Lexan body work

[Reflection]

I've got a body that I'd like to dovetail both front and back. Would CA glue work for gluing them back together? I've seen a few pics of bodies where guys have used pop rivets and things to hold the body together after cutting. Although that method works,it does though leave little to be desired as far as looks are concerned.

If it won't work on the lexan,surely it would work on a hard plastic body. Might have to get me another hard body to work with.

[SR5Dave]

I would think it'd work. I've used just plain old superglue to put lexan back together. Scratch it up a bunch on either contact side to get a good grip.

You could get a plastic welder too *bling bling*

[jakepkoe]

Shoe-Goo works really well for lexan, makes a really strong bond. It won't look as clean, but it seems CA glue causes the lexan to turn kinda whiteish, so it may be a toss up on looks. If you use the shoe-goo you can smooth it out and make it look much nicer if you (don't laugh, it works) put a li'l spit on your finger and wipe the joint down. You can spread it pretty good and it won't stick to your finger. Once it settles in while curing it'll be all smooth and nice. I'd shoe-goo it from both sides to get the best strength out of it.

[fuzzhead]

jake has got it right. on the drifting site i belong too. there is a guy named dannyp. does amazing chops and body work. i believe he uses shoe goo. and so do most peeps on there.

[willyrocket]

You could try RC56 canopy glue. You can get it at Tower or LHS..........

[Reflection]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll try it one of these days when I can get around to it. I've been way to busy the last few days to even try and put my head into something else.

[BDR]

G'day,

When we cut the Lancrusier body into a ute, we tried CA glue but it broke on the first role, so i tried silicon and never had any probs it's been roled, droped, ran over by a clod and still did'nt break.

Chris

[eric113]

Shoe-Goo works really well for lexan, makes a really strong bond. It won't look as clean, but it seems CA glue causes the lexan to turn kinda whiteish, so it may be a toss up on looks. If you use the shoe-goo you can smooth it out and make it look much nicer if you (don't laugh, it works) put a li'l spit on your finger and wipe the joint down. You can spread it pretty good and it won't stick to your finger. Once it settles in while curing it'll be all smooth and nice. I'd shoe-goo it from both sides to get the best strength out of it.

well i can say that putting little spit on your fingers really works. i did this when i bobbed the bed on my tundra body.

[subarubrattjunkie]

Super glue by nature is not flexible and will fail in a very short amount of time, same with any glue that gets hard. The advantage shoegoo has is it does not get hard and flexes as the body moves, that said however, it is not the most attractive thing for the outside, but hidden is fine. In 3 years of trying to find some way to fix the outside of a body that is paintable or looks presentable, I have had no luck. If you put a layer of SG down and then a piece of reinforcing foil and another overcoat of SG, it will make the joint a lot stronger, good for fabricating and cutting in panels.

[joshm101]

Dove tailing the front ? I think that would be called dove beaking.

Anyways, Id just use some CA and the nreinforce the back with a small lexan piece. Than Shoe goo over it all. Should work

[JasonInAugusta]

Super glue by nature is not flexible and will fail in a very short amount of time, same with any glue that gets hard. The advantage shoegoo has is it does not get hard and flexes as the body moves, that said however, it is not the most attractive thing for the outside, but hidden is fine. In 3 years of trying to find some way to fix the outside of a body that is paintable or looks presentable, I have had no luck. If you put a layer of SG down and then a piece of reinforcing foil and another overcoat of SG, it will make the joint a lot stronger, good for fabricating and cutting in panels.

You do realize that this post is well over a year old, right? :lol:

Since it's back from the dead...

Easiest (and neatest) way to do a lexan dovetail is to cut the body so that it'll fit together correctly, paint it, let the paint dry.

After the paint is dry you can Shoo-Goo a section of .060" lexan behind the joint. Pretty easy. The trick is to paint the body first.

Bud's Racing Products also makes some nylon screws and plastic rivets that can be used instead of Shoo-Goo

[gone_wheelin]

As JIA said, since it has been resurrected, TAP Plastic makes an adhesive for acrylics that they said will work on lexan too. I haven't tried it yet but plan to soon.

I like Jasons suggestion also and may try both on an old beater body soon to see how well they both hold up.

[BrockGrimes]

split it then use that thin clear double sided carpet tape looks like scotch tape but super sticky on both sides, put the two halves together then paint and use another piece of lexan or plastic to re-enforce the joint use black gasket maker like used on auto's to glue the piece of lexan down or silicon. Works great and looks good. Or skip the first part and just scotch tape the 2 body pieces together and re-enforce and glue as needed.

[bobt]

"snip"
Easiest (and neatest) way to do a lexan dovetail is to cut the body so that it'll fit together correctly, paint it, let the paint dry.

After the paint is dry you can Shoo-Goo a section of .060" lexan behind the joint. Pretty easy. The trick is to paint the body first.

"snip"

I am new to crawling but have been an RC dirt racer for awile. A trick I've used to repair or strengthen bodies is using nylon drywall tape and Shoe-Goo. Its great stuff because you can mold it to compound shapes etc.. This would be more flexible than the .060 lexan but I'm not sure if it would be strong enough to hold in crawling. Racing can be brutal but Im sure crawling can be just as bad. Has anyone tried it?

[constantmotion]

2 1/2 years and this thread keeps going, and going

[warriorsimi]

thanks for all the info i just ran into that problem the other day my lhs did not know how to do it so i was about to scrap the idea of a 72 chevy blazer thanks .

[rambuller84]

And going... wonder if he ever got around to it..

[subarubrattjunkie]

This dilemma happens all of the time and as long as we are using Lexan for bodies it will be good information. Anything flexible is better than something that is not, especially for a runner. I have been having better luck with high temp silicone than Shoo Goo and it is a lot easier to be neat with. I guess until the moderators see fit to put in a tech section with all of the solutions to these problems, this thread will live on. I know it isn't as easy as it sounds and they have their hands full already. One thing I am glad to see is more and more small body makers getting into the game. Some of their work is really quite nice and expands the choices from the usual selections. Paint work seems to be improving as well and the paints are getting better. This hobby continues to grow and lets all hope that trend continues!

[crunky]

i'll kick this thread in the pants !
woot !
two scoops of shoe goo, and a side of silicone to go please.

[super mud]

I'm a little confused about the shoe goo. Unless I have a bad batch of it, it dosn't seem very strong, mine is exactly like the glue tht holds those credit cards to the paper in the mail. I've been using for just holding stuff in place. Also what would be best to use if your dove tailing before you paint. So you don't have spots showing through and stuff.

[murderface]

in the almost 4 years this post has been up nobody mentioned 2 stage plastic epoxy it works amazing you just have top be extremely patient with the sanding suz it takes forever to get it smooth and it doesnt matter to me that it turns out a little off white i paint my bodies on the outside automotive style 2 coats primer 3 coats paint 2 coats clear

[subarubrattjunkie]

I cannot speak about this epoxy in particular, but most are not flexible enough to make lexan repairs and cracks around the repair form soon, as the new weak place is everywhere surrounding the repair. The weight difference also adds to the problem. This problem has been going on as long as lexan has been the material of choice for most body's. I have painted on the outside as well especially when the body is rare and there is just no other way to save it. Great for a shelf queen but really not practical for a runner. I just did this to a JRX2 Losi body, they are really hard to come by and expensive if you do. The small decal sheet was more than 50 bucks! So the search goes on, if you get a chance could you mention the brand name and the specific property's of this product? Like I said I have no experience with it, cheers.