broken trim repair

[julitoMX_1964]

Greetings to everyone.  My ´72 240Z came without the rear interior trim piece (the one that covers the tail light assemblies from the inside), the rest of the trim pieces are in fair condition. I wasn´t too concerned about it since I plan to install an aftermarket stereo and I´m  still deciding if I´ll put a 6x9 speaker panel or go with custom speaker boxes (in that same position, all the way back and aiming at the driver/passenger) but decided to buy a used one while I decide the sound matter. Unfortunately the part´s seller did a very poor job packaging the piece and it arrived broken (see the photos) Since I don´t know right now if the trim will be used or visible after I do the speaker thing, I´d prefer not to have to buy another one and try to fix this one. I´ve seen several YT tutorials about repairing or restoring plastic car interior parts, but most of them depend on what was the original material those parts are made of. For instance, I don´t think these old datsun parts are ABS, are they?, what method would you use to put it back together? I suposse I need to start by adding some material to the "back" (not visible) side and reinforce it, what would give the best results?, fiberglass, epoxy resin, car filler/bondo? Thanks in advance!

[siteunseen]

I've used fiberglass weave with ABS cement with great results on consoles.

 

 

 

[Racer X]

5 minutes ago, julitoMX_1964 said:

Greetings to everyone.  My ´72 240Z came without the rear interior trim piece (the one that covers the tail light assemblies from the inside), the rest of the trim pieces are in fair condition. I wasn´t too concerned about it since I plan to install an aftermarket stereo and I´m  still deciding if I´ll put a 6x9 speaker panel or go with custom speaker boxes (in that same position, all the way back and aiming at the driver/passenger) but decided to buy a used one while I decide the sound matter. Unfortunately the part´s seller did a very poor job packaging the piece and it arrived broken (see the photos) Since I don´t know right now if the trim will be used or visible after I do the speaker thing, I´d prefer not to have to buy another one and try to fix this one. I´ve seen several YT tutorials about repairing or restoring plastic car interior parts, but most of them depend on what was the original material those parts are made of. For instance, I don´t think these old datsun parts are ABS, are they?, what method would you use to put it back together? I suposse I need to start by adding some material to the "back" (not visible) side and reinforce it, what would give the best results?, fiberglass, epoxy resin, car filler/bondo? Thanks in advance!

I would send it back, and insist on a full refund.

As far as I know, no one has successfully repaired any of the Z anyday interior plastic panels. Reproduction panels are available, for a reasonable cost.

[Zed Head]

3 minutes ago, Racer X said:

I would send it back, and insist on a full refund.

As far as I know, no one has successfully repaired any of the Z anyday interior plastic panels. Reproduction panels are available, for a reasonable cost.

@siteunseen had success with one of the ABS pipe adhesives I think.  He repaired his console, which is the same material.  Maybe get a discount from the seller and try to fix it, if you can't get a refund.

@Terrapin Z probably has that part and knows how to package/ship it.

[zKars]

I shipped one of those once. I felt compelled to attach it (tape, screws, packing material support etc) to a thin sheet of plywood to ensure it arrived in one piece. Anything less and you are about guaranteed to have a “problem”. The repo pieces are nice and thick. ABS cement and fibreglass matt will work wonders. Then fill the crack(s), re-texture, SEM black, repeat until happy. Or get a new one. 

[julitoMX_1964]

Thanks for your comments! I ´m not sure I´ll be able to get a refund (the guy will surely blame the shipping service and viceversa) but since I was thinking about buying more stuff from him I might ask for a  future discount as Zed Head suggested.

 I ´ll experiment a little and if I can salvage it I´ll report back to share the method with the best results, maybe it´ll will help others. Like I said I don´t need it to be perfect since I´m more concerned about findding a good speaker solution and that back trim will probably be aout of sight.

 In the menantime, Merry Christmas to all! please take care.

Edited December 24, 2020 by julitoMX_1964

[Terrapin Z]

18 hours ago, Zed Head said:

@siteunseen had success with one of the ABS pipe adhesives I think.  He repaired his console, which is the same material.  Maybe get a discount from the seller and try to fix it, if you can't get a refund.

@Terrapin Z probably has that part and knows how to package/ship it.

Thanks for the mention @Zed Head I do have a couple of those but I think they have some small cracks, nothing like that though. Being it is a big box, you are shipping it dimensional weight anyhow. Attaching it to a piece of wood does not raise the shipping cost at all. That is the 2020 hind site factor. Anything shipped theses days usually comes with some basic insurance, $50 for USPS, and $100 with UPS etc., so the shipper should be able to start a claim and get some sort of refund for the damage. Also if paid for it with PayPal Goods and Services that has some insurance coverage as well. Most sellers will honor some deal for the damage. 

If you are just going to repair I think the method above would work, Glass in some thin wood strips on the back side, and the SEM spray and texture would cover up the crack seam. Always a bummer to get something damaged in shipping or worse yet have it lost in the mail.

Good luck and happy holidays. 

[julitoMX_1964]

Greetings again!

So I decided to try and fix it. I did some research online and of the many methods and tips I found I chose three as the ones more fitted for the task (and my experience or lack of) ; first  the super (crazy) glue and baking soda method, second was two part epoxy glue/resin and finally, fiberglass and its correspondent resin as the third option (I had never worked with it but was curious so it seemed a good opportunity to practice)Since I was not sure which one ´d give the best results I decided to use them all three (yes, its overkill but I didn´t want to take any chances, the piece is so fragile it could break again even after a "succesful" repair) after purchasing all  I needed to do it, I started by cleaning an sanding the whole back side, I couldn ´t believe how brittle that old plastic is, just by manipulating it I made a new crack on it (fortunately not very large), the super glue/baking soda method is surprisingly good (provided you align the pieces to be joined very carefully) and dries really fast, then I mixed and applied the two part epoxy (the one I used is suposedly filled also with "metal particles" or something, it ´s recomended to fix gas tank and radiator seals and you have to mix it and apply it very fast because it starts its curing process right away, at that point i also put a coulpe of metal strips I hd lying around for extra reinforcement, after the epoxy was fully cured one or two days after I proceeded to apply the fiberglass and resin following the instructions on the kit I bought and when the fiberglass was also fully cured a couple of days later I decided to give the whole  area a couple of coats of undercoating/bedliner paint with a brush to give the whole repair a more finished appearence (it also gives the piece a little bit more of "body", it feels stronger than before in general)

As you can see in the last picture a fine crack is still visible on the front side but  I haven´t painted it yet, that will be the last step before installing the trim on the car. I´m pretty happy with the result and even with the combination of different methods it was still far cheaper than buying a new or used piece again.

[heyitsrama]

Using some flexible bondo type material on the front. Then add some SEM texture spray and another coat of black. Just to hide the cracks.

[julitoMX_1964]

Good idea, I was just thinking about spraying some black paint. But the textured finnish seem better. thak you!