How To Repair Damaged Trim Molding

Dissimilar the archetype American cars on the 1950s and before, modern automobiles are total of plastic. From door panels and dash pads to the engine encompass, plastic is everywhere. While this may exist an affordable way for today's auto manufacturers to build cars, the fact remains that plastic simply does not concluding equally long as metal. Eventually, these plastic components fade and crack, leaving you with the chore of replacing it or living with busted parts on your car. Just you lot can set up broken plastic trim if you lot follow a few steps.

The 1960s saw the biggest change over from metal to plastic. As metal became more expensive and plastic forming technology grew, the automakers quickly grabbed onto plastic equally the cloth of the futurity. Not only is it cheaper to make, plastic components are much lighter and weigh a fraction of what metal counterparts would. By the 1980s, everything on the within of a car was plastic. Pop the hood on just about whatsoever machine made from the late 1990s and you will likely find engine components that are made of plastic. General Motors has even been using composite plastic components inside the engine itself. While our example repair here is on a archetype muscle car, renewed involvement in 1980s and 1990s cars ways the same repair techniques can be applied as well.

In that location is non much you can do when composite engine components neglect, that is usually a replacement detail. On the other paw interior and cosmetic components are hands repaired if you take the time to work it out yourself. All yous need are a few products that are readily available at any NAPA Auto Parts Store to set up broken plastic trim parts.

Supplies

Items needed to set up cleaved plastic trim:

JB Weld Plastic Repair, Kwik Weld, or Original epoxy

Masking Tape

Dupli-Color Interior Pigment

Dupli-Colour Truck Bed Liner Aerosol

Dupli-Colour Adhesion Promoter

320-Dust Sandpaper

Wax & Grease Remover

Prepare To Repair

Cleaning the panel with wax and grease remover is the all-time way to get the part clean without damaging the plastic.

We had a pair of sun-bleached plastic door panels from a 1974 Dodge Challenger that were in need of some restoration. Over time, the lord's day eats away at plastic and eventually it starts to flake off, much like how steel rusts. In addition to the crusty surface, one corner on each panel had split. These panels are difficult to find and expensive. Repairing the panels costs less than $20 and 3 hours (not including cure times).

Nosotros used some lint-gratuitous shop towels to make clean the function. You have to wipe the wax and grease remover on and then wipe it off with a dry cloth.

The procedure begins with a quick clean up. The panels were wiped downwardly with wax & grease remover. Y'all tin can use window cleaner, or even soapy water, y'all but desire them to be clean earlier you start.

Corners are a high stress area, cracks are common here.

Next, the crack was located and assessed. For this repair, the epoxy will be added to back of the console, which makes the final finish much easier.

The crack was closed and taped up with masking tape as a backing for the epoxy.

Using the masking tape, we closed the crack and secured information technology.

The Fix Is In

JB Weld Quick Weld works great on metallic, fiberglass and plastic. Information technology is metered out in the proper ratios with the plunger.

The tube just measures out the textile, information technology has to exist mixed by manus.

Next, we mixed the JB Weld Kwik Weld. You don't need much, but enough to cover the repair.

Next, the epoxy gets pressed into the separate from the back side. This reduces the amount of terminate work required on the visible side.

The epoxy was spread onto the crack, pushing information technology into the split. The crack was then pushed together and taped again to ensure it would stay closed. The Kwik Weld hardens in 6 minutes, and fully cures in 4 to 6 hours.

Later nearly 15 minutes, nosotros removed the tape exposing the repaired crack. It could be left similar this, just at that place is some texture loss that needs to be addressed.

The panel was sprayed with a white guide glaze earlier sanding. This helps us see all the damaged areas.

Finishing

Once the repair was complete, nosotros sanded the console with the 320-dust sandpaper. Anything more coarse than 320 will go out sanding scratches in the final end. The goal here is to shine out the oxidized layer, taking off the chalky plastic, leaving the skillful layer intact.

In order to remove whatever loose material on the panel, nosotros sanded it down with 320-grit sandpaper.

The sanding activeness removes some of the grain, though much of it was already gone due to the chalky plastic. We can't replace the exact grain, simply we tin get pretty close with spray-on bed liner. Plastic is inherently difficult to paint, so we need to prep it well. Kickoff, it is cleaned with the wax & grease remover (you need to utilise this product for this footstep).

Plastic is hard to paint, as it is an oil-based production. Adhesion promoter helps soften the fabric, providing a chemical bond as well as a better mechanical bail for the paint.

Next, we sprayed the panel with Dupli-Color Adhesion Promoter. This slightly softens the plastic, providing a mechanical bond that the paint needs to stick.

Spraying the adhesion promoter is done in two medium coats, with 15 minutes dry time between coats.

Adhesion promoter requires 2 coats with a xv minute rest between coats, and then a acme coat within one 60 minutes.

Spray-on bed liner works really well for this procedure. experimenting with unlike spray distances, angles, and fifty-fifty mixing bed liner and bumper trim paint can yield different results to lucifer grain.

To recreate the grain, we need a paint that not only is durable, but as well formulated for texture. At that place are many different paints that nosotros could apply for texturing. A light grain is all-time matched with bumper trim pigment, just the heavy grain on the Challenger console needs a larger texture, making the truck bed coating a ameliorate match.

Several lite coats are all-time when working with bed liner. Likewise much build up at once volition non expect right.

The trick to spraying this stuff is to utilize several light coats, sprayed from 8 to 15 inches away. The distance gives the pigment a take a chance to dry slightly in the air before striking the panel. This means the aerosol vary in size, the outcome is a simulated grain that mimics the original grain of the plastic.

Here you tin can come across the various droplet sizing and how the grain is recreated.

The bed liner requires a minimum of three-4 hours of cure time earlier touching, but yous need to wait 24 hours before reinstalling them.

All done, the repaired door console is ready to exist re-installed.

You might find that the panels are blackness. Bed liner is ever black, which while that works out well for blackness interiors, information technology might not fit your tan, red or whatsoever other colored interior. All is not lost, however. Once cured, the bed liner can be peak coated with whatever paint to match your interior. That is all at that place is to this simple plastic repair and refinish projection. This process is good for door panels, consoles, A-pillar trim, just about whatever plastic component that needs repair and restoration.

We used the same process on all 4 door/rear seat trim panels and then that they would friction match.

Check out all the paint & body productsavailable on NAPA Online or trust one of our 17,000 NAPA AutoCare locations for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on how to fix cleaved plastic trim, chat with a knowledgeable proficient at your local NAPA Automobile PARTS store.

Jefferson Bryant View All

A life-long gearhead, Jefferson Bryant spends more time in the shop than anywhere else. His career began in the car audio industry as a shop manager, eventually working his way into a position at Rockford Fosgate as a product designer. In 2003, he began writing tech manufactures for magazines, and has been working every bit an automotive announcer ever since. His work has been featured in Motorcar Craft, Hot Rod, Rod & Custom, Truckin', Mopar Muscle, and many more than. Jefferson has as well written four books and produced countless videos. Jefferson operates Cherry Dirt Rodz, his personal garage studio, where all of his magazine articles and tech videos are produced.

Source: https://knowhow.napaonline.com/how-to-fix-broken-plastic-interior-automotive-trim-panels/

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