Hand-made Staples & Plastic Welding

I've been putting off doing some minor body repair for awhile now and since it's winter...I need to get after that hairline crack on the the lower left cowl. Planning to heat/push a few hand-made copper staples into it from behind and then pretty up the facing side. I think I saw Delboy do it in a video with some solid round wire. I have some flat, copper shipping staples I'm going to shape. I want them to hold the seam together tightly, but I want it to be able to flex for stress too.

Here's a few I thought up. Which shape do you think will provide the most holding power/flexibility and why?



For some reason, D is where I am falling, but I dont have an explanation.

 

I wouldn't use staples. The plastic on motorcycle body parts isn't very thick. I'm a fan of stainless steel mesh. Use metal tape on the front to hold stuff in place, and the mesh molds into compound curves really well.

Jose

 

plenty of ventilation is needed as fumes are really BAD !

 

The Harbor Fright kit I bought had some metal screen that was similar to window screen.
Seemed to do the trick. Melted that stuff right in there.

 

I’ve used staples on a few panels and cowls, they were ‘S’ shaped and work really well. Just need to be careful with the thickness of the staples and depth you take them. Before I did my repairs on “working” parts, I used some pieces from my wreck and did some test repairs. I think I posted my results in my “So it begins” thread.

 

Why do you need staples? Use plastex and fix it properly..
I wouldn't use stainless mesh either for a patch as you can use carbon / fibre glass mesh that will do the job perfectly well

 

In some cases plastex works well on its own but in other cases, reinforcing with staples makes the repair a bit stronger. I have no issues using or not using staples but when I want a stronger repair, I use them.

 

I always use reinforcement on plastic welds. You do need to make sure the weldment spreads beyond the immediate crack though. Making one part thicker changes how things flex, so you need to be mindful of that.

Jose