What should I use to repair the broken tabs on a '70 Cutlass grill and some of the fins?

thanks

 

One of our members in Germany used fiberglass to repair the grill inserts on his A body Cutlass. He posted recently, if you do a search on "restoration" I'm sure you will find the post. He said it turned out pretty good. You can't see the reapir unless you get close.

 

Much easier to use a good Super Glue type glue to tack the pieces back together (if there aren't gaps where it's been broken....ie missing pieces). Go to a hobby shop and find some of the thicker superglue. Make sure the breaks are clean from oil/dirt/etc.

Superglue will work fine but the stuff isn't great for something that gets stressed, etc. If you just "tack" the parts in place w/superglue then you can follow up with something like VersaChem 2 part glue FOR PLASTICS. Get it at O'Reilly's in the adhesive section back in the body shop/sandpaper supply area. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE STUFF THAT IS FOR "PLASTICS". They have a bunch of different versions but that's the one you need. It's packaged in a hanging card and it's a double black syringe looking container.

Fiberglass is very messy and mixing resin can be a pain...try the VersaChem stuff.

 

I used "L" brackets, and "strait" brackets (were appropriate) with sheet mettle screws and sheet metal nuts, and a few mechene screws across the accross the top into sheet metal nuts. It worked out good for over 15 yrs, no one ever said anything.

 

For years I tried every known glue I could purchase and NONE of them worked very well....Then I came across this stuff..............


When, after my daughter hit someone, (knocking out the entire grille set) and looking at repop grille-sets for a while, I stumbled onto a type of glue on the rack at NAPA . Plastic Welding System Napa #7652420. This stuff ROCKS!

The secret of its success is that not only is it an epoxy-type material, but it is a solvent-weld which fuses to most plastics, while ignoring stuff like coffee can lids. This aspect came in handy, allowing me to mix it on one. I built panels of material to replace the areas missing, while puzzle-fitting the pieces I still had.

You will need:

* The glue. And lots of it. I used at least a dozen tubes.
* Fiberglass mesh drywall tape. The kind that sticks on.
* A coffee can lid
* Scissors
* Knife
* Plastic (disposable) putty knives
* Clamps of several types
* Plastic box tape. The type UPS uses. The glue won’t stick to it either. Good for “backing up” your shapes while they harden

 

This is good information. It is always a bummer to have a borken plastic panel, but there are some great idea here for repair.

 

great info, thanks