ATV Front Carrier

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I do not know really where to post, but I thought I would try here and hope no one minds.  What I have is an ATV front carrier that has a crack down the middle.  Unfortunately it is not metal but I am hoping someone knows of a technique to weld this crack. I have heard of a plastic weld but canot find a verifiable source. I have marked the damaged area in red and it appears to be bakelite type material or I suppose a hard pastic.  I have tried several Polaris dealers and they do not know what it is made of and I cannot seem to find a contact at Polaris corporate.  I even tried the ATV forum, no soap. . So if somone has a technique I would appreciate it.  Thanks. Attached ImagesGeezerPower Mig 255C185 TIGBlue 175 MIGRanger 8 Kohler 20HP1974 5K Lincoln/Wisconsin Powered (Cherry)Victor/Harris O/AK 487 Spool Gun
Reply:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_weldingThere are burn charts for some of the more common plastics (see bottom of this page):http://www.plasticweldingandtools.co...ification.htmlbut nowadays there are so many different specialty resins and additives (flame retardants, etc) that it might be harder to determine that way.The first thing I'd do is take it off and see if there's any lettering molded into it that might give a clue to its composition.The ultimate way would be to find a lab with a Fourier-Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectrometer and have them run a little sliced-off piece of it.P.S.  You mentioned it being a hard plastic, which could mean that it is glass-filled and/or compression-molded, the latter of which would mean its a thermosetting resin and would have to be patched from the backside and/or glued back together since thermosets can't be re-melted.Last edited by dbotos; 05-06-2011 at 10:17 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by dbotoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_weldingThere are burn charts for some of the more common plastics (see bottom of this page):http://www.plasticweldingandtools.co...ification.htmlbut nowadays there are so many different specialty resins and additives (flame retardants, etc) that it might be harder to determine that way.The first thing I'd do is take it off and see if there's any lettering molded into it that might give a clue to its composition.The ultimate way would be to find a lab with a Fourier-Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectrometer and have them run a little sliced-off piece of it.
Reply:Check with a reputable autobody shop they will have techniques to identify what plastic it is.  When I was in the industry we had to do repairs on a wide range of different plastics (Bumpers, mirror housings, etc) and one of the tests was to use an angle grinder with a course disc on an inconspicuous area.  If the grinder melted the plastic it one type of plastic, and if it powdered it, it was another (polyurethane, polypropylene, etc etc).  I just dont remember.  Again check with a local bodyshop or paint jobber.  Or contact 3m they make a lot of the plastic repair materials and should have that info as well.Jay DavisAWS-CWIC-60 Specialty Welding ContractorLoving husband, and father of two boys (
Reply:Just this lowly fellas opinion but if it were mine I wouldn't **** with it... leave it be, its not affecting the atv's usability, and after a $$ and time investment repair it would be a real bummer when it cracked the first time you bumped something or put a load on the front rack...Or build a proper metal unit like it should have had in the first place
Reply:Here is a link for a product for plastic repair from Eastwoodhttp://www.eastwood.com/rigid-plasti...kit-white.htmlhttp://www.eastwood.com/ew-2k-univer...cartridge.htmlhttp://www.eastwood.com/rigid-plasti...kit-white.htmlHarbor Frieght had a plastic welding kit available at one time as well .
Reply:Originally Posted by jbyrdCheck with a reputable autobody shop they will have techniques to identify what plastic it is.  When I was in the industry we had to do repairs on a wide range of different plastics (Bumpers, mirror housings, etc) and one of the tests was to use an angle grinder with a course disc on an inconspicuous area.  If the grinder melted the plastic it one type of plastic, and if it powdered it, it was another (polyurethane, polypropylene, etc etc).  I just dont remember.  Again check with a local bodyshop or paint jobber.  Or contact 3m they make a lot of the plastic repair materials and should have that info as well.
Reply:I don't know that your going to plastic weld this, there are some unweldable plastics and I think these racks and bumpers likely are.  They have some type of fiber in them to make them stronger. I ran into a similar problem repairing a John Deere telehandler hood, had to use an adhesive.  I might actually have a used bumper around,  I can look if your interested.
Reply:If welding is not an option then I would focus on an epoxy that is designed for that type of plastic.  3M carries a line.  SEM also carries a line that works well.  We used SEM's Problem Plastic Repair quite a bit when we could not exactly identify what plastic it was.  We would then retexture, and repaint based on what finish we wanted (gloss, matte, etc) Rarely had a comeback.Jay DavisAWS-CWIC-60 Specialty Welding ContractorLoving husband, and father of two boys (
Reply:Originally Posted by cd19I don't know that your going to plastic weld this, there are some unweldable plastics and I think these racks and bumpers likely are.  They have some type of fiber in them to make them stronger. I ran into a similar problem repairing a John Deere telehandler hood, had to use an adhesive.  I might actually have a used bumper around,  I can look if your interested.
Reply:Nice atv, is that an xplorer, air cooled model?  I have the same one, but with the 400 liquid cooled motor.  I crashed it once into a tree and broke the top rack, but didn't do a thing to the bumper.  It's made of some sort of ultra tough plastic/fiber, probably not weldable.  If you're just worried about cosmetics, you can always invest in a brush guard for the front to cover the cracks up.
Reply:Originally Posted by geezerThanks a ton.  I would hope Polaris would fess up on the composition, but I cannot seem to get through.  Wiki site helped.  I also googled some kind of "Leister" plastic welding tool made in the UK, but as you said, I have to determine the composition. I'll take it off and check for lettering.  Thanks for taking the time to post.
Reply:wrap it with fine fiberglass cloth and use epoxy resin as your binder. Thats what we used working on/repairing sailplanes. Stuff is way more expensive than fiberglass resin, but it adheres to just about anything. Besides, if you encapsulate the break in a laminate it will probably be stronger than it was originally.I think last time I bought epoxy resin by the gallon it was a german import  @ $120 per gallon. MLM
Reply:Originally Posted by allfluxedupwrap it with fine fiberglass cloth and use epoxy resin as your binder. Thats what we used working on/repairing sailplanes. Stuff is way more expensive than fiberglass resin, but it adheres to just about anything. Besides, if you encapsulate the break in a laminate it will probably be stronger than it was originally.I think last time I bought epoxy resin by the gallon it was a german import  @ $120 per gallon. MLM
Reply:I think it needs to be replaced in  STEEL. That's what we do here right so who lives closest?Miller thunderbolt 250Decastar 135ERecovering tool-o-holic ESAB OAI have been interested or involved in Electrical, Fire Alarm, Auto, Marine, Welding, Electronics ETC to name a just a few. So YES you can own too many tools.
Reply:Make it from gauge metal, oh yeah! Drum up a sketch of a bumper laid out as a single, unfolded sheet. Then bend to fit and weld it tight. We have seen some crazy truck bumpers come out very well with that technique.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny