Repairing cracked screw holes in skeleton??? (Page 1/2)
adm927 SEP 20, 01:19 PM
Anyone got any good fixed for cracked screw holes in a skeleton?
Spadesluck SEP 20, 01:27 PM
Do you have the piece that broke off? You could epoxy the broken piece back on the skeleton. Beyond that I am not sure what you can do. Its a shame the skeleton is such a flimys piece of plastic to start with, now age 30 year age to it....
cvxjet SEP 20, 02:30 PM
I have a spare...that is also a little cracked; What I plan on doing with it is using epoxy, install stud/screws in the holes and using nuts to secure everything......This will work for everything except the four screws for the cover plate.

I went to the local hardware store and found some of those stud/screws....One end is a machine thread, and the other end is a wood/sheet metal screw.....They come in different lengths/sizes, both metric and SAE....I looked on line but haven't actual bought the right size ones yet.....

Years ago there was a PFF member who was working to make new ones, but he got sick and passed......there was talk of someone else doing it, but it seems that everyone thought that since that was "His project", nobody else should touch it......I understand "respect for the dead", but it seems that we really need these- especially if they can be made a little thicker/flexible, so they don't just immediately crack....
Spadesluck SEP 20, 04:03 PM
I have gone as far as take a good skeleton out of my donor car and epoxy all the weak spots to add more strenghth to it. I know this does not help fixing the already broken pieces though. But, that is a good idea to do cvxjet, should take some pictures so that others can try it out.
Shho13 SEP 20, 04:16 PM
I fixed my skeleton by using the plastic epoxy puddy that you could mould, kinda like Play Doh. Worked great, just don't crank down on the screws too hard to strip the puddy when threading the screws through it. If you wanna get an idea of what I did it's in my build threads that is in my signature below!

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"Discord"
Red 1988 GT under restoration!

Let's Go Mets!

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Larryinkc SEP 20, 06:13 PM
So far I have been lucky with the console skeleton in my car and haven't had to repair it yet.

I have seen Plastaid recommended for many fixes and is what I plan to try when I have to fix mine.

https://www.plast-aid.com/
Cajun SEP 20, 07:50 PM
I have used Plast-And in the past to repair broken or stripped screw holes and broken/missing pieces of the console skeleton with good results.
Orig88GT-NC SEP 20, 08:22 PM
I've had very good results with a product similar to Plasti-Aid called PLastiFix (it's also a powder/liquid). It comes in Black, White or Clear.
The Kits come with a block of wax like material (FlexMold Molding Bar) you heat in hot water to soften, then use it to make a mold of part or tab you want to reproduce.
I've used this to fix my skeleton frame and replace tabs, stuff works pretty good. Looks like its priced about the same as Plasti-Aid
Polyvance-PlastiFix Kits
fierofool SEP 20, 09:52 PM
If the holes are just cracked and all the pieces are still there, LaserBond or Bondic works pretty good.
hnthomps SEP 21, 09:31 AM
I am in the process of refurbishing a broken center console skeleton at this moment. Screw holes were cracked in several locations and the main support was totally broken into two pieces about 12" from the front. I am using fiberglass resin to put the console back together and will either use a bondo product to fill and then redrill the screw holes or JB Weld (used successfully on previous screw hole repairs). I am anticipating four or five coats of fiberglass resin on the entire console and then sand/paint it prior to storage. Maybe I can take a photo of the reassembled and partially sanded console later today.

As requested, here are a few photos. I did not take a picture prior to starting the repair but will do so during the remaining portions of the rebuild. Initially, I used three clamps to hold the parts together, two were oriented along the main skeleton axis and one was at 90 degrees to the main axis. This held the broken portions of the console in alignment while doping the initial fiberglass application. As a side note, I use some older get and activator that I had left over from a kayak repair for the first coat. It never hardened but left a sticky mess to deal with. I cleaned what I could but ended up applying the second coat over the remaining unhardened fiberglass. It will not produce the prettiest final pictures but sanding and paint will hide some of it and it is not like the skeleton is on display at all times. Note that the sanding process has now been started in the first photo.

I will upload new photos as appropriate but this work will take a few weeks due to prior commitments.











Nelson

[This message has been edited by hnthomps (edited 09-21-2017).]