Fixing cracks on car bodies?

[goosedude]

Does anyone know how to fix a crack/split on a body?

I have a 1/16 scale 55 Chevy with a crack at the bottom of the front pillar.

Any suggestions?

[progplastic]

I use CA glue. I bend the parts out at the crack just a little bit and put a little CA super glue in the crack with a toothpic, then line the piece back up straight. When the glue dries I lightly sand the part back to its original shape..be carefull, I've made cracks worse by bending them out to much. Hope this helps...oh and if you do break it and you give up..you can send that chevy to me...Jim

[Gluhead]

For a crack in that particular spot, I'd use a liquid cement such as Ambroid or Tenax. You may need to open the gap as Jim mentioned above, but because of the capillary action nature of these adhesives, you'll only need to open it up ever so slightly. Just be careful...if there is only a very small amount of plastic holding the point together, the liquid cement can soften it enough to come apart the rest of the way. It's not that big of a deal if it does (or already is completely separated), it'll just force you to make sure that you get the piece lined back up perfectly rather than holding itself in position.

If you're lucky, the body isn't torqued and you can let it sit in its natural position to cure before moving on to the next step. If not, find a way to hold it true while it cures up (tape, a little weight, whatever gets the job done). Give it a few hours, at least.

Finally, take your razor saw, a photo-etched saw blade, or a panel scriber and create a cut line on the backside of the pillar. It doesn't need to be much...just wide and deep enough to fit a piece of metal wire inside it, along with a little superglue. Make it extend far enough beyond the break point to ensure a good hold (as far as you can reasonably cut your trough for the wire without creating even more work for yourself, basically).

Grab a piece of hard wire. Guitar string, one of those little wire christmas ornament hangers, whatever...as long as it's not flimsy but still thin. Fit it to the trough you made, and superglue it in. You won't need to go overboard...just secure the wire completely and fill the trough. Anything more, and you'll start interfering with your windshield fit. If you have some CA kicker, kick it for an instant cure.

Sand or file any lumps 'n bumps back out if you ended up with any, and there ya go. Good luck.