Plastic fender repair (1 Viewer)

[Zack1978]

Hey everyone,
I just purchased a used 1988 Honda TRX 300 4x4 ATV. The atv is in perfect shape, as it was not used much in the past 19 years. The one thing that I did notice is that the plastic fenders have some spider webbing and I guess they are brittle. Well yesterday while riding I scraped up against a rock and it cracked the edge of the rear fender. The piece is still attached, it is just cracked. Since the atv is in such good shape I want to repair well. HOw should I do it? One suggestion was a piece of fiberglass mat and resin on the underside of the fender? Would that work? Any ideas?

Thanks,
Zack

 

[Dannomite]

If you want to keep it looking good, I'd replace the plastic. There's not much you can do to broken plastic and keep it looking good.

 

[Zack1978]

If you want to keep it looking good, I'd replace the plastic. There's not much you can do to broken plastic and keep it looking good.

Well since it is an 88 I can't get new plastic, and the crack is not that bad.

Zack

 

[webelk6]

Hey everyone,
I just purchased a used 1988 Honda TRX 300 4x4 ATV. The atv is in perfect shape, as it was not used much in the past 19 years. The one thing that I did notice is that the plastic fenders have some spider webbing and I guess they are brittle. Well yesterday while riding I scraped up against a rock and it cracked the edge of the rear fender. The piece is still attached, it is just cracked. Since the atv is in such good shape I want to repair well. HOw should I do it? One suggestion was a piece of fiberglass mat and resin on the underside of the fender? Would that work? Any ideas?

Thanks,
Zack

that idea can work. You can prolly rattle can after sanding. That type of aged plastic will accept almost any paint.

 

[Zack1978]

that idea can work. You can prolly rattle can after sanding. That type of aged plastic will accept almost any paint.

Well it would not even need paint as from the top-side you can barely tell that it is cracked. I will try the fiberglass method!


Zack

 

[DanS HJ-45]

The fiberglass method should do a decent job to reinforce it, as long as you prep the surface real well. But I would definitely stop drill the crack. Just take a 1/16" drill bit and drill a hole right at the tip of the crack. The stress on the tip of a crack is a few thousand times as much as the stress around a round hole, so if you don't want that crack to grow longer--drill a hole in the end of it. It won't look perfect, but it will stop the crack from getting longer. Note that the crack might be longer than it appears already, so make sure you actually get the end of the crack.

FWIW--for prepping anything for fiberglass work I use M.E.K. The stuff is wicked nasty and strong, but it'll clean anything. It gets all the dust out that you create by scuffing the surface, and also lets you find any cuts you might have on your hands.

Dan