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That's interesting...or you could just use some fibreglass-filled bondo.

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3M has quite a few products that do work well. Here is a fix that I copied from here a while back.

Start with 100% pure Acetone, buy a gallon.
Pour an ounce or so intp a glass jar (small open mouth jar). Take a scrap grill and using something sharp, scrape off peelings (like pencil shavings size) into the jar of acetone. Put allot of shavings in, the acetone will gradually melt the plastic into a goo. Add enough plastic until the goo reaches toothpaste consistancy. Once you have a good batch melted put the lid on the jar tightly and set it aside. Now, prep your grill as normal, V out cracks on both sides, etc. Use clamps near the joint to alightn the two sides flush and parralell. Smear on some plastic goo, leave it crowned up over the crack like a regular weld looks, let it cure overnight. Sand to flush the next day, fill any pinholes with JB Weld. The crack will practically dissapear at this point, paint as normal

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Funny the guy that wrote that all out posted directly below it & got no credit for it... Thanks Scott!!

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3M has quite a few products that do work well. Here is a fix that I copied from here a while back.

Start with 100% pure Acetone, buy a gallon.
Pour an ounce or so intp a glass jar (small open mouth jar). Take a scrap grill and using something sharp, scrape off peelings (like pencil shavings size) into the jar of acetone. Put allot of shavings in, the acetone will gradually melt the plastic into a goo. Add enough plastic until the goo reaches toothpaste consistancy. Once you have a good batch melted put the lid on the jar tightly and set it aside. Now, prep your grill as normal, V out cracks on both sides, etc. Use clamps near the joint to alightn the two sides flush and parralell. Smear on some plastic goo, leave it crowned up over the crack like a regular weld looks, let it cure overnight. Sand to flush the next day, fill any pinholes with JB Weld. The crack will practically dissapear at this point, paint as normal

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Funny the guy that wrote that all out posted directly below it & got no credit for it... Thanks Scott!!

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Like I said I read and saved it here. If Scott was the one than I agree props to him.

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Hi all what does MEK stand for i also have a grill that needs repair Thanks

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Hi all what does MEK stand for i also have a grill that needs repair Thanks

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I believe it's Methyl Ethel Keytone?

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I fixed a '74 Duster grille (usual cracked mounting legs) using this method, as well. Worked like a charm.

Just make sure you let the repairs dry long enough before sanding. The tip didn't say anything about the ratio of acetone vs shavings and I think my "putty" was a little too wet when I applied it. After letting it dry overnight, I found that it wasn't real solid below the surface when I started sanding. For good measure, I let the repair dry for another 5-7 days before I attempted sanding again. Once primed, the repair disappeared and it appears rock solid. Heck of a tip.

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Actually I did address that, but in a subsequent post on the thread linked above

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The flash off = The MEK/Acetone will evaporate from the melted plastic. Time varies with the initial mixture, temperature, and other environmental variables.

Bottom line, one day, 3 days, a week, you'll know when it's ready to sand when the plastic returns to a hardened state, if it's not fully cured it can gum up while being sanded.

When you break down ABS this way it does change it's chemical composition somewhat, it will lose some of it's "stiff" properties and stay just a tad to the flexible side (a good thing when fixing cracked/stressed areas) so don't expect it to return to a rock hard state, just close to it.

Also keep in mind that the glueing or welding portion of a plastic repair job is the easy part, the real, skill, time, and effort falls into the sculpting, sanding, priming, painting, etc. Just like body work in miniature. Practice, practice, practice..

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