How do you weld plastic? Do you use a soldering iron, or butane torch? What tip do you use? Do you just heat it up and stick it together or what? I want to make stubbies out of my bumpers, but I want to know how to weld plastic before I start cutting.

 

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Remove the space in the http portion of the link.

Lots of other links if you google plastic welding.

 

Harbor freight carries a variety of models, most of which require an air compressor.

Somewhere out there also is a very easy to use type that is similar to a glue gun, but with plastic rods.

or you can buy the plastic rods used for either, and throw a little butane torch into the mix.

 

Thanks for the information, but how are the people on this site welding there bumpers back together after they cut them?

 

Keep in mind that there are two types of plastics. Thermoplastics, and thermoset plastics. One of them can be remelted the other just chars. I have never heard of welding plastic, except in production like untrasonic welding etc. I would think the welding would would be a bonding like a solvent bond. Sometimes you here of solvent welding, but its is more like a glue. I would be a little careful about just taking a torch to the plastic and expecting to work with it.

 

They teach you plastic welding in PipeFitting school, well years ago it was much more popular, it involved using a rod and air/heart type gun similar to TIG welding by appearance. We could weld ABS and several types of plastics which involved the actual fusion/material penetration of similar/dissimilar plastics and not a type of soldering of the plastic which is a surface only bond.

 

Yeah, what are you using specifically Crash? The photos of you bumper mod look so good I thought it was a Photoshop at first.

 

The welding I did on the bumper was with a cheap little blowtorch.
Just cut thin strips from scrap bumper pieces.
Then heat up a little piece, and warm the two pieces you want together, then use the little piece to fill in between.
when it cools, its a very strong hold.

BE VERY CAREFUL not to get the pieces you are keeping too hot, or they may lose their shape.

What I did was weld on the backside for strength, and filled in the little front cracks with Quicksteel Plastic putty. It is waterproof, sandable, and paintable, and very easy to use.

Lemme know if you have more questions.

FOR THOSE WHO DONT KNOW WHAT MOD HES TALKING ABOUT:
Its the QUAD LIGHT Front Bumper mod.

 

I used a regular cheapo soldering iron. Just take your time, and as mentioned earlier, use strips from what you cut to fill in as you go. I "welded" the outside and used plastic bumper repair epoxy from Advance Auto on the inside for added strength.

 

That's probably one of the best jobs I've seen on our bumpers. I've been contemplating the rear as a temp fix to make it look better with the narrow flat fenders.