How can you strengthen old models?

7Mile Thu Aug 08, 2019 6:46 pm

I have several old models where the plastic is brittle, is there any way to strengthen this, like, say, by wrapping it in fiberglass mesh?

ticomareado Thu Aug 08, 2019 7:05 pm

I'll kick of the discussion by referring you here:

https://sigmfg.com/products/sig-glass-cloth

Mark Diedrichs Thu Aug 08, 2019 7:10 pm

Try this stuff, works for me. Very strong durable adhesive. You can find it at Home Depot/Lowes stores. Best of luck, Mark

How can you strengthen old models? 20190811

ian1954 Fri Aug 09, 2019 3:17 pm

This is a difficult one because plastics are very hard to work with - paticularly, old plastics that have degraded. Most glues sutable for plastics work by dissolving and softening the components to be joined - almost making a weld.

Fibre glass needs a resin to apply it. normally this is epoxy but epoxy doesn't bond well to plastic. It can be done but the surface needs rough sanding and some fairly agressive scratching to get the epoxy to bond. It also adds quite a bit of weight.

I recently covered too balsa tailplanes using epoy and very this carbon cloth to strenghten them. They are now rock solid but the weight of each went from 8 grammes to 15 grammes.

If you are strengthening the plastic to fly and aren't worried abount appearance then 3m shipping tape will do the job.

https://www.scotchbrand.com/3M/en_US/scotch-brand/products/catalog/?N=4335+3294529207+3294603581&rt=rud

https://www.scotchbrand.com/3M/en_US/scotch-brand/products/catalog/~/Scotch-Reinforced-Strength-Shipping-Strapping-Tape/?N=4335+3294529207+3294580311&preselect=5584785+7566595+3293786499&rt=rud

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How can you strengthen old models?

How can you strengthen old models?

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