Bending ABS plastic

[Booggerbe1]

Hi forum, I am putting some ABs side panels on my Harley but the wing edge where it comes over to meet the saddle bags does not even up with the bags. My question is can i heat the abs in the curve area and bend the abs . It only needs to be bent or bowed about a 1/4 ". Nothing major in the bend , just wanting the body lines to line up. I thought mabe just taking my time and heating the abs slowly i could bend just enough to get the match up correct. If the can be heated and bowed will it stress the abs . Thanks again for everones help. Booggerbe

 

[flamepain]

you should have no problem bending it that way.you can use a hair dryer or heat gun.to be realy safe put it in real hot water.cyas

 

[Booggerbe1]

Thanks FlamePain. Ill give it a try . Have a good weekend. Booggerbe

 

[flamepain]

i forgot to mention that you have to hold it in position until it cools.cyas

 

[Booggerbe1]

Flame Pain, Thanks much. The heat gun worked just great.And yes i held it in place till it cooled. How about another question for you. I am going to add about 3" to the lenth with fiberglass. i no to rough up the contact area really good so the glass will hold.Ill extend the contact area to about 4" onto the abs panel. Do you think this will be ok. The thickness of the glass will not be but about 1/4" thickness Thanks again. Booggerbe

 

[flamepain]

thats a tough one.if you can find a piece of abs for a filler you can actually weld it on with a soldering iron.or you can buy a good plastic builder from 3M.we use that to rebuild car bumpers.butt barring that pepper the contact area with 1/8 holes(drill).that makes a good anchor.however you may have mixed results.the problem being that you are trying to bond a rigid part to a soft part(different expansion rates)and the joint may show after a time.the rite way in my opinion depending how involved you want to get would be to use the existing piece to make a mold with the extension added and build a hole new cover with fibre glass .hope this helps.send pics if you can.cyas



sometimes the long road is the fastest.:think1:

 

[flamepain]

3m panel bonding adhesive(i like the 30 minute )you can fill with it a bit to.you must cap it with flexable filler though or it will stain your paint.good luck.cyas:bigokay: