Red Hot

[AZsix]

I did a search on fixing body cracks and saw one that recommended using Red Hot. Is anyone familiar with it and where can I get it?

[butterflyfish]

bumping this to the top since I have a similar question.  

I too have a crack on the front of my PU under the bunk end from where the previous owner seemed to have pushed it.  it looks like it was repaired once before.  I was wondering if the red hot glue that has been talked about is the same as Christy's Red Hot Blue Glue  I also don't think I can get behind the panel (it's a 2001 coleman sun valley if anyone knows a way).  Would it be possible to repair it from the front and then paint the glue to somewhat match?  Or is there just a better alternative for fixing this crack?

Any advice is greatly apreciated!  

[SpeakEasy]

bumping this to the top since I have a similar question.  

I too have a crack on the front of my PU under the bunk end from where the previous owner seemed to have pushed it.  it looks like it was repaired once before.  I was wondering if the red hot glue that has been talked about is the same as Christy's Red Hot Blue Glue  I also don't think I can get behind the panel (it's a 2001 coleman sun valley if anyone knows a way).  Would it be possible to repair it from the front and then paint the glue to somewhat match?  Or is there just a better alternative for fixing this crack?

Any advice is greatly apreciated!  

butterflyfish, that part of your Coleman is ABS isn't it? The repair of that material would be different from the repair of other materials. I spoke last week with my Coleman/Fleetwood dealer about it, because I'm facing a similar repair. His advice was to put a layer of ABS cement on first (on the inside), then lay in a layer of fiberglass mesh while the cement is still uncured, then another layer of ABS cement on top of that. He also said that before I do this I should drill a very small hole at the end of the crack to keep it from spreading. After all is cured he recommended rustoleum paint. There was a particular color (Polar White?) that he said would match the original ABS quite well.

-Speak

[butterflyfish]

butterflyfish, that part of your Coleman is ABS isn't it? The repair of that material would be different from the repair of other materials. I spoke last week with my Coleman/Fleetwood dealer about it, because I'm facing a similar repair. His advice was to put a layer of ABS cement on first (on the inside), then lay in a layer of fiberglass mesh while the cement is still uncured, then another layer of ABS cement on top of that. He also said that before I do this I should drill a very small hole at the end of the crack to keep it from spreading. After all is cured he recommended rustoleum paint. There was a particular color (Polar White?) that he said would match the original ABS quite well.

-Speak

Thanks.  This is all so new to us!  Now I just have to figure out how to get on the inside of the panel...   :confused: any ideas???  since the seat that rests against that panel has a drawer and a cabinet under it and sadly, I will not fit into the space under they make.  I wonder if the seat comes off somewhat easily enough that we could get it back on... lol  

[Toby]

butterflyfish, that part of your Coleman is ABS isn't it? The repair of that material would be different from the repair of other materials. I spoke last week with my Coleman/Fleetwood dealer about it, because I'm facing a similar repair. His advice was to put a layer of ABS cement on first (on the inside), then lay in a layer of fiberglass mesh while the cement is still uncured, then another layer of ABS cement on top of that. He also said that before I do this I should drill a very small hole at the end of the crack to keep it from spreading. After all is cured he recommended rustoleum paint. There was a particular color (Polar White?) that he said would match the original ABS quite well.

-Speak

Great advice, but I would also consider applying three coats of glass in layers, in a criss cross pattern to give it strengeth, using this method you could also glass in some supports such as wood or even a thin plywood if there is room that is.  This will make it stronger than original.



Rob.....

[wavery]

I would think that it would be far better to get a flat piece of ABS and glue that over the crack.

The way that ABS "glue" works is that it melts the surface of the ABS that is being repaired. You put a coat of ABS cement on the surface of the 2 pieces being "glued" together (thus melting the surface of each piece). When the 2 melted surfaces come in contact, they dry together as one piece. What you are actually doing is "Welding" the 2 pieces together.

ABS Glue is not actually a "glue" at all. Trying to adhere anything but another piece of ABC is rather futile. It may stick to the melted ABS as it dries but it will certainly not add any reinforcement value. I've never heard of using "FG mesh" on ABS and it makes little sense because the ABS won't do anything to the FG cloth.

Just my 2 cents.

[SpeakEasy]

I would think that it would be far better to get a flat piece of ABS and glue that over the crack.

The way that ABS "glue" works is that it melts the surface of the ABS that is being repaired. You put a coat of ABS cement on the surface of the 2 pieces being "glued" together (thus melting the surface of each piece). When the 2 melted surfaces come in contact, they dry together as one piece. What you are actually doing is "Welding" the 2 pieces together.

ABS Glue is not actually a "glue" at all. Trying to adhere anything but another piece of ABC is rather futile. It may stick to the melted ABS as it dries but it will certainly not add any reinforcement value. I've never heard of using "FG mesh" on ABS and it makes little sense because the ABS won't do anything to the FG cloth.

Just my 2 cents.

Interesting thoughts on the mesh. I'd follow your advice about the flat piece of ABS, but the places I am repairing are corners. The cracks are both in the rounded corners of the front of the pup. I'll have to think some more about this, and maybe ask my Fleetwood guy to respond.

-Speak

[wavery]

Interesting thoughts on the mesh. I'd follow your advice about the flat piece of ABS, but the places I am repairing are corners. The cracks are both in the rounded corners of the front of the pup. I'll have to think some more about this, and maybe ask my Fleetwood guy to respond.

-Speak

I Think that if you were to find some thin ABS, you might be able to play around with heating and bending it to shape (on the outside surface) before "Gluing" it in (on the inside).

The thin stuff is pretty flexible. If you push it into the corner (after applying the "glue" on both surfaces), you would only have to hold it in place for about 20 seconds and it is in. You just don't get a second chance..

[McCampers]

The Christys red hot will work on ABS, but it is not necessarily the fix you are looking for.  I would try to replace parts first.  Especially if the fix is for anything other than cosmetics.  Christys works well with most plastic compounds, but specifically with PVC.  The comments about welding are correct.  It would classify as a chemical weld at that point.  A true hot iron weld might work as well if you have room to manuever the the materials and hold them together. I personally like hot iron welds better than chemical, but both are the same strength.  Be very carefull not to get this stuff on yourself.  It is a carcinogen.  Although probably not much worse than gasoline or paint thinner.

[SpeakEasy]

I have completed the repairs that I referred to above. I used Oatey All Purpose Cement for PVC, ABS, and CPVC, which I found in the plumbing section of Lowes. I did lay in the fiberglass mesh, as my Fleetwood dealer recommended. I also put additional layers of the cement over the whole thing as each layer dried. After several hours the cement cured to a fairly hard condition. The fiberglass mesh bridges the cracks and provides a solid yet flexible repair. I was not able to paint it yet, because I haven't been able to find any of the paint that the dealer recommended.

I will update here as the repair ages to let you know how durable it is.

-Speak

[maromeo]

We had a crack in our storage lid 2 yrs ago. We drilled 2 stop holes on either side of the crack and used an ABS epoxy found at an electrical store. It dried to a yellow color. We sanded down any excessive after it dried and painted the whole cover with Rustoleum Fusion paint for plastic. It has held up well and you can't even tell there was any repair on the lid. The lid has a pebble texture to it so the paint worked well.

Hope this helps.

Mary Romeo