A-Pillar Trim Plastic Slidng Tab (Not clip) Repair (Page 1/1)
reinhart FEB 08, 04:02 PM
In searching the archives, I couldn't find anything about repairing the thin plastic flaps that slide into the roof. There are a few on repairing the plastic clips but nothing on repairing the slide tabs. Anyone successfully repair these? I had both break off one of my pillars upon removal.

I had an idea of getting a very thin piece of metal, bending it with a 120degree angle and then using bumper repair compound or similar to bond one side of the bend to the A-trim and the other side would be able to slide into the grooves in the roof. Any thoughts?

[This message has been edited by reinhart (edited 02-08-2021).]

dremu FEB 08, 04:46 PM
You're talking about the flaps that are molded into the trim, right, I think there's one about eye level and then another above your head?

Bonding metal to plastic can be hairy. Were it me, I'd get some thin styrene sheet from the hobby store; they sell it for models, Evergreen being a popular brand name. Worst case you can get it from https://evergreenscalemodels.com/

You might have to double it up to fit into the slot in the roofline, as they come in like .010", .020", pretty thin. Anyway, bend that into the L shape to fit into the roof, then glue to the pillar. I think epoxy or a plastic welder. I'm partial to this stuff

https://www.tapplastics.com/weld_on_16_cement

(that's my local dealer, I imagine if you have a local plastic place they'd have it or something akin to it.) I find it melts into most plastic and bonds them pretty well.

-- A
Larryinkc FEB 08, 06:54 PM
I repaired 2 of those tabs on my A pillar trim with ABS plumbing cement. I have removed them both since repairing them and the repairs have held. The motorcycle guys use ABS cement on their plastic with great success.

https://www.silverwing600.c...51-repairing-fairing
donuteater306 FEB 10, 11:55 PM
And to throw one more option at you...I used Plastic Welder epoxy that I picked up at Home Depot.
reinhart FEB 23, 06:17 AM
I had already cut some thin pieces of metal before I saw the replies, so figured I'd give it a shot. I ended up using epoxy to bond them to the trim. They seem super strong but I haven't installed yet as I'm working on the headliner.

If they break off and it turns out the metal to plastic bond isn't a good fix, I'll use one of the ideas from this thread next. Thanks for the ideas!
olejoedad FEB 23, 07:23 AM
I have melted the pieces together with a butane soldering torch and had good results.