Plastic Crack Repair

[lovemy51]

hello everyone!

 

my waterman c/f has a crack at the end of the barrel about 3/8 long and a bit wider than a hairline. by that i mean i think it can be filled with something. would this work (sold at tryphon.it):

 

 

 

Moldable Plastic Resin

This is a superb product. The granules (which can be either black or white in color) are immersed in water and heated to 70º C. The granules will soften and at this point the resin can be molded, shaped or applied with a spatula. After the resin is allowed to cool down, it becomes solid and waterproof. A great way to fabricate small plastic parts or it can be used as a filler. 100 grams of granules (or about twice the amount shown in the picture)

 

http://www.tryphon.it/resinanera.jpg

 

http://www.tryphon.it/catalogo.htm

 

help much appreciated.

 

PS. no pix!!

[Ron Z]

No. The material is too soft for use for pen repair, and it won't fuse with the plastic of a CF.

[OcalaFlGuy]

A clear as close as possible shot of the crack would be pretty helpful too.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[lovemy51]

thx for replies. Bruce, i'll try to get a pic of it later.

[lovemy51]

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/crackedbarrel.jpg

 

this is the best i can do. the white in the crack is dried polishing compound and the horizontal line you see it's more like a dent than a crack. the crack runs from the bottom tip of the white powdered polish to the gold barrel cap.

[OcalaFlGuy]

This is how I see it.

 

Let's assume anyway that you're not going to send it to a pro. (I think you could find a whole nother pen <replacement barrel> on The Bay for what the repair would cost shipped and back.)

 

Luckily that's not an area that has to have a seal maintained or is a stressed (threaded) area.

 

I would guess the correct procedure would be to solvent weld it (first to find out what solvent) then fill it in with something.

 

In the Estie forum recently there's been a really nice repair done to a wasted out black Estie jewel with Devcon epoxy mixed with something Black, sculpted on and sanded and polish down and out. The jewel ended up looking brand new. If this were my pen, that's what I'd be inclined to do.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[zepharia2]

What about CA glue? (Krazy Glue) Its cheap fills gaps and dries clear. If you apply it in layers, a drop at a time and let dry, it should fill in the crack nicely. Wipe off any excess immediately and use micro mesh to polish it after.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Generally you won't see ANY Pro suggest you use Superglue (in it's various forms and branding) for ANY FP repair for *at least* two reasons, it will fail eventually when exposed to moisture and it doesn't adhere to some materials.

 

While the epoxy method I mentioned is probably not how any Pro would do the repair at least the epoxy is a material more suited for pen repair.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[lovemy51]

you assume right, Bruce. i'm not sending this out to a pro. i will be doing this myself. epoxy sounds like an idea. do you know if this works?: http://www.hardwareandtools.com/Devcon-80003-Magnum-Magnum-Putty-Epoxy-3-1-Ounce-Stick-0778415.html?utm_source=Google%20Products&utm_medium=Product%20Search&utm_campaign=Google%20Products

 

it comes with a black stick (for metal tho')i wonder if i can use that and sand it??!!.

 

 

 

zepharia2, i don't think K-glue dries as well as the epoxy and dies way too fast before i can mold it. thx for the suggestion.

 

 

 

 

edited: i just got back for the estie's forum and saw the job 777 did on that jewel. pretty good!

Edited October 16, 2011 by lovemy51

[lovemy51]

... Ron Z, if you are around, please, feel free to chime in as well!!

[OcalaFlGuy]

you assume right, Bruce. i'm not sending this out to a pro. i will be doing this myself. epoxy sounds like an idea. do you know if this works?: http://www.hardwareandtools.com/Devcon-80003-Magnum-Magnum-Putty-Epoxy-3-1-Ounce-Stick-0778415.html?utm_source=Google%20Products&utm_medium=Product%20Search&utm_campaign=Google%20Products

 

it comes with a black stick (for metal tho')i wonder if i can use that and sand it??!!.

 

 

I have both the 60 sec and 5 min. I figure it's gonna take 20 sec to get it mixed up well. I haven't been brave enough to try anything in 40 sec. (Yeah, I know that's not hard set) still, I use the 5 min. Another good point about it is it mixes up kind of creamy colored which would take blackening pretty well I'd think.

 

Ron uses epoxy that isn't readily available I think or at least is really special stuff. I think he has said in the past the Devcon is ok if you need an epoxy. (NOT saying he'd say fix this with it though, just that I'd probably try it myself.)

 

I'd start sanding the dried epoxy with 400-600 wet/dry oxide paper then you could probably use one of the 3 sided manicure "nib" boards. (or 1000/1500 wet/dry paper). Then Simichrome if you promise to get all the Simichrome out. )

 

I too would like to hear what he says.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

Edited October 17, 2011 by OcalaFlGuy

[Ron Z]

The solvent to use depends on the plastic. I think that the CF being a later pen, you would want to use Tenax or one of the related solvents to fuse the crack. Test inside the barrel, and apply from the inside if you can. You'll have to spread the crack if you can from the inside so that the solvent gets on the walls of the crack and no on the surface of the barrel.

 

Super glue gives a "sort of" repair. I have tried, and rejected, it as a repair material. It is softer than the plastic of the barrel. When you go to polish it, it will polish (and wear) at a different rate, so will be visible.

 

The same applies BTW to most epoxies. It's also very difficult to get epoxy down into the crack without making a heck of a mess.

Edited October 17, 2011 by Ron Z

[lovemy51]

thank u, Ron. as you can "barely" see from the pic, the crack is quite open. no need to spread it. i think it needs to be filled instead.

 

i might just end up leaving it as is. it doesn't affect the performance of the pen, anyways.

 

thx everyone for the help.

[Tom Heath]

Waterman CF

 

It never hurts, to try to obtain a a replacement part. Advertise on this board you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

A home made crack repair usually looks home made, you will always know its' there.

 

A replacement barrel CF in Black you may luck out in the $20.00 range

Good Luck

Tom

[lovemy51]

Waterman CF

 

It never hurts, to try to obtain a a replacement part. Advertise on this board you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

A home made crack repair usually looks home made, you will always know its' there.

 

A replacement barrel CF in Black you may luck out in the $20.00 range

Good Luck

Tom

thx, Tom. i think i will give it a try fixing it myself first. if it looks "home made"... than i'll go the other route -getting a replacement. i just don't want to pay $20, if I can fix it.

[LedZepGirl]

I'd find out what material it is and give solvent welding a try. It's kind of a tedious process, but you really have nothing to lose, it either works or it doesn't, as long as you're very careful you will not make things much worse than they already are.

 

This past December I solvent welded the barrel threads on an Eversharp Skyline with a hairline crack. With polystyrene plastic- what solid color Skylines are made of you can use Tenax plastic welder- the stuff for gluing models together. It worked great for me and you can't see where the crack was unless you have really good lighting and are really looking for it. All that remains is some very small indentations in some of the threads, but they do not affect performance, and a little bit of discoloration to the plastic- which you don't see when the cap is on.

 

I don't know how different plastics/solvents react during welding so you might want to do some research and ask some more questions just so you know what to expect if you try it.

 

I went through the same thing when trying to decide how to fix my Skyline, everyone just suggested buying a replacement barrel or sending it out. Sometimes you just have to try something new.

[lovemy51]

I'd find out what material it is and give solvent welding a try. It's kind of a tedious process, but you really have nothing to lose, it either works or it doesn't, as long as you're very careful you will not make things much worse than they already are.

 

This past December I solvent welded the barrel threads on an Eversharp Skyline with a hairline crack. With polystyrene plastic- what solid color Skylines are made of you can use Tenax plastic welder- the stuff for gluing models together. It worked great for me and you can't see where the crack was unless you have really good lighting and are really looking for it. All that remains is some very small indentations in some of the threads, but they do not affect performance, and a little bit of discoloration to the plastic- which you don't see when the cap is on.

 

I don't know how different plastics/solvents react during welding so you might want to do some research and ask some more questions just so you know what to expect if you try it.

 

I went through the same thing when trying to decide how to fix my Skyline, everyone just suggested buying a replacement barrel or sending it out. Sometimes you just have to try something new.

 

Hello, LZG! thanx for the info, but i don't need to weld the plastic. it's more like filling in the gap on the crack -it's not a hairline crack. hence, i don't see how solvent will solve-it :embarrassed_smile: !

 

i already applied some black epoxy and looks good, tho' it appears a bit soft. will see tomorrow after 24hrs hpw it holds. then, i will begin sanding and pilishing up.

 

will let u folks know...

[lovemy51]

ok, i didn't wanna wait til tomorrow morning -it's morning now, anyways (past midnight). sanded it down, polished it and the results were more than satisfactory for me. now it looks like a scratch on the barrel, but the gap on the crack is sealed and the color looks the same. i can live with that.

 

i'll see if i can post a pic later. which i dunno how good it can look -look at the picture before??!! :roflmho:

 

thax all for the help!

[lovemy51]

this is the best i can do -repair and pictures

 

before:

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/crackedbarrel.jpg

 

after:

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/PA210122.jpg

 

i understand that is not the best fix in the world , but that gap in the crack is gone and it makes a world of dif to me.

[ttakacs]

Very nice! What epoxy did you use? I have a similar problem -- a vertical crack at the barrel thread of a Conway Stewart 28. The section was secured (by a professional restorer) with shellac, so the section is not moving; therefore, the crack might not get worse. And I don't want to remove the section to do a solvent weld from the inside of the barrel. But I'd like to fill the crack nonetheless. I paid only $40 for the pen so I am not keen on spending any more on it.