Plastic welding

I own a Kolpin gun case that mounts to my ATV. A few years ago, I was going through a tight spot and the gun case went one way around a tree while the 4-wheeler went the other way. Something had to give and it was the gun case. If ended up cracking in 3 places near the clasp.

Since the thing is made of polyethylene, it couldn’t be glued as almost nothing sticks to it. I tried a glue especially made for polyethylene plastic but it didn’t hold. I did a bit of research and watched a couple of YouTube videos and spent $30 on a plastic welding kit. It’s basically a tool similar to a soldering iron, and stainless steel mesh is melted into the plastic to bridge the cracks.

I tried it this evening and, except for inhaling smoke, everything went great. I highly recommend it.

Sorry no before pics but here’s a couple after the repairs. I’m sure with a bit of practice the repairs could be smoother.
https://flic.kr/p/2qr19tY
https://flic.kr/p/2qqZyPc

Looking nice, for the first time even better!

If you want "better look"could you perhaps sand the weld around a bit?
Just an idea......

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

I own a Kolpin gun case that mounts to my ATV. A few years ago, I was going through a tight spot and the gun case went one way around a tree while the 4-wheeler went the other way. Something had to give and it was the gun case. If ended up cracking in 3 places near the clasp.

Since the thing is made of polyethylene, it couldn’t be glued as almost nothing sticks to it. I tried a glue especially made for polyethylene plastic but it didn’t hold. I did a bit of research and watched a couple of YouTube videos and spent $30 on a plastic welding kit. It’s basically a tool similar to a soldering iron, and stainless steel mesh is melted into the plastic to bridge the cracks.

I tried it this evening and, except for inhaling smoke, everything went great. I highly recommend it.

Sorry no before pics but here’s a couple after the repairs. I’m sure with a bit of practice the repairs could be smoother.
https://flic.kr/p/2qr19tY
https://flic.kr/p/2qqZyPc

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Looks like it will work just fine. In my younger years i whitewater kayaked all over the world and the kayaks were PE as well. Always had a propane torch and patch kit for emergency repairs on the river. Used something similar to this (PE heat shrink tape) applied with heat back in the day:

Shrink Wrap Tape, Marine Shrink Tape, Boat Shrink Tape in Stock - ULINE.ca

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gbk

Looking nice, for the first time even better!

If you want "better look"could you perhaps sand the weld around a bit?
Just an idea......

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lol as long as the repairs hold I don’t care how rough and ugly it looks. If it was something on my truck, I would be more concerned about how it looks.