Help with mend PVC armour

[EagleFett]

Hi everyone,

I recently received my armour from a seller, the back plate armour has 2 large cracks and the side panel has been snapped off whilst in the post. Is there any way for it to be fixed? The armour is made out of PVC, I really hope there is a way for it to be mended and keep its structure.

any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you

 

[ShortFuse]

Just about the only thing you can do is epoxy or CA glue a similar type material to the inside of the armor to give it some reinforcement. Fiberglass mat/resin might also be an option, although sometimes the curing process creates enough heat to warp the PVC, depending on how thin it is.

 

[Neo Fett]

PVC glues great with super glue. You can also use PVC pipe glue if you wanted to go over the top.
Glue it back together with some sanding and spot putty plus a paint touchup and you'll never know.

 

[RamSkirata]

Additionally itd probably a good idea to just lightly sand the immediate area of the cracks before repainting said area. Not to make a better paint surface but to help conceal the physical visible line that is the crack. Provided of course, you have really good matching paint on hand. ut Id imagine, the seller will be helpful in that regard and give you exact details about the paint used or even provide you with some to fix it.

 

[Archangel67]

The back armour takes a fair bit of stress and not sure what the guys think but its likely patch mending it won't fully solve the issue given there are multiple fractures and cracks .. .. its been very badly mistreated by the courier or post.

Id say given what its doing the plastic has also gone a bit brittle .. perhaps due to the (ia some vac forming) process. PVC is normally fairly flexible but even after repair this isn't going to take much punishment IMO ... im not sure its worth repairing personally as the fractures and damage are all on stress lines and areas that will be taking the weight of the pack, creating lots of flex and movement.

At this point maybe using it to make a mould and create a fibreglass one from it is the better (though undesired) option. Not to be a negative Nelly here AND what the guys are suggesting will work (backing it up and repairing (to a degree) but the structural strength of the piece is pretty shot going forwards. ...

Another alternative might be lining art fully with a fibreglass lining but you run the risk of it delaminating or warping due to the heat of the curing process there as well. is there no recourse from the courier/post service used?

 

[EagleFett]

The back armour takes a fair bit of stress and not sure what the guys think but its likely patch mending it won't fully solve the issue given there are multiple fractures and cracks .. .. its been very badly mistreated by the courier or post.

Id say given what its doing the plastic has also gone a bit brittle .. perhaps due to the (ia some vac forming) process. PVC is normally fairly flexible but even after repair this isn't going to take much punishment IMO ... im not sure its worth repairing personally as the fractures and damage are all on stress lines and areas that will be taking the weight of the pack, creating lots of flex and movement.

At this point maybe using it to make a mould and create a fibreglass one from it is the better (though undesired) option. Not to be a negative Nelly here AND what the guys are suggesting will work (backing it up and repairing (to a degree) but the structural strength of the piece is pretty shot going forwards. ...

Another alternative might be lining art fully with a fibreglass lining but you run the risk of it delaminating or warping due to the heat of the curing process there as well. is there no recourse from the courier/post service used?

Thank you for your suggestions, i spoke to the courier but they seem to be at a loss, and aren’t interested really with the issue, however i spoke to the seller who offered a replacement but the design was completely different so they said they could refund then amount it cost to do another back plate for me to start from scratch.

however the only down side is, im not the most artistic person in the world and have never really attempted prop/cosplay builds before. Im gonna try to mend it as best i can but if all else fails then im gonna have to bite the bullet and give painting a new one a go.

 

[Archangel67]

Well actually the repaired one at least gives you a template to follow with the new one.

Re repairing it … not sure what others would suggest here but my opinion would be - but it’s your own choice. However I get the dilemma you face here.

PVC bonds very well to fibreglass given the right prep.

option 1
Take a low grit sandpaper and really rough up the whole inside face of the PVC backplate and broken piece. I’d magic tape the crack back together FROM THE OUTSIDE as it’s low tax, and use it again to hold the missing piece in place AGAIN FROM THE OUSIDE (Painted side)
Basically you want to hold the break together and hold the broken off part in place while you repair it from the inside. PVC bond may be an alternative to tack it in place.

Also block up using plasticine/clay etc ..the slots for the straps on the or resin will likely leak through and all down the outside.

ID then suggest GENTLY paint on a layer of fibreglass resin onto the whole roughed up inside face of the plate especially the crack and around the broken part. When that’s cured then use a second layer of resin and pieces of fibreglass tissue (not the heavy mat) again on the whole of the inside face. **Watch a few you tube videos on that**
make extra sure the strips of tissue/mat cover the crack and broken off part edges.

Note - it’s horribly messy stuff so have the backplate stable and held or get someone to hold it as you works

assuming that goes ok and the resin repair is still fairly thin I’d then do AT LEAST one further layer with the tissue BUT covering a much larger area of the inside to create a strong inner shell and finish with another layer of resin …
Fibreglass resin generate a lot of heat as they cure so that’s why id suggest thin layers at a lime building up a reasonable inner shell.

Also Also … leave it to fully cure for a day or two before you do any more.

that should then HOPEFULLY leave you with only the minor cracks to fix up from the outside. Fine model filler and light sanding will do that and then a touch up of paint. I doubt you’ll fully disguise it but if you can get he paint spec used by the seller a reasonable repair should be feasible.

here a link I found as well that may help I’ve not read it I n detail so it may have better advice.

https://www.hunker.com/12260298/how-to-repair-pvc-with-fiberglass

best

 

[Irongladiator]

EagleFett
Any one of the suggestions above will probably serve you well, as they are all good ideas. However, and sadly, I think that Bishop from “Alien 3” said it best: “I could be re-worked, but I’ll never be top of the line again”.

Regards,
-Iron

 

[EagleFett]

Well actually the repaired one at least gives you a template to follow with the new one.

Re repairing it … not sure what others would suggest here but my opinion would be - but it’s your own choice. However I get the dilemma you face here.

PVC bonds very well to fibreglass given the right prep.

option 1
Take a low grit sandpaper and really rough up the whole inside face of the PVC backplate and broken piece. I’d magic tape the crack back together FROM THE OUTSIDE as it’s low tax, and use it again to hold the missing piece in place AGAIN FROM THE OUSIDE (Painted side)
Basically you want to hold the break together and hold the broken off part in place while you repair it from the inside. PVC bond may be an alternative to tack it in place.

Also block up using plasticine/clay etc ..the slots for the straps on the or resin will likely leak through and all down the outside.

ID then suggest GENTLY paint on a layer of fibreglass resin onto the whole roughed up inside face of the plate especially the crack and around the broken part. When that’s cured then use a second layer of resin and pieces of fibreglass tissue (not the heavy mat) again on the whole of the inside face. **Watch a few you tube videos on that**
make extra sure the strips of tissue/mat cover the crack and broken off part edges.

Note - it’s horribly messy stuff so have the backplate stable and held or get someone to hold it as you works

assuming that goes ok and the resin repair is still fairly thin I’d then do AT LEAST one further layer with the tissue BUT covering a much larger area of the inside to create a strong inner shell and finish with another layer of resin …
Fibreglass resin generate a lot of heat as they cure so that’s why id suggest thin layers at a lime building up a reasonable inner shell.

Also Also … leave it to fully cure for a day or two before you do any more.

that should then HOPEFULLY leave you with only the minor cracks to fix up from the outside. Fine model filler and light sanding will do that and then a touch up of paint. I doubt you’ll fully disguise it but if you can get he paint spec used by the seller a reasonable repair should be feasible.

here a link I found as well that may help I’ve not read it I n detail so it may have better advice.

https://www.hunker.com/12260298/how-to-repair-pvc-with-fiberglass

best

Thank you mate, I really appreciate all of that, I’ll definitely look into it and use the link you sent over. Again thank you

 

[B0B4F3TT]

I would probably patch it on inside with fibreglass, you can get fairly cheap kits off the shelf in most d.i.y stores, bit of filler maybe on the outside, sand, paint and it will be stronger than the original. Or you could use Araldite to bond it, this stuffs really strong and workable afterwards. I've used it on my body armour and its great. Pain in the ass to buy something and have to start fixing it but its not beyond repair. Good luck.

 

[tommyboy]

I would highly suggest taking a soldiering iron with a medium pointed tip and run/melt a "V" channel down the crack to sorta make a welded seam. If you are able to, I would find a small bit of PVC material and melt/fill in the channel as well. This way you have made a bit of reinforcement to the effected area and then move forward in fiber glassing and repairing.
This method has worked well with me fixing and repairing fenders and gas tanks! Many videos on youtube to show technique.

 

[B0B4F3TT]

I would highly suggest taking a soldiering iron with a medium pointed tip and run/melt a "V" channel down the crack to sorta make a welded seam. If you are able to, I would find a small bit of PVC material and melt/fill in the channel as well. This way you have made a bit of reinforcement to the effected area and then move forward in fiber glassing and repairing.
This method has worked well with me fixing and repairing fenders and gas tanks! Many videos on youtube to show technique.

Good idea

 

[ShortFuse]