Repairing clear acrylic ?

[laserfred]

Hi guys,

Is there a way to repair a chip in a clear acrylic piece so it "disappears" ? I was thinking a something like the UV setting resin that is used in windshield repairs..

 

[CS-SignSupply-TT]

You could try the resin, but I believe the "heat" generated will cause you more problems. As you might already know, the best solution is total replacement.

 

[artbot]

lay a piece of PETG (maybe polish up the surface of the petg with some car wax) across the flat portion. tape it into place. put the acrylic up on it's edge with the repair facing up and fill it with a non-yellowing epoxy. after cured, sand and buff it out. it won't be PERFECT. but you will have to know to look for it to find it.

 

[qmr55]

lay a piece of PETG (maybe polish up the surface of the petg with some car wax) across the flat portion. tape it into place. put the acrylic up on it's edge with the repair facing up and fill it with a non-yellowing epoxy. after cured, sand and buff it out. it won't be PERFECT. but you will have to know to look for it to find it.

+1

 

[laserfred]

:-(

I tried with epoxy but the surface wasn't smooth enough. We can clearly see the shape of the fixed area through the acrylic... If it had been opaque or painted, it would be perfect. At least I tried. Am re-cutting the piece right now.

Thanks Artbot.

 

[gnubler]

I ended up with a chip along the edge of some 3/8" acrylic, either from running the saw or getting bumped by something. Either way, can I somehow patch or fill in this chip as mentioned above, or is it a waste of time? The acrylic is going to be painted so any defects will be covered up. I'm just worried that the patch won't stick, or might develop into a crack if the sheet flexes at all. I might just try buzz trimming a 1/4" off that edge instead. How would you handle it?

 

[Johnny Best]

Buzz trimming? If you have a table saw or track saw with a good plastic blade you could try it. But with a skill or jig saw you might be causing more problems. Or get a round over bit in a router and run it down the edge.

 

[gnubler]

I used a track saw with whatever blade came with it. Usually it does a good job cutting acrylic, but it's possible I pushed it too fast.
By buzz trim I just meant cutting enough off that edge to clear the chip. Might be easier than fussing with trying to patch it.

 

[Johnny Best]

Turn down the speed a little .on the track saw and that helps cutting acrylic.

 

[netsol]

might be time to buy GOOD plastic cutting blade

you can fill it, with a good commercial epoxy pc7/pc11 they can be sanded smooth, with finer grit abrasives

 

[gnubler]

I ended up fixing this chipped edge with Bondo. After it was painted you couldn't even see the patch.

 

[gnubler]

Turn down the speed a little .on the track saw and that helps cutting acrylic.

Will do. I was sawing like a maniac that day and never noticed the chipped edge until the job was back on the table.

 

[JBurton]

I ended up fixing this chipped edge with Bondo. After it was painted you couldn't even see the patch.

I was going to say bondo, but for a quicker fix some good old cyanoacrylate will build pretty fast and sand out fine. Only if you're painting it obviously.

 

[Gino]

Avoid all of this by backing up the acrylic with anything solid from foam to wood and cut with any kinda saw and/or speed. Just make sure the acrylic doesn't flop around.

 

[gnubler]

I was using the track saw with a sheet of pink insulation underneath (sacrificial sheet). I was busting down a bunch of acrylic that day and got impatient, probably rushed it.

 

[Gino]

My sacrificial sheet is about 4" thick for hand saws and 1" for the panel saw. Don't have a track saw, so not really sure.

 

[gnubler]

Mine's the 1" thick pink foam sheet from Home Depot, haven't had any issues until this chipped acrylic.
I cut it into thirds and Gorilla-taped it together so I can fold it like an accordian for storage.

 

[d fleming]

I used a track saw with whatever blade came with it. Usually it does a good job cutting acrylic, but it's possible I pushed it too fast.
By buzz trim I just meant cutting enough off that edge to clear the chip. Might be easier than fussing with trying to patch it.

Track saw is fine, blade should be carbide triple chip with as many teeth as you can find. Can be pricey but worth it. If you can trim it and it still be size needed for job I would.

 

[JBurton]

In my experience, the pink foam is too dense to use with a jigsaw, on top of being limited to 1" or so. But not a lot of folks know the joy of tracing and hand cutting letters, let alone where to find 4" thick sheets.

 

[Gino]

Our old shop from more than 22 years ago, was originally a vehicle body shop. A new owner bought it and started doing liners for refrigeration trailers. He got sued and hadda move out in a hurry before the cops caught up to him. He left so many forms and whatnot there, so we scarfed a few of them up and brought them along to this shop. I still have a bunch of them. 2'' up to 5" with the majority of them around 4".