OEM Front Plastic Lip Identification and Filling Gouges Help

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 6:13 pm
Hey guys,
This is my first post on the forum and my first diy job. I've been doing a lot of research but sometimes you just need to try and do it to understand what you're reading. Anyway, I recently decided to fix the front oem lip on my lexus is250 since it has been hit many times by those parking bumpers.

I cleaned the entire lip and began sanding out what scratches I could. There were gouges that I needed to fill. After going on the 3m website and seeing what they recommended. 3m recommended using their automix pn# 05887 but at $74.99 I wanted to try something cheaper if possible since there are only a few gouges and the lip is so small.

So I did more research and found that people were using abs cement (black can from oatley) since it was basically abs plastic in acetone. Which is what people make at home (abs slurry). Anyway, I applied the cement on and let it set per instructions (15 min). I tried to sand it and it came off almost rubbery. So I thought maybe I didn't let it set long enough. I reapplied and let it sit for 2 hours. It was a little harder, but I could almost peel it off with my finger once I got a corner. The thicker parts I was able to sand, but it looked like I just sanded off the abs cement and it didn't fill in the gouges and scratches as if the abs cement wasn't bonding to the part.

As I was thinking why, I was wondering if my lip is even abs plastic. On the back of the lip is stamped PP+E. Which I'm assuming is Polyphenylene Ether. Is this why the abs cement is not bonding to the lip? So should I just shell out the extra money and go with the automix? Or is there some alternative epoxy that I can use since I barely need to fill no more than 3 gouges less than 1/4" long?

Any help would greatly be appreciated from this noob :)

Here are is one of the gouges I tried to fill...
Image


the other side of the lip prior to sanding the scratches...
Image

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 10:32 pm
Okay, well first, welcome to the madness that is plastic. You need to do a lot more reading about the materials you are working on.... and I'll just say it, "I am not a big believer in making up your own fillers for what you "think" is going to bond properly to your plastic. Go here and read, read, read.....
www.polyvance.com
In the learning section they go over what the different plastics codes are and the recommended type of filler or possibly welding that can be done with your plastic. They carry a lot of reasonably priced products and you can compare those with what you might find at your local paint/body jobber (a jobber is simply a automotive paint/body retailer.)
Just looking at your pic.s I'd think a simple poly putty like USC's Body Icing or their more flexible version Pro-Flex would do the trick. Any of that stuff is a lot cheaper than what you were looking at and is easily shaped.
Last edited by DarrelK on Wed Apr 06, 2016 10:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Updated web site information
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 2:45 pm
also 3M-05887 on amazon is about $34 bucks , but you will need to buy the gun 3M 08571 which is about $50.....

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