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First thing I did was to super glue every bit of cracked and broken off plastic to hold them steady in place. I tried to save as much parts as I could that broke off from the corners and tabs. Then I bought a really thick corner brace that I can use to support and reinforce the door handle.
I modified it to fit and take the shape of the part where the handle screws on to the door.
Then I murdered every single crack and tabs with as much JB Weld as I can use. LOL
For the tabs that has long gone and cannot be glued back together; I cutout to shape a cardboard box with the same thickness as the plastic panels from the tabs partially left over to become a mold for the JB Weld to take shape. Then used painters tape to the opposite side to keep them in place as it dries up. Once the epoxy dries up, just peal the painters tape. No sticking or anything, just cut with a blade the cardboard off of the epoxy to shape. Then drill holes for the screws. Good as new. And tougher than ever.
This past weekend, my good friend busted one of the tabs on my '95 Sc400. I found this thread and thought I had a simple fix. Think again. I removed the door only to find that almost every plastic reinforcement was destroyed.
I superglued what I could and I've spent the past 2 hours researching the best way to rebuild. I'll keep you updated as I go.
I superglued what I could and I've spent the past 2 hours researching the best way to rebuild.
Use plastic epoxy. Superglue, Gorilla Glue, and regular epoxies don't seem to do much for bonding ABS plastic. Plastic epoxy hasn't failed me yet, although these old panels are so brittle, the next weakness down the line usually goes shortly thereafter.
Use plastic epoxy. Superglue, Gorilla Glue, and regular epoxies don't seem to do much for bonding ABS plastic. Plastic epoxy hasn't failed me yet, although these old panels are so brittle, the next weakness down the line usually goes shortly thereafter.
Thanks for the advice. I only superglued it to keep anything else from falling apart until I can reinforce it. I'm very surprised at how broken everything was- I wasn't having any problems until the tab was broken.
Did this today while replacing speakers on the SC4. Instructions were flawless BUT be prepared for the upper inside window trim tabs and some of the holes at the door panel edges to literally disintegrate in your hands. Yes, I did use kid cloves and took my time on these on these.
Bump
If I keep on reading on OLT and others thread I might get some progress on my car. Is this guy still around?
My GOD you are genius, love those cheap permanent fix PS DOOR Lenses
busy weekend
Gorilla glue wasn't available when I wrote this DIY many years ago, but they have came up with good formulas since then that seem to do great. I'd recommend using that instead these days. I had no issues with the liquid nails, but prep is key with that product. It won't separate or break, but the repair spot will let go of the liquid nails if not very aggressively prepped and sanded.
08-25-14, 10:07 AM
