03 infiniti fx35 w/all the toys, add a carpc too? oh yeah... :) - Page 4

Peoples · 08-30-2007, 07:07 AM

...i'm jealous

turbocad6 · 08-30-2007, 12:18 PM

the welder I'm using is made by usc, it's nothing more than a fancy variable heat soldering iron with a slightly broader tip... a soldering iron can do it to, the tip should be a bit more flat rather than a point though. a heatgun can be used to curve & shape & help with welding problem plastics. someday I'l do a tutorial on plastic welding, it can be used for so many things in this hobby.

they make air welders for plastic that are cool too, I broke mine a while ago haven't replaced it yet, it blows a tiny tip with hot air, it kinda works like an open flame, but doen't burn like an open flame would

JasonWW · 08-30-2007, 01:11 PM

You have to have the right plastics as well. I've experimented with a lot and some just won't melt, they smoke and burn. Do you have any insight about the plastics to use or where small sheets can be bought?

turbocad6 · 08-30-2007, 01:34 PM

abs sheets can be gotten from installer supply places, I usually use common platic stuff from either a hardware store/ staples, etc... there are several ways to identify plastics, one easy way is to cut it, if it melts as you cut it then it can be usable, if it cuts powdery then it's harder to work with. complcations can come when trying to weld 2 dissimilar plastics too, best thig is to try a small weld & see how well it holds, check out urethane supply corp.s website for a lot of plastic weldfing & idetifying tips

stay away from really shinny plastics, with the right welding materials almost anything can be welded, but abs is the easiest & most common to work with. there are a lot of times I'll buy several cheap plastic items to test & see how they react, usc also makes a universal welding rod that they claim welds anything to anything, but i usually use the material itself to weld & rarely use rods, unless your dealing with like a pp or some other problem plastics, they have good stuff for that, many bumpers are pp & a pain to repair.

JasonWW · 08-30-2007, 02:35 PM

Ah, so that's how you know so much about plastics. Body work on late model cars. I should have guessed.

turbocad6 · 08-30-2007, 02:57 PM

new cars are more & more plastics & composites, & now aluminum is becoming pretty common too...

turbocad6 · 08-30-2007, 11:54 PM

ok, heres a little mini welding tutorial, I decided to not use any fillers at all on the face of this bezel, just abs plastic & that's it, since it's such a minimal piece & very flexible, so I will weld in plastic to fill & then sand & shape, the final bezel is one solid piece of abs plastic bezel, like factory.

the idea is to melt the piece you want to melt to till it's molten, you see I loaded the tip with a piece of scrap from the donor drawer divider, then melt the surface of the bezel with the side of the iron, then add the molten plastic, spread it in & make sure the whole thing is melted & wetted togeather, spred & smooth it with the iron, then when it cools sand it as it was filler, cause it is

heres a few pictures showing the process:

2k1Toaster · 08-30-2007, 11:56 PM

Ah man, you got all the cool tools! My only power tool is a drill!

I had a dremel but I melted it...

Looks good!

sporty_drew · 08-30-2007, 11:56 PM

thats awsome

turbocad6 · 08-31-2007, 12:02 AM

when this is finished it's just prime & paint, if this is sanded smooth enough, it's almost good enough to just leave raw plastic with no primer or paint, the end result is that good. this plastic welding is the basics of any plastic fabrication I do really, on larger pieces with a lot of bulk & surface area this would normally be welded to the point of rough & then bumper repair would be used as a filler.

turbocad6 · 08-31-2007, 12:06 AM

so far I've got over 15 hours into this bezel alone, by the time it's done vents & all I'm guessing around 22 hours total, this takes a lot of patience....

turbocad6 · 08-31-2007, 12:09 AM

how the hell did you melt a dremel

P3D4T0R · 08-31-2007, 12:12 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by turbocad6

how the hell did you melt a dremel

Ive done it too :shrug:

2k1Toaster · 08-31-2007, 12:16 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by turbocad6

how the hell did you melt a dremel

Well after my dad left, hew took all the tools. Everything from the band saw to hand saw. Table saw, screwdrivers, pliers, everything. All that was left to use was a pair of old Kitchen scissors.

So I bought a bright orange Black & Decker Dremel for $35 from HomeDepot because a project I was working on I wanted to cut it. It was 1/4" plywood.

So I used those little itty bitty rotating disks to cut with, and after about 1hr of continuous spinning at high speed with my hands over the "vents" that blow out the hot air,where I was holding turned to goo, and started to burn my fingers so I just moved my hand from the vent but it was too late because the metal piece that holds the bit in (still rotating at high RPM) started to wobble and then it flew out! Not the bit itself, but the actual piece of steel formed into the plastic casing to hold the bit and the bit flew out and lodged itself in the ceiling. Well I just put it back in the case and returned it to Home Depot.

I bought a corded drill instead and that is still the only tool I have!

turbocad6 · 08-31-2007, 12:19 AM

the only way you can tell this started out as a bunch of seperate pieces is from behind, I could really get nuts & finish weld it & smooth the seams from behind too, but that might be just a bit excessive, I may be nuts but I'm not crazy... or is it the other way around... not sure right now, too much plastic fumes