Cracked Fairing

[olds_cool]

Hey, all;

Anyone ever have a cracked fairing? How did you repair it? I have 1 hairline and 1 not-so-hairline crack around the base of the left side mirror. Each crack is about 2 inches long(one above the base, the other below). So, the mirror shakes when I ride. Just looking for some good ideas without screwing up the fairing!

[towneh]

Box o’fibreglass repair
Tube o’body putty
Can o’primer
Can o’paint
Range o’sanding materials
Bunch o’masking materials


Understand that the quality of the repair job is directly proportional to the amount of time you put to it and the quality of materials you use. Pull the plastic and flex it so that all the pieces come back to where they should be (your damage sounds small so you might not do the flex). If there is a large gap at the fracture such that the resin might flow thru, use some body putty to fill it from the outside, letting it dry/harden. On the inside clear the area of the fracture, and rough-sand it for a thin coat of resin at least an inch around the fracture. Cut and place a section of the fiberous mat to cover the thin coat of resin. Then apply more resin over the fiberous mat. Let it harden… then flip the plastic over so that the outside is up. Where the fracture was a hairline, you might be pleased with how it looks and just leave it as is. If you did the body-putty thing where the fracture genned a big gap then you got some painting to do… keep the area to be worked small, go down to 400s, and liberally mask with good stuff. Light, thin coat of the primer will show any scratches or divots in the plastic. If they are deep you can fill them with smears of body putty while the shallow scores will fill with light passes of primer. Gently sand the area with 400, wipe with a tack cloth, and shoot a light coat with your final paint. Later, shoot another light coat of your final, let it dry, and pull your masking.
it is all what you make of it. hope that helps.

Bus_henry

[olds_cool]

Hey....thanks for all that info! I'll head over to the store later and get started tomorrow while the Mrs.is at work (if the garage is not too cold). I'll let you know how it works out. Thanks, again!

[The_Jackel]

Using a Plastic welder is by far the best and easiest repair for cracked fairings.

[Airreed]

I used a product called plastex. It was worked great on a crack and for affixing a broken tab.
It's an acrilic (sp) powder that is mixed with acetone. Reminds me of the products the nail salons use.

[olds_cool]

Yeah...I saw Plastex online while doing some research. So, that stuff really works, huh?

[towneh]

so..... have you done any repair work????? :drink:
margs move...

[olds_cool]

Sadly, no. It's been hectic. Gonna shoot for Monday or Tuesday...