Post by snafu on Dec 31, 2014 15:18:50 GMT -5
A few months ago coming back from fishing my expensive Yakima roof rack tore off my car launching my kayak onto the highway. With the holidays coming up I put off making any repairs to it. Planning on fishing this weekend I got around to welding up the crack today.
There are two popular methods to welding plastic. One of them is with a soldering iron with a flat screwdriver type tip, and the other is using a hot air gun. I used both methods today. First I drill a small hole at each end of the crack, to help relieve any stress and to keep the crack from walking while applying heat. I used a razor blade to trim off excess material from inside the front hatch area. I used the hot air gun first and heated up around the crack area. You can see the color of the plastic slightly change and become shiny as it heats up. Once the plastic was warm I took the small strips of patch material and laid them into the crack. I twisted the strips of material around mixing it with the softened plastic of the kayak. Once the major welding of the crack was completed using this twisting plastic/hot air gun method. I then used the soldering iron with more material strips to fill in any small spots. You can also use the flat edge of the iron to smooth out any high spots or bumps to help blend in with the plastic.
Making the repairs was pretty easy, once you get over the fear factor of possibly melting your kayak. But with a hot air gun it is very easy to work slowly, if you are afraid it's getting too hot you simply back away the gun. The soldering iron requires a little more feel, because once you touch the iron to the kayak it melts.
The first picture is a before picture, I drilled a hole in each end of the crack. The second picture you can see where I twisted in a small strip of patch material. And the third picture is after the welding is completed. It's a little ugly but it works and it's strong.
There are two popular methods to welding plastic. One of them is with a soldering iron with a flat screwdriver type tip, and the other is using a hot air gun. I used both methods today. First I drill a small hole at each end of the crack, to help relieve any stress and to keep the crack from walking while applying heat. I used a razor blade to trim off excess material from inside the front hatch area. I used the hot air gun first and heated up around the crack area. You can see the color of the plastic slightly change and become shiny as it heats up. Once the plastic was warm I took the small strips of patch material and laid them into the crack. I twisted the strips of material around mixing it with the softened plastic of the kayak. Once the major welding of the crack was completed using this twisting plastic/hot air gun method. I then used the soldering iron with more material strips to fill in any small spots. You can also use the flat edge of the iron to smooth out any high spots or bumps to help blend in with the plastic.
Making the repairs was pretty easy, once you get over the fear factor of possibly melting your kayak. But with a hot air gun it is very easy to work slowly, if you are afraid it's getting too hot you simply back away the gun. The soldering iron requires a little more feel, because once you touch the iron to the kayak it melts.
The first picture is a before picture, I drilled a hole in each end of the crack. The second picture you can see where I twisted in a small strip of patch material. And the third picture is after the welding is completed. It's a little ugly but it works and it's strong.
