The bodywork held up exceptionally well considering the severity of the crash, but still had a sizable hole and crack in the side. Since the majority of the exterior is usually made up of fiberglass, knowing how to fix those cracks can come in handy. In fiberglass boat repair the repair area may have hardness very similar to the original laminate and you can accidentally change the shape of the surrounding area. Repair cracked and broken motorcycle fairing ninja 250r repair fairing with fiber glass repair kit. Fill the crack with a fair amount of fiberglass epoxy resin, using a plastic applicator. The previous owner of my k75s had a very low speed lowside that put a bit of rash on the right upper fairing and a couple of cracks that go all the way through the side of the belly pan. While cleanliness is paramount, that is only half of the equation. Finish sanding should be with a fine grit sand paper 220 grit. Paint your motorcycle at home for lesscandy purple allkandy wet wet plus suzuki hayabusa gsx0r duration. The technical bit behind this is that the fiberglass just adds strength in a way that only a mesh grid can, and the plastic weld acts as a bonding agent that sticks to the fairing and the fiberglass. You may want to apply colored gelcoat enamel over the repaired area, so the repair wont be so noticeable.
Watch easy abs plastic repairs video on how to fix a cracked motorcycle fairing. This is part 4 of the fiberglass and gelcoat series, theres a hole in my boat. You may need to hold the alignment in place with aluminum tape. Mar 18, 2018 paint your motorcycle at home for lesscandy purple allkandy wet wet plus suzuki hayabusa gsx0r duration. The inner fairing has a crack at the center ferrel for the windshield screw. Thankfully, this isnt a very visible part of the bodywork. Failing to properly map the surface before applying fairing compound.
Sources for the adtech p14 filler used in this video. I experienced a low side crash on my track bike that left a few cracks in the fiberglass race fairing. Note that this repair was done on a fiberglass section, but we have done the same procedure repeatedly with stock abs fairings. So i am just going to just repair the crack since you can barely see it since the way its molded right there the plastic closes itself. Jan 31, 2012 the same crack, from the underside of the fender. I removed the fairing, held it in shape from the exterior with tape, and repaired the crack on the interior of the fairing using construction adhesive. Using a slurry of abs dissolved into acetone enables you to build layers and use it as a filler that can fill and repair small, but deeper, cracks that will not close up.
Aim for a 12to1 taper on the fiberglass, so for the thickness of your hull, this is 2 to 3 inches past the repair. The ability to be able to close up a crack and capillary the water thin acetone into the crack makes this a great way to achieve a strong repair. When the area is dry, smooth the surface with sandpaper. This can range from small defects that need a little patching up to major damage that affects the overall shape of the surface. Repair cracked and broken motorcycle fairing with plastifix. Once the adhesive dried, i peeled off the exterior tape, cut off the excess that seeped through, and coloured the excess in the crack with a sharpie to mask it at a distance. When using reinforcing strips enough filler cement should be used to squeeze out on all sides. Would you completely remove gel coat and lay up another layer of glass everywhere a small crack has manifested or as it was one time stress would you grind crack epoxy seal and re gel coat. Anybody know what i can use to repair the crack so it will hold a replacement ferrel. I dont have room for a fiberglass repair on the inside of the fairing. Repair of fiberglass fairing parts does anyone have any experience repairing fiberglass fairing parts. These can sometimes crack or get weak, resulting in a loose fairing.
If the old surface is rough sanded, clean, and sound, any polyester, vinylester, or epoxy resin system will bond indivisibly. Main crack is about 10 inches long with approximate 3 inch branch crack. It is the same idea as fiberglass but with different ingredents. Yes abs and a soldering iron is the best way to repair a crack imo. This is part 4 of a series covering every step of a fiberglass and gelcoat repair. Buy the plastifix to repair your fairing now and have a try on your original fairing before ending up buying a complete new fairing. I used plastex to repair broken tabs on my upper fairing. These are the easiest cracks to fix as theyre not very deep.
Then when that fails, dont slather a 14 layer of silicone caulking all over the inside of the fairing. If the crack isnt closed shut when your epoxy, fiberglass or whatever else you use hardens, its going to look like hell and will need that much more work to make it look good again. Remove your fairings, fiber glass the crack, paint after dry. A common fiberglass repair is replacing damaged core, often because of water absorption. Note that this repair was done on a fiberglass section, but we. It wont hold the ferrel so i can tighted the screw, even with one of the oversize replacements. I used a repair kit for motorcycle body work on my interstate, but that was 25 years ago. Affordable motorcycle fairing repair easy abs plastic. Motorcycle plastics are often discarded because of small cracks in the fairing.
The information discussed in this article is available in our fiberglass boat. Go at it with an electric grinder or very coarse sandpaper. Painting supplies free delivery possible on eligible purchases. This will be broken down into 5 steps, which are similar to those required for structural repairs. Any crack that goes deeper than the gelcoat definitely needs attention. Carefully apply masking tape, lifting back to ensure that no air pockets have been trapped in the gelcoat. Continue building up layers on and around the crack. A boss is the plastic piece that holds the threaded inserts in your fairing. Bmw fairing plastic repair with plastaid brooks airhead. Fiberglass is an amazing material with its high strength, low thermal expansion, and highly versatile workability. This can range from small defects that need a little patching up to. If you are careful and working from the back you can do an almost invisible repair. Repair cracked and broken motorcycle fairing youtube. Fairing repair with plastic weld and fiberglass ninja250wiki.
The fine powder is spread into the back of a crack and the liquid hardener makes a very solid result. Jun 29, 2010 the bodywork held up exceptionally well considering the severity of the crash, but still had a sizable hole and crack in the side. Even with the surface clean and prepped, a mechanical bond is needed to secure the actual repair. A very messy repair, but the crack is completely bonded together. The crack is easy enough to fill, but i need the strength of the aluminum to take the strain off of the allready weak plastic at the fairing to bracket attachment point. There is a small brace above the crack that reinforces the other screw hole for the turn signal and i anchor the fiber glass against it and down across the crack. Do to incredibly full plate of a big household project i was wondering about doing just an exterior repair to the crack.
How to repair a fibreglass crack for beginners youtube. In many of these repairs, the fiberglass skins are in great shape but need to be peeled off to replace the core. To ensure good adhesion it is critical that the repair patch is adhered to. Crack is whack, especially when its in your rvs fiberglass. Given pretty much all fairing parts are round or uneven, it can take a bit of tinkering to figure out a way to set the piece right. These fiberglass cracks can be purely cosmetic, or can severely degrade the boats ability to stay afloat. Any flex in the fiberglassfairing will result in a paint crack. The crack is held back to its original shape and welded together. If you have a fiberglass roof its especially important to get damage fixed as it happens so you dont end up with moisture under it and inside the ceiling.
Plan on using a variety of sanding tools if you are dealing with a repair that bridges both a flat area and a detailed area such as a chine or gunwale. Note that a previous owner tried to repair the crack with super glue and it failed. How to repair a motorcycle fairing with epoxy henkel adhesives. Following a brief slide down the road, mrs phuks fazer top fairing requires a repair. Fortunately, repairing a fiberglass fender is not an overly complicated process since it uses a secondary bond which is basically a repair patch that can be as strong as the original when applied correctly. Bondo starts to set in about 10 minutes, once it does, dont mess with it, you can always sand and. This demonstration shows how to use plastifix to repair a crack in a motorcycle fairing. For basic cracks, it should be more than possible to carefully apply colormatched paint and have the fix all but vanish. Mar 02, 2016 you can repair cracked and broken street bike fairings with plastifix. Since the cracks are all the way through, the first step is to grind the broken fiberglass back into solid unbroken material. How to fix a cracked motorcycle fairing easy abs plastic repair. How to fix a cracked motorcycle fairing easy abs plastic. The filler should be about 316 deep and cover 14 on each side of the crack.
Typically fiberglass is more rigid than the rest of the fairing, but use 2 layers to be sure. Have had a go at fibre glass repairs before but plastics are new to me. We will fix these cracks by bonding in reinforcing plates of abs into the inside of the fairing, where the patch will not be visible. Do not use a large amount of fiberglass body filler because it does not flex well and will crack.
If you have a structural crack that means the entire piece of fiberglass has cracked through. Jun 06, 2016 crack is whack, especially when its in your rvs fiberglass. I use a small piece of fiber glass mat and shape it to fit behind the crack. Some contaminants like tar, grease, and sticker residue will not come off with soap and water. Begin the repair by sanding both sides with 40grit paper. This will prepare the plastic and clean out any paint or old glue which will prevent the repair from bonding. Motorcycle plastics are often discarded because of small cracks in the. Race fairing the advantage of attempting a repairing job on your. Sep 25, 2018 fiberglass is an amazing material with its high strength, low thermal expansion, and highly versatile workability. This liquid resin air cures within 24 hours to repair abs plastics at the fraction of the cost of replacement parts.
Rummage thru the scrap pieces in your repair kit for a shape that is likely to conform to the shape of the windjammer where it is cracked. Motorcycle fairing repair with plastifix polyvance. Smashed up road rash scooter fairing restoration repairs duration. How to fix spider cracks in fiberglass it still runs. The previous owner of my k75s had a very low speed lowside that put a bit of rash on the right upper fairing and a couple of.
This will show how to use plastifix to repair a crack in a motorcycle fairing. You can use epoxy to reinforce them just apply it around the outside of the base and let it cure. Repair your race fairing australian motorcycle news. May 18, 2011 i used plastex to repair broken tabs on my upper fairing. The fairing is cracked and scuffed but nothing is missing.
The crack in this fairing is typical of what you find in a broken motorcycle fairing. In this section we will provide guidelines for cosmetic composite repairs, including fiberglass crack repair, fiberglass gel coat repair, and composite repair finishing. Each fiberglass boat repair kit contains eight packets of west system 105 resin and 205 fast hardener, fiberglass fabric, adhesive filler, fairing filler, glue brushes, mixing pots, a reusable mixing stick, an application syringe, three pairs of protective gloves and illustrated instructions for completing a variety of common fiberglass repairs. How to repair fiberglass body panels napa know how blog.
Using a mixing stick, apply gelcoat to the cracked area. The gel coat cracks are simply cracks in the cosmetic layer thats put over the top to keep the rv looking shiny. Repair cracked and broken motorcycle fairing with plastifix youtube. Fiberglass fairing repair tech and tips ohio riders motorcycle. Here we cover materials and techniques for fairing in a repair area and prepping it for gelcoat. You can repair cracked and broken street bike fairings with plastifix. How to repair a motorcycle fairing with epoxy henkel. Fiberglass fairing repair tech and tips ohio riders. So on my 2003 i have a crack about 2 inch long on my tail fairing on the right hand side from the taillight down 2 inches. After the filler cement has been applied the fairing should be left undisturbed in a warm area for 24 to 48 hours. The remaining videos will be coming out over the next week. I dont care if its ugly and if we see the cracks, i just want something that will hold well so i can install ot back and forget it.
Though fiberglass is a lightweight and durable material, it can still get damaged. I humbly admit that a repair of this size was a challenge for me. Broken cracked plastic motorbike fairing repair kit ebay. Dont slap 2lbs of bondo over the crack and expect it to hold. Mar 07, 2009 we will fix these cracks by bonding in reinforcing plates of abs into the inside of the fairing, where the patch will not be visible.