How To Repair Plastic Interior Pieces

[MetalliHawk]

Okay, one of my friends snapped my trim panel above my door off, and then in two one night while getting in my car :eek: . Instead of paying $20 at a junkyard, i decided to try to repair it myself first. As long as the break is on a relatively flat section this procedure should be good for repairing most plastic pieces.
Mateials Needed:
*Glue Gun
*Solder Gun
*Thin Pieces of Plastic, Metal, or Wood
*Paper Clips (or thin, rigid wire)

[MetalliHawk]

The first thing you must do is to figure out which of the following will work best for you. You can:
A: Use paper clips and melt them into the plastic for support;
B: Glue a thin piece of plastic or something else for support
C: DO both A & B

For my purposes I only used step A since it was sufficient enough and got the job done.

A: I first got the two parts clean and made sure they would fit together well. I then held the two pieces in place, and set a piece of the paperclip across the back of both sections. I took my solder gun and heated the paper clip up until it began to melt into the plastic. Start at one end and move to the other applying as little pressure upon the paperclip as possible until it is melted into the plastic completely, being careful not to go through the other side. You may be able to use a flat head screwdriver to apply pressure and hold the paperclip in place if not using other hand to hold the pieces together.
*I used a glove on the hand that was holding the broken pieces together as the solder gun gives off heat, and it was getting pretty hot.

[MetalliHawk]

Pic...

[MetalliHawk]

Once the Paperclip(s) is in place use hot glue to cover up the gaps and add strength to the repair. As mentioned above you could even take it a step farther and secure a thin piece of plastic across it for added security. Just use lots of glue to do this. (Make sure you don't use so much the panel wont go back on flat):thumb:

[MetalliHawk]

That's it. Just make sure to keep the two pieces held together tight or else the hot glue will dry in the crack and it will be a pain in the @$$ to redo the whole thing. Also there is a chance that the solder gun will get plastic on it, ruining the tip. Just use an old one to be safe. Good Luck :thumb:

***The finished product, re-installed