Black plastic repair/patch

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Chuck Reti, May 19, 2004.

  1. Chuck Reti

    Chuck Reti Guest

    I recently misguided the LW200, partly sideswiping (in reverse) against
    a fence post. Caught the edge of the passenger side mirror and its
    housing is cracked. Also have a light but visible scratch about 2' along
    the side door. Short of a trip to The Dealership or indy body shop, is
    there an effective DIY treatment to fill or hide the scratch. BTW the
    color of the Saturn plastic is black. I seem to break materials that
    defy repair by all known adhesives. Any suggestions as to what might
    work to repair the particular plastic used in the mirror housing?
     
    Chuck Reti, May 19, 2004
    #1
  2. ....no good advice to offer but I did want to commiserate about backing into
    a fence post. As a rule I don't hit things. Guess it was sobering up from
    NyQuil the night before (which was weird because I don't get colds either).
    Glad it was a fence and not a neighbor kid, etc.

    Oh, I have a 97SL2 and scraped the corner of the bumper and made some
    scratches toward the rear wheel well. The body shop wanted $610 and 2 days
    to fix. I was about ready to hand them my MasterCard and then said what the
    heck and used to paint thinner to clean up the scratches. That was
    amazingly better. Then I used some touch up paint I got from the dealer.
    And then the next day I used clearcoat cleaner and polish. About 99% better
    and I'm keeping the $610.
     
    Jonnie Santos, May 19, 2004
    #2
  3. What is the proper way to apply touch up paint? I bought some a couple
    of years ago to fix some scratches in my bumper, but it really didn't
    turn out all that well.

    -rj
    98SL2
     
    richard hornsby, May 19, 2004
    #3
  4. Chuck Reti

    Bob Shuman Guest

    Replace the entire mirror. I did this with my son's driver mirror on his
    '96 SL. I found the mirror at a local salvage yard and it was $15. The
    replacement time was about 15 minutes since there were only three nuts and a
    set screw to remove and reinstall.

    Good luck!

    Bob
     
    Bob Shuman, May 19, 2004
    #4
  5. I just wanted to cover the blazing white plastic of my normally dark green
    SL2 - so I used the included brush and filled the white over and stopped.

    Someone here who knows bodywork might suggest some sort of buffing and
    second application. I just stand farther back and it looks better and
    better! (wink)
     
    Jonnie Santos, May 20, 2004
    #5
  6. Chuck Reti

    Oppie Guest

    I seem to break materials that
    I have had good success with Devcon Plastic Welder. This is a 2 part epoxy
    that dries to a tan color. I clobbered a side view mirror and rather than
    replace it, used the devcon very successfully on the structural repair. you
    had asked specifically about Black color and I can only recommend a spray
    paint after any damage has been repaired.

    Both side mirrors on the used LW300 I bought this past winter were badly
    scraped. I got the dealer to remove them and have them repainted. Is holding
    up nicely. One important point when painting is to lightly rough up the
    substrate and be certain that the paint is compatible with what was used
    before. Otherwise it will blister or flake off.

    Oppie
     
    Oppie, May 20, 2004
    #6
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