Clear Adhesive for Tail Light Repair? (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

jaymar

SILVER Star
Joined
May 12, 2015
Threads
275
Messages
2,804
Location
SoCal
Backed into something, punched out a section of clear plastic. Recovered most of it. Break is on angle, so part it is half-thickness or less (split), meaning there will be a big patch of adhesive and not just a thin line between cleanly-broken shards.

Can anyone recommend a clear-drying adhesive to glue this back together?

Also—any recommendations for “filler” material to span the gap where I won’t have plastic?

Thanks!




4EFF402C-36C1-47D1-A11E-4AFC7F6A1370.jpeg
E2876271-D290-427E-9C21-8D85C34B3CE9.jpeg
 
Clear Epoxy might work?? Have you considered a used part from the Classifieds (or a Salvage yard)?
 
Any ideas for bridging the gap?
 
Get a syringe and use acetone. Put the parts together and use the syringe to put tiny amounts on the crack. Capillary action will pull it into the crack. This works on plexiglass and many related plastics. Not positive what material that lens is made from but if acetone will soften it then it will glue it. You will still see the break line unfortunately.

Edit: missed the "missing plastic" part. Acetone won't cure that. I would just use the clearest 2 part epoxy I could find to fill with.
 
Last edited:
The break is in two directions, like a lap joint, so I'll have to slather some adhesive between the "slices" as well, as they overlap...
 
The break is in two directions, like a lap joint, so I'll have to slather some adhesive between the "slices" as well, as they overlap...

That's why a liquid like acetone works very well. You stick the syringe needle on the crack and the liquid is drawn into the crack. I did a bit of research and acetone only works on acrylic (plexiglass) and I'm guessing that lens is made from polycarbonate - just a guess. If so then you need to use methylene chloride instead of acetone. Probably not so easy to find in Kali.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom