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Center console refurb

Discussion in 'General Truck Info' started by OhDeer, Jun 17, 2022.

  1. OhDeer

    OhDeer Active Member Supporting Member

    So when my truck showed up, the center console was broken into 2 big pieces and a few small ones.
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    That wasn't going to do. I thought about buying one but decided to take a look into fixing it as I've been trying to get into plastic repair. First thing is to ID the plastic, No pics but it was marked with ABS. Thats a super common automotive plastic. I wanted to try this product called Plastifix for a while, but it's kind of pricey at $45, so it's been hard to justify buying. Well here was the perfect justification. I started out by putting the 2 big pieces together with my plastic stapler

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    One on each side to get it to stay in position. Really could have used a second set of hands here but I made it happen. After that I started in with the plastifix. it's an additive product so they recommend you channel out with a Dremel or similar. I made a small test divot first, which I was happy with, so I groved the entire crack on the first side

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    and the same on the other side

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    at this point I'm super happy with how this is going. Really impressed with the product. Started filling the groves on both sides.

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    Now to address the smaller pieces

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    Most of this I've been doing from the back side. one reason is that it melts any texture off the plastic,

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    but some of it had chips missing so I tried to fill that in. I also had a hole

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    cant believe I didn't take pics, but I just backed this with painters tape and filled it with the epoxy. The manufacturer claims it's just as strong as the original ABS plastic. Hopefully they are right. At this point I'm pretty happy with it overall

    [​IMG]

    not perfect but I've got a plan for that as well. Spray can bedliner

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    All taped up

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    I wanted to keep the little pocket natural so it would be easier to clean in the future.

    Looking good.
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    Super happy with this. You can still see where the cracks were in some spots, but it flexes and twists just like new.
     
    CVP33 and t_g_farrell like this.
  2. OhDeer

    OhDeer Active Member Supporting Member

    Definitely need to address the E Brake handle now

    [​IMG]
     
    CVP33 likes this.
  3. t_g_farrell

    t_g_farrell Active Member

    Link to the plastic repair stuff you used. Never seen a plastic stapler. I could use this on another car I have some cracked plastic interior pieces.
     
  4. CVP33

    CVP33 Active Member

    Really well done on the center console repair.
     
    Syclone 1231 and OhDeer like this.
  5. OhDeer

    OhDeer Active Member Supporting Member

    So this is the Plastifix stuff. I used clear but it's available in black and white. It's translucent, but not really clear like glass. Polyvance has a bunch of plastic repair videos on their web site, of course showing off their products, but they are a good resource if you're looking to get into it. Also even though it's kind of expensive, I only used like 5% - 10% of it on that fix, and you mix it as you need it so you don't have to worry about it drying up. I don't want to sound like Billy Mays, but I'm pretty impressed with it.
    https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0007LTXVY?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

    This is the plastic stapler. They call it a plastic welder but is isn't. Theres a bunch of these that are all the same out of china. Nothing special about this brand. It was cheap enough I figured I'd take the chance on it. You gotta be reeeeaaal careful with it or you'll melt it through and then you're boned. Definitely recommend practicing with something you don't care about first. Oh and if you leave the legs on the staple you can pull them back out at the end.
    https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B091YXR9L5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

    Yeah things have gotten to the point now that if you want to work on cars from the 80s or 90s, you gotta be able to fix plastic. ABS you can solvent weld with acetone, allegedly, but I've really only been able to make a mess with that.
     
    t_g_farrell likes this.
  6. Arty

    Arty Active Member

    Nice job OhDeer!
     
  7. t_g_farrell

    t_g_farrell Active Member

    Thanks, both in my amazon list waiting to be ordered.
     
  8. Tyler Madia

    Tyler Madia Member

    Looks great!

    I have repaired parts in the past by scuffing up the inside and using a little fiberglass cloth and ABS glue.
     

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