What is the best way to weld plastic?
Plastic is one of the most common materials with which the objects around us are made of. But here is a thing about plastic- it can crack or break. A piece of fully functional equipment or product can be rendered useless because of a slight breakage in its plastic component. Unlike other repairs, plastic gives you nothing to work on. You just have to repair the material itself and there is nothing to attach or loosen. In this case, you either end up discarding the otherwise functional product or it remains in your garage till you have time to get it repaired.
So before you start losing your wits with all the complicated procedures mentioned online that would require you to have professional equipment, read further along this article that brings to you quick and easy methods you can try out at home.
Use Superglue
Try using the superglue or the plastic model glue that is easily available at many stores or you can even order them online. If there is a slight crack in the plastic material and you just need to re-attach the material, plastic glues are a perfect way to do that. Plastic glue has the ability to bond some of the plastics by dissolving the surfaces and melding them together. It creates a fairly strong bond and can make your product functional again. Another thing to keep in mind that the plastic glue might also dissolve through plastic and damage the surface if used too much and too often. Therefore, it is only recommended for slight repairs.
Hot and cold water
Yes, the next trick lies in your kitchen itself. The best thing about plastics is that it does not require high temperatures to melt, so you can do it at home without any professional equipment. Just heat up a bowl of water on your stove or microwave and also keep a bowl of cold water ready. If there has been a slight bend in your plastic products like action figures, dolls, etc. this method works like a charm. You simply have to put the plastic product in the hot water and check for its malleability from time to time. When it is hot enough you can just mold the product with your bare fingers. Once you have gotten the desired shape you can just put the plastic in the bowl of cold water to cool it off.
Plastic patches
If there is a hole or a gap in your plastic product then simple techniques won’t work. But do not fret already because this problem has a simple solution as well. You can use devices like Bondic to patch your plastic. Bondic is easy to use and does not create any mess. Bondic is a tiny tube that expels liquid plastic over the desired area which then gets hardened when exposed to UV light. You can simply sand the surface of the plastic you want to meld and then apply the liquid plastic from Bondic and let it dry in the UV light. You can also repeat the process for better results. Read more here Bondic glue review.
Soldering iron
Soldering irons for melding plastic are easily available in the markets. You can just buy a simple tool kit and follow the instructions stated or watch a YouTube tutorial on it. If you need to join two pieces of plastic then soldering iron does a pretty good job. The basic idea is to meld the plastic by applying heat on the edges so it can be joined together. Make sure you have enough ventilation in the room because melding plastic can be toxic and injurious to health. Also do not forget to wear gloves as the heat involved in the process might harm your fingers if not careful. You can simply attach the two plastic areas or even create grooves for a better hold.
Conclusion
There are a lot of methods that you can use to meld plastic but we have not included those in this post to keep things simple. If you are not into welding then you might simply not follow those and this article would not serve its purpose. The processes included in this post are quite simple and handy. Hopefully, these simple measures would keep your plastic products functional and long-lasting.
