ABS plastic is quite common around the house. Interiors for your car (underneath all the squishy, attractive parts), your child's GI-Joe, the case for remotes or most entertainment or console systems, and pretty much all Lego bricks (this bit is important as I will explain later) are all made of ABS plastic.
It is a hard, very rigid plastic. Because it is so rigid it is easy to break, luckily repairing it is very easy to do.
A long while back, I decided to modify the appearance of my truck, because the grill is ABS plastic, it was very easy to start work on this (but me being lazy, I have yet to finish, go procrastination!)
Wanted to go from roughly:
To:
So, first I bought a new grill. You definitely want to research how much these might be before you buy one. Most junkyards around me wanted $30 for a used one, but I found new reproductions for about $35 + shipping
So, buy a grill
Cut that MoFo up
Get a little more precise about cutting that MoFo up
Now, there are only two steps left, creating the new panels to install, and gluing everything together.
The fun thing about ABS plastic is that it is soluble in acetone. So, you need a couple of things, a pile of ABS with a lot of surface area (meaning, cut it up), acetone, and a container that is non-soluble and that will seal to be air-tight.
I recommend cutting it up into a bag or box or something as when you do cut through that shit jumps like a MoFo
Food grade plastics are non-soluble in acetone (ketchup bottles can work nicely, gives you a squeeze top to allow you to apply a precise amount, if I did it over again I would use something like a Mason Jar)
I used a jar from some sort of salad dressing.
Then cover the ABS bits with acetone, the more acetone you have the runnier the ABS Goop[SUP]TM[/SUP] you'll have and the better it will flow into cracks. It all depends on what sort of project you are working on
Hard to see, but the acetone is still liquid, and the chunks have yet to dissolve.
Next you have to make your patch panels to fill in the areas you cut out.
Find something to spread the Goop[SUP]TM[/SUP] with, popsicle sticks work nicely, and you can find 'em at the craft store for a couple bucks for a pack of a hundred or so
The acetone in the Goop[SUP]TM[/SUP] means that the stuff you're applying the Goop[SUP]TM[/SUP] to will melt and become one piece
Depending on what you're workin on, you could apply some to both sides, but if you have a textured side I would not advice doing so as you'll have to sand it down so it looks good.
Not completely finished, but getting there. One day I'll actually finish.
You can buy ABS cement in most local hardware stores, but it is nothing more than a pile of ABS and a solvent, you also can't get it in more than one or two colors, this is where the Lego bricks come in. Lego comes in every color known on God's Green Earth, so you can get a color for whatever project you are working on.
April, know how your cowl looks like this?
You can fix that with ABS cement.
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