Faring/ hardbag repair advice?

[newmaac]

It is with heavy heart that I have to ask for advice to repair both Pacifico faring and hardbags. I remember seeing posts earlier, but I guess that I am not using the right words in doing a search.
Last night, some unknown vandal (I wouuld rather use another, more descriprive adjective, but this is a family site, right?), kicked my bike over while it was sitting in the driveway, on the center stand.
It landed up against the VW Bug that my son and are restoring.
The windshield is trashed. There is a good sized crack on the inner side of the faring, right accross the lighter hole, and the left hardbag has several cracks. The front fender is no longer aligned with the wheel, but I have not determined if the fender is bent, or the forks twisted. There is even a good sized dent in the right side of the tank from the foot that pushed it over.
The bug, (just ready to go to the paint shop), now has a trashed right door, and front right fender.
If I catch the little SOB that did this, I might send another post, asking for a place to hide-out for a while. I am not thinking that it will be a very civil conversation. )
I could sure use some insight on the plastic, (or is it fibreglass) repairs.
thanks,

[webbcraft2150]

Man, that is a real drag. People can be real _ _ _ _ sometimes. They not only got your bike, but the bug to!! As for the repairs, I have repaired my plastic fairing with fiberglass repair kits with good sucess. There has been some great inroads with "plastic welding" recently. Look in the phone book to see if there are any "welders" in your area. Otherwise, fiberglass repair is the way to go. You can run into some problems if you can't get to the inside to lay the glass. It can be laid on the outside, but in and out is the best way. I know there will be some disagreement on using glass on plastic, but it has worked well for me and is a fairly process.

[TonimusMaximus]

Jesus, Mike. I'd grab my biggest shotgun and question some neighborhood punks. As for the repairs, I'm afraid I'm going to have to say a dirty word. Bondo. They make both plastic and fiberglass repair kits as well as a really good "old school" dent puller, you know the kind with the reverse hammer action to pop dents... Remember, homicide will get you life in prison, but torture will get you 6 months if they still look healthy.

[soccer4m]

repair

I build surfboards and using fiberglass is probably the cheapest and easiest. You can go the the local surf shop and get 1-qt of sanding resin, 1 yard of 6 ounce glass cloth and 1 small bottle of catalyst and for under 15 bucks repair it all. Sand the fairing crack area to remove the coating, mix the glass at 10 drops catalyst to 1 ounce of resin, use small brush to coat area, apply two layers of glass cloth to area, coat with resin and let dry. Sand down to smooth, and apply second coat, sand, let dry and paint. The boat fiberglass kits available at home depot type stores have everything you need also....the fiberglass is strong and can handle flex, I dont think bondo is good for flexing unless there is cloth added to the repair area,,,,good luck, Mike in san diego

[Pat Kelly]

I'm not going to disagree with anyone, just speak from my experience.
My Pacifico fairing was cracked/broken when I got the bike. I fixed it with fiberglass. Within 2 months all the repair peeled off, that's when I realized that the fairing is plastic. I took it to a tweeker that does (did) plastic welding. He repaired it, quite well too. It lasted over a year but eventually it started cracking in other places. I got another fairing (cracked) and he put the two together to make one good fairing. Fiberglass will not stick to the plastic of a Pacifico fairing. Plastic welders are available at Harbor Freight or any such type of industrial tool outlet. I found them starting at around $45.00. My buddy said it's pretty much like welding metal (which I have yet to learn to do). It uses a stream of hot air to melt plastic 'rod' to the peice being attached/repaired. Be sure to 'V' the area so the bead can penetrate. You must also use the correct type of plastic (can't mix PVC and ABS even though Pacifico uses both. I think the outer shell is ABS and the black inner shell is PVC...or visa versa).

I hope this helps...

[newmaac]

Thanks for the input, folks.
I will get out there and check it out this weekend.
Since the Faring is cracked on the inside, near the lighter, it is on a panel that is textured, kinda like the texture of leather.
I am leaning toward using the plastic welder. I don't see how I would blend-in a fibreglass patch.
The hardbag, on the otherhand, is another story. I am thinking of possibly putting a fibreglass patch inside the bag, and knotching and welding the outside.
I will take pics as I go.
Thanks again.

[rockjok]

Sorry to hear about the vandalism!!!

I recall seeing on the Craig Vetter website that there is a plastic fairing repair compound.

http://craigvetter.com/pages/replace...dj-stuff2.html

If you can get it glued strongly and the back is accessable you may want to reinforce it with fiberglass. One way is to try and impregnate some open weave cloth or mat with the glue just like you'd use fiberglass resin. Not perfect but an idea.

If you decide to try this lemme know, I can send you a couple square feet of mat.

Rob

[John]

Plastic repair

One trick I learned from an old timer is to 'weld' the plastic together using a soldering iron. Work the iron over the back side of the crack, about 1/4 inch to each side, using a circular motion, kind of like brazing. Don't linger too long in one area, but using the iron, work the melted plastic towards the crack. You can also use this method on the exposed side, and just sand it down, and do the rest of the filling and sanding like it was a bondo repair. You have to work quickly, because the plastic will harden fast. If you happen to have some of the same plastic available you can use it like a brazing rod and to add more material to the damaged area. After the crack has been melted together, use some stainless steel screen. I couldn't tell you what micron size, but the holes should be a little larger than a window screen. Lay that over the newly repaired area, over lapping each side of the repair by 1/2 inch. Using the iron again, press down on the screen until the plastic beneath it starts to melt and ooze through the screen. It will harden quickly, and it makes one hell of a sturdy repair, and it will be flexible, to a certian point. When complete, the screen should be almost invisible. I have used this method on my wife's FJ1100 (code name: Screamer)with very good results. The PO had dropped it a a few times and the fairing had some fairly large cracks. We took it to a plastic welder, had it repaired, but the welds broke after only a couple of months. That's when I did this repair, and it has lasted over eight years. A little practice on some scrap material, and your ready to go. Good luck!