Reapiring A Pillars.

[ewetwo]

Is there a trick to repairing A Pillars? A few models I have they are broken. Some all the pieces are there and others I'm not so lucky. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

There's no "trick", as in "easy way", but it IS possible to create lasting, strong repairs.

I have a couple of methods:

1) Carefully reassemble all the pieces, using liquid cement to achieve the maximum bond strength BETWEEN the parts. If the parts are bent, CAREFULLY straighten them before gluing. While gluing, PAY ATTENTION that ALL the pieces line up correctly with each other. After you've done a few, it's really not all that hard. Then let the glue set up  AT LEAST OVERNIGHT.

Now for the tricky bit. Depending how good your bonds are, you MIGHT decide you want to reinforce the joints. You can do this several ways.

Some guys will carefully thin the BACK side of the pillar, and bond in a strip of styrene stock, or brass (use a decent epoxy for the brass).

I personally prefer to thin the backside and then build it up with a VERY high strength (made for real aircraft) epoxy, and superfine fiberglass. I let it cure, again overnight, and carefully file and sand to shape. I prefer to use a Dremel to do the pillar-thinning and final rough shaping, and it's a skill that takes a while to develop...but once you do, it works great.

2) The next method is the same as the first, but you drill the broken ends to accept short lengths of steel pins. Think plastic micro-surgery. Careful, go slow, think it through.

3) When you don't HAVE all the pieces, you can MAKE entire pillars or sections from the appropriate styrene stock. Again, think it through, work carefully, and pin or otherwise reinforce the joints as you see fit.

This is an example of missing pillars, fabricated as above, and reinforced on the backside with fiberglass.

The photo below shows the fiberglass reinforcement technique on a chopped and lengthened top. Very strong, easily as strong as the surrounding plastic, and no worries about damaging it during subsequent bodywork.

 

 

[BigTallDad]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

There's no "trick", as in "easy way", but it IS possible to create lasting, strong repairs.

Excellent advice! I've also used short sections of paper clips to back up the inside of the pillar.

[Snake45]

I fixed a broken '59 Vette windshield frame last month with "fauxberglass" made of superglue and a little strip of newspaper. Now it's even stronger than it was before. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

I fixed a broken '59 Vette windshield frame last month with "fauxberglass" made of superglue and a little strip of newspaper. Now it's even stronger than it was before. 

You know, I'm going to have to try that.

Cellulose fibers are remarkably strong...a non-aluminum Spitfire (non-flying) was built from an early composite material using linen fibers and phenolic resin to investigate replacing light alloy in British warplanes (by the company that went on to produce carbon F1 tubs in later years).

It's a royal PITA to mix my magic epoxy resin for a model car. 10 grams is the minimum I can mix accurately, so there's about 90% waste every time I do model work with it.

[peteski]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

You know, I'm going to have to try that.

Cellulose fibers are remarkably strong...a non-aluminum Spitfire (non-flying) was built from an early composite material using linen fibers and phenolic resin to investigate replacing light alloy in British warplanes

So were the bodies of East German Trabants (except they used cotton fibers and resin).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant

Edited May 16, 2018 by peteski

[Jantrix]

11 hours ago, Snake45 said:

 "fauxberglass" 

You heard it here first folks! New word. 

Great idea Snake. I will be trying that method in the near future.

[ewetwo]

Thank you all for the input.  

How do you do the super glue and newspaper Snake? And I keep reading about people using super glue to build their models. Is it the kind from the dollar store or is there a specific super glue you use. I've been using Testors regular model car glue with the red label. 

[Snake45]

I wrote up a nice tutorial here, but the PB fiasco wiped out the photos. 

Anyway, if the pillar (etc.) is just broken, glue it back together as best you can with either liquid cement or superglue. Might look good for a while but probably won't hold. So when it's dry, you coat the backside of the pillar with a thin but wet coat of superglue, then lay a strip of newspaper cut just a little bigger into it. Press the newspaper or tissue down into the superglue with the point of an exacto, pencil, toothpick, etc--NOT your finger! If you can get the paper soaked through that way, great; if not, add a little more superglue on top of it, and scrape off any excess before it dries (quickly). Let the whole mess sit until it's cured (couple hours, or overnight), then trim the excess newspaper off the edges with a NEW excacto blade. It's amazingly easy to do and gives a thin, strong bond. 

[BubbaBrown]

There was an article here or in our trade mags about using fingernail stuff. The article made it look like someone as challenged as me could do it. It was 2 part epoxy basically .

[Snake45]

On 5/16/2018 at 8:28 PM, Snake45 said:

I wrote up a nice tutorial here, but the PB fiasco wiped out the photos. 

Anyway, if the pillar (etc.) is just broken, glue it back together as best you can with either liquid cement or superglue. Might look good for a while but probably won't hold. So when it's dry, you coat the backside of the pillar with a thin but wet coat of superglue, then lay a strip of newspaper cut just a little bigger into it. Press the newspaper or tissue down into the superglue with the point of an exacto, pencil, toothpick, etc--NOT your finger! If you can get the paper soaked through that way, great; if not, add a little more superglue on top of it, and scrape off any excess before it dries (quickly). Let the whole mess sit until it's cured (couple hours, or overnight), then trim the excess newspaper off the edges with a NEW excacto blade. It's amazingly easy to do and gives a thin, strong bond. 

Since Photobucket is working again, here's a link to my original tutorial, with good links to my original post on another forum. 

 

[ewetwo]

I tried  that and I must have done something wrong Snake. It just kept falling apart on me.  If it didn’t fall apart it was stuck to my tweezers. Lol I tried supperglueing a thin piece of clear plastic from a clear sprue to the back figuring I could file it down and you wouldn’t notice too much seeing it’s clear. Then today I was polishing the top of the 58 that I’ve been working on and sure enough. Broke an A pillar. I glued that and figure the foil wil cover it. 

[SfanGoch]

When you apply the newspaper/tissue/wrapping paper, cut it slightly larger than the pillar,  place it on the CA precoated pillar and smooth it out with tweezer tips, a dental probe or any other object. Apply another thin, smooth coat of CA over the paper and place a drop of CA accelerator on this. Some people frown on using accelerator; but, hey, to each his own. It'll be rock hard and you can sand it with wet/dry paper or use, if you got'em, round diamond burr bits to make it baby's butt smooth. I also smear on a thin coat of two-part marine epoxy (it's white, which means it'll blend in with the surrounding plastic in 90+% of kits)  just to make sure nothing decides to come apart.