Plastic putty repair?

JJHstang

5 Year Member
Sep 12, 2018
204
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Fort Worth, TX
I have asked before and received 1 answer from Horse Sense (bondo) but now added another picture.
I need to fill and paint gouges in my plastic rear side panels (pictures attached) of my 71 Mach1.
I have purchased the correct matching paint from advice I have received on this forum and other forums.
But first I have to fill in the damaged areas then match the texture.
I have googled how to match texture using a glue gun and dent remover pull tabs.

Question: What should I use to fill in the damaged areas before texturing and painting? Is Bondo still the best to use?
 

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I cannot tell from the images whether those are hard plastic pieces or vinyl-covered pieces.

I'll take from your description that they're hard plastic? :shrug: If so, JB Weld is the answer. Tape it off, apply it in layers, and sand in-between. I generally use denatured alcohol to prep the surface and clean between coats.

Incidentally, JB Weld and a little fiberglass cheesecloth are amazing for cracked panels. Obviously, the cheesecloth goes on the backside. :)

It sands and shapes really well and is some tough stuff. Prime it and paint it whatever color you like.

I've used this method on boats and cars and the patch will be the strongest part of your panel. :nice:
 
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Yeah ,bondo will not work on plastic ! You can get a two part plastic bumper repair at your local automotive paint supplier that would probably work ,its a bit hard to work with because it is so flexable. I dont know if i mentioned it but you can get a primer made for plastic ,spray it on the panel ,at Home depot i found a texture spray paint for out door furniture , that is close to the original texture ,it is really tough when dry spray the spot that is damaged after the primer ,then spray your color over that and you should get a pretty good result
 
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I am going to try the JB Weld for plastic. It states it works on ABS plastic.
I need to get it pretty close to so smooth at application since I am going to stamp the texture into it just before it dries.

Going by a youtube video How to copy a texture especially plastic.
 
I made an attempt on making a texture stamp. I don’t think it turned out to bad.
Getting the epoxy filler smooth and using the stamp at the right time just before it sets up works.
 

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Yeah ,bondo will not work on plastic ! You can get a two part plastic bumper repair at your local automotive paint supplier that would probably work ,its a bit hard to work with because it is so flexable. I dont know if i mentioned it but you can get a primer made for plastic ,spray it on the panel ,at Home depot i found a texture spray paint for out door furniture , that is close to the original texture ,it is really tough when dry spray the spot that is damaged after the primer ,then spray your color over that and you should get a pretty good result
I used the same textured spray and it came out pretty perfect.
Fill, prime, spray texture then spray color.
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