Show off your fixes and repairs

[CMR | 517]

Show off your fixit skills in here.  I'll start with a simple one.  It's a Sega Saturn power supply.  I had to replace the switching transisitor, and I also swapped the broken power cable socket from another broken machine.  The one in the pic is one I tried to fix using epoxy paste, but it didn't hold up.

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by CMR

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

14 hours ago, CMR said:

The one in the pic is one I tried to fix using epoxy paste, but it didn't hold up.

What do you mean by "epoxy paste?"  What, specifically, did you use?  I tend to be a big fan of epoxies for long lasting, permanent repairs, and have to date not had a failure out of one.  There are, however, some products labeled "epoxy" and popular in the public consciousness that are absolute garbage, especially for things that have any level of mechanical stress put upon them (which a power port would, however little, every time a cable was inserted and then removed).  Would love to know the product at-hand to see if I can help prevent a similar outcome in the future.

[CMR | 517]

 

3 hours ago, darkchylde28 said:

What do you mean by "epoxy paste?"  What, specifically, did you use?  I tend to be a big fan of epoxies for long lasting, permanent repairs, and have to date not had a failure out of one.  There are, however, some products labeled "epoxy" and popular in the public consciousness that are absolute garbage, especially for things that have any level of mechanical stress put upon them (which a power port would, however little, every time a cable was inserted and then removed).  Would love to know the product at-hand to see if I can help prevent a similar outcome in the future.

I used something called "milliput" because I thought I needed a black color, and I didn't want to spend a fortune.  Turns out color didn't matter because that port is surrounded by the case plastic.  I don't know why, but I thought it would be seen from the back.  I pre-drilled the holes, but it was still too hard, and the screw threads wouldn't cut into it.  Once it cracked, it just started crumbling.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

31 minutes ago, CMR said:

I used something called "milliput" because I thought I needed a black color, and I didn't want to spend a fortune.  Turns out color didn't matter because that port is surrounded by the case plastic.  I don't know why, but I thought it would be seen from the back.  I pre-drilled the holes, but it was still too hard, and the screw threads wouldn't cut into it.  Once it cracked, it just started crumbling.

Ok, that was your issue.  Milliput is basically a modeling clay that cures and hardens once it's mixed, but isn't nearly as versatile or useful as a true epoxy.  The next time you go to fix something like this, use a "normal" 2-part epoxy, allow it the full amount of time to cure (typically ~24 hours, but can be up to 48-72 depending on the formula), and then made any last minute adjustments (sanding/shaving any excess bits) before buttoning things up.  This type of epoxy will end up as strong as or stronger than the plastic that you were piecing back together and, if you apply a little extra over top of and/or around where the breaks being bonded back together are, will provide a bit more reinforcement to prevent repeat breakage.  The stuff will have a minimal amount of flex to it if you really press on it, but won't be brittle, so it will allow for normal usage of things that don't have an extreme amount of constant mechanical stress.

With that being said, I recommend you absolutely do not use any of the stuff that is specifically labeled "for plastics," as while it might be formlated that way, it tends to act more like superglue, which ends up very brittle under mechanical stress, and will usually break/shatter very quickly again.  The handful of times I tried out the "for plastics" stuff, it didn't want to stick to or bond with any of the different types of plastics I used, even after I scuffed up the surfaces a bit, while standard 2-part epoxy (either the truly clear stuff, or the stuff that turns a bit yellow) worked without a hitch.  Another thing to avoid would be JB Weld or anything with the JB Weld brand, even their "normal" 2 part epoxies.  Standard JB Weld is said to stick to anything, will cure and initially hold up, but will be very brittle in the long run, especially under mechanical stress.  I had a latch in our screen door's handle/lock mechanism that broke and kept having to fix it about every 4-6 weeks because the JB Weld just wouldn't hold up to the stress and would crack, then crumble into dust and gum everything up every time.  I've tried their "for plastics" and standard 2-part epoxies as well and found that they didn't hold up any better, so best just to avoid them, as you'll only be paying more for their name, and then ultimately having to re-do anything that you've repaird with them after it experiences minor stress.

Milliput can be great for fixing stationary plastic bits on things like toys, models, etc., and can even be used for some things that have stress applied to them so long as they're supported within (like having rebar within concrete), but shouldn't be used in anything by itself if there's going to be any sort of mechanical stress involved.  I fixed my kids' Fisher Price Sesame Street playset using Milliput and was quite happy with the results, but I also used cut, bent, and embedded bits of metal paper clips to form a cage around the area that needed to be replaced, and only then pushed in and formed the clay to replace the broken off and missing bits.  Had I used Milliput alone to make the replacement bits or stick together bits that were left, it would have broken off really quickly due to its brittle nature.

I hope this helps.  If you need or want to see any examples of things I've fixed with "generic" standard 2-part epoxy, let me know.  I think the biggest one was the internal mounting points for the wing extension gears on one of my vintage Imperial Shuttles; here is a video of someone showing one of those doing its full wing drop, so you can imagine the stress of those ~1/2 lb wings dropping and then coming to a sudden halt.

[CMR | 517]

5 hours ago, darkchylde28 said:

Ok, that was your issue.  Milliput is basically a modeling clay that cures and hardens once it's mixed, but isn't nearly as versatile or useful as a true epoxy.  The next time you go to fix something like this, use a "normal" 2-part epoxy, allow it the full amount of time to cure (typically ~24 hours, but can be up to 48-72 depending on the formula), and then made any last minute adjustments (sanding/shaving any excess bits) before buttoning things up.  This type of epoxy will end up as strong as or stronger than the plastic that you were piecing back together and, if you apply a little extra over top of and/or around where the breaks being bonded back together are, will provide a bit more reinforcement to prevent repeat breakage.  The stuff will have a minimal amount of flex to it if you really press on it, but won't be brittle, so it will allow for normal usage of things that don't have an extreme amount of constant mechanical stress.

With that being said, I recommend you absolutely do not use any of the stuff that is specifically labeled "for plastics," as while it might be formlated that way, it tends to act more like superglue, which ends up very brittle under mechanical stress, and will usually break/shatter very quickly again.  The handful of times I tried out the "for plastics" stuff, it didn't want to stick to or bond with any of the different types of plastics I used, even after I scuffed up the surfaces a bit, while standard 2-part epoxy (either the truly clear stuff, or the stuff that turns a bit yellow) worked without a hitch.  Another thing to avoid would be JB Weld or anything with the JB Weld brand, even their "normal" 2 part epoxies.  Standard JB Weld is said to stick to anything, will cure and initially hold up, but will be very brittle in the long run, especially under mechanical stress.  I had a latch in our screen door's handle/lock mechanism that broke and kept having to fix it about every 4-6 weeks because the JB Weld just wouldn't hold up to the stress and would crack, then crumble into dust and gum everything up every time.  I've tried their "for plastics" and standard 2-part epoxies as well and found that they didn't hold up any better, so best just to avoid them, as you'll only be paying more for their name, and then ultimately having to re-do anything that you've repaird with them after it experiences minor stress.

Milliput can be great for fixing stationary plastic bits on things like toys, models, etc., and can even be used for some things that have stress applied to them so long as they're supported within (like having rebar within concrete), but shouldn't be used in anything by itself if there's going to be any sort of mechanical stress involved.  I fixed my kids' Fisher Price Sesame Street playset using Milliput and was quite happy with the results, but I also used cut, bent, and embedded bits of metal paper clips to form a cage around the area that needed to be replaced, and only then pushed in and formed the clay to replace the broken off and missing bits.  Had I used Milliput alone to make the replacement bits or stick together bits that were left, it would have broken off really quickly due to its brittle nature.

I hope this helps.  If you need or want to see any examples of things I've fixed with "generic" standard 2-part epoxy, let me know.  I think the biggest one was the internal mounting points for the wing extension gears on one of my vintage Imperial Shuttles; here is a video of someone showing one of those doing its full wing drop, so you can imagine the stress of those ~1/2 lb wings dropping and then coming to a sudden halt.

LOL, you really wanted to talk about epoxies didn't you?  Thanks for the advice.  One of the reasons I went with milliput was because I could mold it easily.  If I ever did it over again, I would probably just use JB Weld.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

1 hour ago, CMR said:

LOL, you really wanted to talk about epoxies didn't you?  Thanks for the advice.  One of the reasons I went with milliput was because I could mold it easily.  If I ever did it over again, I would probably just use JB Weld.

Kind of, as they're severely unappreciated.  Seriously, skip the JB Weld, in the long run it's junk.  If you're taking pieces of something non-metal and gluing them back together, standard 2-part epoxy can't be beat.  If whatever you're putting back together is in too many pieces, you might need or want to wait a couple of minutes after mixing to apply or start holding the bits together in the shape they're ultimately supposed to stay in, as it can be a bit too runny before it starts initial set, but after 5-10 minutes, you're good to go so long as you don't mess with it while it finishes curing.

The big plus with the epoxy over other adhesives (and especially all JB Weld products) is that it doesn't become brittle, and will give ever so slightly under mechanical stress.  Not enough to break, go out of shape, etc., but enough so that you don't snap off whatever you just put back on.  In fact, you're more likely to break more of whatever you fixed off than you are to break the part that was repaired and fully cured.  Another big plus is that once you get experienced and comfortable with it, you can actually start making your own replacement parts with it, either pouring/pushing it into your own molds, or just using it to fill in big gaps where material is totally missing (as I did with that Kenner shuttle I mentioned).

One big drawback you're immediately missing with JB Weld in the application example you provided is that JB weld is conductive, since it's 20% iron by weight.  Besides the fact that it will fail fairly quickly in applications where mechanical stress is being consistently applied (look it up, folks talking about repairing mechanically stressed car parts universally say to weld or replace a part versus using JB Weld on it, as the JB Weld repair won't last, regardless of its claimed tensile strength), putting something conductive into a power socket to fill it back in or piece it together is a seriously bad idea and most likely going to lead to shorting out and/or killing the power supply at least or a fire at worst.  The repair you attempted wasn't a bad idea, as the Milliput wasn't conductive, but it cures fairly brittle; a 2-part epoxy would have done the job and not immediately fractured/broken.

If you've not worked with the material before, at least give it a shot before dismissing it out of hand.  You'll be surprised at how useful and versatile the stuff can be, as well as how strong (especially when applying a bit extra beyond the edges of cracks/gaps for additional mechanical support).  I'm a huge proponent for functionally repairing something before repairing or discarding, and good 'ol basic 2-part epoxy has yet to let me down when used appropriately.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

I dug around on my phone, and here are a couple of repairs using the materials discussed that I happened to already have photos of.

This was a little crank arm that was part of a Fisher Price record playing carousel that I picked up for my daughter, since she loved the record player but didn't have the grip strength to wind it yet.  The handle had been previously snapped in half, then very badly superglued together again, and was barely together in the package when I opened it, then literally falling apart as I pulled the packing paper from around it.  I cleaned up the edges (removing superglue, its residue, and any other debris hanging out), then applied 2 part epoxy between the pieces and held them for ~5 minutes for the first set to kick in, mixed up some more, and added a second coat above and below the break all the way around, keeping it as thin as I could without disturbing the cure of the first repair, then allowed the whole thing to cure fora bit more than a day.  I reinstalled it the following evening, and it's been rock solid ever since, despite being at the less-than-tender mercies of my then 3 and 7 year old kids.

These next photos are of where I repaired and rebuilt the handle and catch portions of my kids' Fisher Price Sesame Street playset, as well as repaired a decent sized stress crack in the roof of the building.

I started out with the missing retaining peg, drilling a couple of small holes in the plastic, cutting (and bending) some bits of metal paperclip, then mounting them firmly i the holes with a little 2 part epoxy on the ends to keep them in place.  I then mixed up a bit of Milliput, applied it all over the frame I'd created, as well as up the side of the remaining plastic around it a bit (after scuffing the plastic slightly), shaped it to get it as close to the other side as possible, then left it overnight to cure.  The next afternoon, I lightly sanded everything to smooth out the seam between the original plastic and repair (as well as to help match the lines of the cutout of the original plastic below it) and called it a day.

For the other side, I did much the same, drilling small holes on each side of the area where the plastic used to retain the handle's pin was broken off, cut and bent some bits of metal paperclip to make a cage roughly the same size and shape as the other side but also small enough to fit within, then mixed up more Milliput and applied it over the whole thing, making sure to move the handle around a lot as I worked to make sure that the putty didn't adhere to it.  I left it overnight, and after it cured, went after it with some files and sandpaper to finish getting it into the right shape and down to a size that, via eyeballing it, closely matched the other side.

I tested it gingerly at first, then with a bit of gusto, shaking it around, then gave it to my kids to play with.  Although I never got around to painting it to match the plastic as I'd intended, the repair has held up to this day, without a single crack, chip, ding, etc. to show for it.

And as for the crack and gap in the roof, you can see it reasonably clearly in the second photo, then see where I epoxied it shut and filled in the gap at the edge in the fourth photo (and also see the ratcheting clamp I held the crack shut with while it cured at the edge of the shot).

Edited March 18, 2023 by darkchylde28

[CMR | 517]

What brand or type of epoxy would you recommend for something that is going to take a lot of stress or need screws threaded through it?

 

7 hours ago, darkchylde28 said:

I dug around on my phone, and here are a couple of repairs using the materials discussed that I happened to already have photos of.

This was a little crank arm that was part of a Fisher Price record playing carousel that I picked up for my daughter, since she loved the record player but didn't have the grip strength to wind it yet.  The handle had been previously snapped in half, then very badly superglued together again, and was barely together in the package when I opened it, then literally falling apart as I pulled the packing paper from around it.  I cleaned up the edges (removing superglue, its residue, and any other debris hanging out), then applied 2 part epoxy between the pieces and held them for ~5 minutes for the first set to kick in, mixed up some more, and added a second coat above and below the break all the way around, keeping it as thin as I could without disturbing the cure of the first repair, then allowed the whole thing to cure fora bit more than a day.  I reinstalled it the following evening, and it's been rock solid ever since, despite being at the less-than-tender mercies of my then 3 and 7 year old kids.

These next photos are of where I repaired and rebuilt the handle and catch portions of my kids' Fisher Price Sesame Street playset, as well as repaired a decent sized stress crack in the roof of the building.

I started out with the missing retaining peg, drilling a couple of small holes in the plastic, cutting (and bending) some bits of metal paperclip, then mounting them firmly i the holes with a little 2 part epoxy on the ends to keep them in place.  I then mixed up a bit of Milliput, applied it all over the frame I'd created, as well as up the side of the remaining plastic around it a bit (after scuffing the plastic slightly), shaped it to get it as close to the other side as possible, then left it overnight to cure.  The next afternoon, I lightly sanded everything to smooth out the seam between the original plastic and repair (as well as to help match the lines of the cutout of the original plastic below it) and called it a day.

For the other side, I did much the same, drilling small holes on each side of the area where the plastic used to retain the handle's pin was broken off, cut and bent some bits of metal paperclip to make a cage roughly the same size and shape as the other side but also small enough to fit within, then mixed up more Milliput and applied it over the whole thing, making sure to move the handle around a lot as I worked to make sure that the putty didn't adhere to it.  I left it overnight, and after it cured, went after it with some files and sandpaper to finish getting it into the right shape and down to a size that, via eyeballing it, closely matched the other side.

I tested it gingerly at first, then with a bit of gusto, shaking it around, then gave it to my kids to play with.  Although I never got around to painting it to match the plastic as I'd intended, the repair has held up to this day, without a single crack, chip, ding, etc. to show for it.

And as for the crack and gap in the roof, you can see it reasonably clearly in the second photo, then see where I epoxied it shut and filled in the gap at the edge in the fourth photo (and also see the ratcheting clamp I held the crack shut with while it cured at the edge of the shot).

 

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

14 minutes ago, CMR said:

What brand or type of epoxy would you recommend for something that is going to take a lot of stress or need screws threaded through it?

If I was going to pay attention to branding, I would probably grab something by LocTite first.  But if it's an application where an epoxy is appropriate, I most likely wouldn't really care and just grab the first 2-part epoxy "syringe" that's priced decently compared to how much is inside.  The reason I put it that way is due to places like Harbor Freight having rock bottom prices on their tubes (typically around $1), but having labeling covering up the area where you can see the level of material inside and actually giving you like 1/5 or 1/4 of a tube instead of a full one.  For the most part, the "standard" 2-part epoxy that you'll see sold in double-sided syringes is pretty much the same material and formula from manufacturer to manufacturer unless it specifically says otherwise (quick set, plastic, specific, etc.).

One other thing I'll pay attention to is how much stress everything is going to go under and vary the type of 2-part epoxy based on that.  If it's going to be something that might have the occasional bit of mechanical stress put upon it but was only broken accidentally and not through use-until-failure, I'm perfectly fine buying the stuff that will have its first full initial set in 5 minutes.  However, if it's something that broke due to a lot of constant/consistent stress that will be going back into normal use and not just turned into a display piece, I'll go for the regular 2-part epoxy which takes longer to set up.  The regular kind can subsequently be manipulated more and easier before it initially sets due to its firmness ramping up, allowing you to mix it, wait a bit, then apply it, mold it, etc. 5-7 minutes on instead of having to try to have 3 hands to hold something together for 10-15 mins until set.

In the case of rebuilding the "stud" that held the wing extension gears for the Kenner shuttle, I used standard epoxy, then didn't start messing with it a ton until it had gotten a little warm and viscous, as I not only needed to get it in between all the little plastic pieces that had formed the little cube previously, but fill in some pretty big gaps and keep the thing square on all sides until it cured without throwing it into a mold that might bond to it.  I was able to keep shaping the stuff and keeping all the sides and corners straight and sharp enough to decently mirror the non-broken (and non-stressed, thankfully) stud on the other side until it initially set ~15 minutes in, then keep turning it ever so slightly to keep it straight until ~60 minutes in, as it tried to twist slightly due ot how it had originally been rotated off the surface it stuck out of.  Because of knowing how that epoxy set and cured, I was able to not only bond back together the pieces that were left of the broken mounting stud, but also recreate the mounting point without having to push a support through the material beneath it, which would have stuck out into another part as well as becoming visible.  As is, it's been a permanent, functional repair that's totally invisible unless you tear the whole toy down and then yank off that gear.

Things like that are why I always tout the stuff as much as I do, as it's incredibly versatile in how it can be used (bond stuff back together, reinforce repairs, make new/replacement pieces in whatever shape you can make without the necessity of a mold, etc.) and how, when working with things like toys, consoles, etc., the repaired bits can be, and often are, stronger than it was originally, making the rest of the item more likely to break than the repair.

I hope my examples (and most likely some rambling, lol) helps you in your future repair endeavors.  Thanks for hearing me out.

[RotorSpec | 47]

Picked up this Lone Ranger for the NES as is from eBay. Had garbled graphics no matter how clean the pins were. Desoldered all the ICs and found multiple broken traces from the pins to vias. Found a suitable donor from searching on bootgod and works like a charm now!