Looking to fix up my fairings.
>Cracks that need fixed, simple.
>Missing tabs need replaced, oh well, not much issue.
>Missing chunks that must fit together against frame, mirrors, and windscreen
>The dark souls of motorcycle fairing repair
Older bike (Ninja 500R, '09) aftermarket or used fairings are rare to find, and minimally $200, I'd like to fix it for less.
>jpeg.jpeg
The issue, and what I can't seem to find help for online, are the missing chunks, picrel. Can post more pics, diff angles. The specific problem being that the missing parts need to fit with everything else, as well as bear some weight. There are many bends and curves to deal with. There are methods I have found for creating larger chunks of fairing, but none I have seen in these more intricate areas. I'm sure one of you has the knowledge I am looking for, help me PrepHole!!! The methods I've found for general ABS fairing repair are:
>ABS cement (like Oatey), good for cracks
>Acetone/scrap ABS ie "ABS slurry," or "plastic glue," acetone evaporates leaving solid ABS. Good for cracks, again.
>Solvent (ie Methyl Ethyl Ketone) to soften material and bond. Same as above, I think.
>Plastic welding, use a lego or spare ABS plastic, melt with soldering iron
>Plastifix/Plast-Aid/Plastex, a 2 part compound, liquid & powder, drop liquid into powder via syringe, place into a crack, drip more liquid.
>For tabs, bigger pieces w/ above method, create mold of existing tab using clay, place mold onto broken area, drip compound into mold.
>Above method without mold, using aluminum tape/etc. Shape & sand into proper shape.
>ABS sheet, haven't found much on this, but I'm leaning towards trying this. Taking a sheet and cutting to rough shape, heat & bend to shape, bond to fairing, sand/shape/drill holes (This one is my own idea, not seen anywhere online, idk if it'll work)
I've had to do pretty much exactly this OP.
ABS slurry is the best method imo, and if done correctly will make a repair as strong as the original.
For cracks, gouge out the edges the back side of the piece, and rough up 1-2cm each side. can use duct tape on the front side if there are parts that don't mate perfectly.
For the top parts that are completely missing, reattach the windshield with duct tape (the non-fabric kind is what I used, but any should be fine provided you test that the slurry wont eat through it) and then slowly build up a replacement part layer by layer, painting the slurry on over a few days.
If you're interested I'll get pics of the repair job I did to help. It's held up to track days since though no worries.
I intended to use said method for the cracks, but the slurry method sounds like it may be much easier than attaching/removing material from an ABS sheet until it fits, I like that idea a lot. Would you recommend any structural support, such as an aluminum or fiberglass mesh for those top pieces? I'd definitely be interested in seeing your repair.
I clearly didn't go for appearances, just needed something that would hold together for the track, but if you spend the time you'll be able to get a great result.
Looks good anon, definitely would do the trick for my purposes if sanded/painted. So you just melted some ABS (looks like you used ABS sheet material rather than legos or whatever) with acetone? What ratio of acetone/ABS did you use? How long did it take to cure/dry? I've seen some worry about brittleness in regard to the original fairing, but I'm not sure that worry is founded, as the material will be molecularly bonded, in a similar manner to which the part was originally fabricated. I'm glad to hear that your repair has held up while racing. You didn't use any structural support mesh or anything?
Yeah, just a 3mm ABS sheet cause that was easiest for me to get and acetone.
I used the ratio this guy used here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4LoMJGfhzg) which is 50 grams of ABS plastic to 125ml acetone.
Curing time depends on thickness, generally what I was doing was a layer in the morning before work, then another layer when I got back until I was satisfied.
It's pretty easy to tell when its not fully cured, just poke it with a toothpick or similiar.
As for brittleness, I havent had any issues, hard to see but in my pic some of those joints are under stress all the time and i haven't had any fail, worst I've seen is some poor adhesion where i didn't rough up the back of the fairing enough.
No mesh or anything used, and I've used this same method on repairing a mates side mirror mount on a 4wd (albeit a lot thicker) and it's still going strong 1yr+ on.
I wonder how difficult it would be to 3D print a rough version of the missing pieces in ABS, bond, and then sand to proper fit/shape. Just a thought. I'm going to begin work tomorrow using the slurry method. Will probably post thread(s) updating my progress.
Possible, but 1) designing compound curves like that is sort of trial and error without good references and 2) printing ABS is a massive PITA if you're not set up to do it; you need a really good heat bed (one that can hold temps @ 80-90C) and an enclosure to keep in the heat and prevent warping (a foamcore box can do in a pinch).
If the thread is still up when I get back from work tonight then I'll get some up for you mate.
I didn't bother with any reinforcement, mainly because in my research it didn't seem to have any great benefit. Looking at your missing parts I would say its the same story.
When the slurry dries is as rigid as ABS and bonded to the parent piece as if it were one piece - those pieces at the top of the front fairing are also supported by the windshield so you should be fine.
Had a similar issue with a 1982 cx500.
I used fibreglass.
Had to do a lot of sanding to shape it when the resin set but when i painted it you couldn't tell it had ever been damaged.
Anybody know common materials that are made of ABS? I mostly have bionicles which I guess arent ABS...
Update: Those little black + axles, o pins, and the beams they connect to, and essentially all the "technix" pieces/bionicle parts are NOT ABS plastic, or very little parts ABS. They did become soft and more brittle but never fully dissolved. Had my mom find my old trash bag of lego bricks. Found a bunch of OG style bricks in a similar color to the fairing. Tried to pick the oldest ones which could be crumbled apart easily. When put into the acetone it dissolved INSTANTLY. Will begin actual work tomorrow.