do list for next week!

[crazy steve]

The baking soda 'cures' the superglue almost instantly. It also 'shrinks' the glue, so you'll need to do at least a couple of applications to get the same thickness or more as the cover; I went extra on the inside. Like I said, it only took me about 10 minutes...

I also used this method to fill a few gouges in one; apply some glue, 'dip' the cover in the soda, repeat until you know it's filled.

[CatatonicBug]

With the superglue, do you have to do a little and then let it cure, and then some more, and then some more... until the holes are filled, or did you back the hole with something and fill it completely in one go? I guess that's what I should have asked in my other post.

You want to start with just a small amount of glue. Just enough to wet the surface. Then lightly dust the glue with baking soda. If you try to do too much at once, the shrinkage will prevent the glue from sticking and the baking soda won't be able to reach down to the bottom of the glue to make it "cure". The trick is to drip, dust, drip, dust - until you have a mound just higher than you need. It then sands/grinds/paints just like plastic.

[mr_misfit138]

You want to start with just a small amount of glue. Just enough to wet the surface. Then lightly dust the glue with baking soda. If you try to do too much at once, the shrinkage will prevent the glue from sticking and the baking soda won't be able to reach down to the bottom of the glue to make it "cure". The trick is to drip, dust, drip, dust - until you have a mound just higher than you need. It then sands/grinds/paints just like plastic.

Thanks, Bug. That's another thing too... What are the major differences in prepping and painting the plastic panels, as opposed to the gas tank? I've never attemped painting plastic automotive parts before.

[natemoen]

Thanks, Bug. That's another thing too... What are the major differences in prepping and painting the plastic panels, as opposed to the gas tank? I've never attemped painting plastic automotive parts before.

One thing is that the old plastics will absorb the paints quite a bit so the preping and the pricing is more important to seal the plastics and get the finish coat on the plastic to match the tank finish coat.

[crazy steve]

...That's another thing too... What are the major differences in prepping and painting the plastic panels, as opposed to the gas tank? I've never attemped painting plastic automotive parts before.

All I'm going to do to mine is wet-sand them until smooth, leaving as much of the OEM paint as possible. Getting a bond to some plastics can be tough, so seeing how the original paint has stuck all these years, leaving that as a base should do the trick.

But I don't think the plastic Yamaha used is anything too weird, so 'normal' prep should be ok. You won't need a etching primer though...