Kinda Urgent: Thule box repair Bad cracks

[Shorty_J]

i just used 2 part slowset

yes just butt the edges togetehr so it looks very nice get those edges as close togetehr as you can, the tape will hold the crack togetehr, then apply the glue/ DW screen on the inside and let cure, if you do it right the repair will be almost invisible

Some epoxy is likely to seep into the crack but not important, you really wana get those edges as close as you can togetehr so it looks better and you got the sticky backed dw tape to give the repair strength.

I don't think I have any picts cuz the car got stolen

take picts of your own to show the rest of the class

Edited because I have reading comprehension fail and you guys are on the same page.

[MakersTeleMark]

[grskier]

I had a major damage so I used 2-component epoxy and fiberglass sheets, wetting the glass, laid up a few pieces inside and out, and let it cure. Then rough sanded and did again. The outside I covered with black 3M tape which is only now showing its age. It's solid.

I've done this with great success. held up for several years and only broke again when it got hit and I tried to pull off the tape on the outside..

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I've down the dry wall tape + epoxy repair a couple times. It works.

[XXX-er]

to roughly paraphrase SFB in the what drill bit to use but in english

Y'all are makin this way harder than it needs to be

[LostAgain]

I bought a Thule box in 2003(?). In 2009(?), I repaired cracks in the lower box body right next to the front mount points. Lots of stress there. The repair has held fast for 12 years so so I think that means G-Flex works.

[Micol]

^ the 655 ?

[Shorty_J]

to roughly paraphrase SFB in the what drill bit to use but in english

Y'all are makin this way harder than it needs to be

I think the point of the OPs concern was that he didn't know if it would hold and the skis are worth more than the box.

I totally understand the concern behind the questions.

[myles long]

Tomorrow going to be ABS welding from the inside and using metal mesh as well as repair filler and ABS welding rods melted. Tools from harbor freight. Aluminum Tape on outside. Will post updates after completed.

New Thule boxes made from ABS plastic.

How hot can ABS get before melting?
Its glass transition temperature is approximately 220 °F (104 °C). ABS is amorphous and therefore has no true melting point. ABS is a terpolymer made by polymerizing styrene and acrylonitrile in the presence of polybutadiene.

Whatever going to be sanding per video and following procedures outlined to the inside of the box. will assess the outside after inside repair.

I've done this repair with great results. I also cut some abs pipe into small pieces and epoxied them next to each other perpendicular to the cracks. Added some strength/rigidity where each crack......been holding up that way for years

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[XXX-er]

I think the point of the OPs concern was that he didn't know if it would hold and the skis are worth more than the box.

I totally understand the concern behind the questions.

so just buy a new box and don't be a cheap fuck,

its not like we are repairing stuff with AQS here

[Shorty_J]

so just buy a new box and don't be a cheap fuck,

its not like we are repairing stuff with AQS here

I lol'd

[Micol]

so just buy a new box and don't be a cheap fuck

this


















































sounds like my x wife







.

[Micol]

I've done this repair with great results. I also cut some abs pipe into small pieces and epoxied them next to each other perpendicular to the cracks. Added some strength/rigidity where each crack......been holding up that way for years

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i am assuming you sanded all the welds down first? I was considering plastic stapling the ends of all the cracks but i figured the stainless wire mesh in the abs welding process would suffice. i guess abs plastic pieces perpendicular would add more tensile strength

[ExoticSkis]

bump for plastic mesh drywall tape and G-Flex epoxy... had to repair all the clamp wells on my old Thule with big cracks after too many years on dirt roads with too many skis crammed in the box bouncing around. Rough-up and warm the plastic surfaces, lay-in the mesh..saturate with a thin layer of G-Flex.... repeat epoxy layering after completely dry. Left the box out on a hot summer day with the top open to cure... be sure to spread the mesh drywall tape out a good distance from the end of the cracks to give lots of support and flex pressure distribution. Do several layers, letting each dry completely before layering on the next one... G-Flex is great stuff...a step above for sure. Holding up for several additional seasons now... way cheaper than a new box.

[stec06]

Would you want to use G-Flex epoxy to help it survive the vibrations?

I bought a repaired Thule last year and it's held up great. No idea what he used but I don't think it was epoxy.

I rescued a Yakima Skybox from the dump with cracks almost exactly the same as OP's and used G Flex 650. Zero issues in three years, including multiple road trips from DC to Maine and back. It's good stuff!

[Micol]

went the abs plastic welding direction. this process def makes waves from heat in the plastic (like cellulite). i am willing to go give up the aesthetics for basically recreating the structural integrity of the original abs. I am melting wire mesh into the interior and then slowly melting abs back over the screen which is also melting the abs of the box and infusing. i am starting 2nd day of work, and it is tedious. also i do not have warm temps to do this repair so curing epoxy or g-flex would have been impossible in my situation imo. i am having to get back on road in a few days. the plastic welding expanded some of the exterior seams which will require filling and closed others. ftr i used really good aluminum tape too. i am having to go back on the outside into the expanded crack gap and melt abs. it is much like the video except that the thickness of the plastic or the flexibility of the car bumpers is different than the thule which i assume is why the cellulite is appearing in the exterior finish. if i had more time i would have used better abs weld kit. all i can get is from harbor freight and the tips keep breaking off. i have gone through 3 of them and keep returning and refunding and rebuying. if doing over, i would invest in a really good tool instead of the harbor freight tool

this will be getting more coats until mesh is not visible

[BC13]

Wish I'd read this sooner. I am not afraid of Harbor Freight and have had more good than bad experiences. However, the plastic welder I bought there several years ago was a real POS.

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[FlimFlamvanHam]

Micol, I think you're overthinking this. I have about a 10 to 15 year old Cascade which was about Thule's cheapest and flimsiest box. It had a lot of cracking around the 4 mount points. i don't even know what I used for cloth...it could have been cotton t-shirt strips I cannot recall what I used. I also used some hardware shop household type 2 part epoxy: nothing special. I went in thinking the odds of my fixing the cracks were slim thus the weak effort on the cloth and epoxy choices.

I roughed around the cracks (to enhance epoxy adhesion) with the sanding wheel on a dremel then applied the epoxy en-masse in and around the cracks then the strips of cloth and ensured they soaked. It's held for many years now. It looks like crap on the inside but you cannot tell from the outside.

Just saying: my crap patches appear to have way more integrity than the original plastic.

[RShea]

so just buy a new box and don't be a cheap fuck,

its not like we are repairing stuff with AQS here

AQS is repairing a large number of items "here" (as in on TGR), just probably not a choice for this repair thread... ;-)

[XXX-er]

I forgot the winkie emoticon and left you to read between the lines it would seem

[Micol]

Micol, I think you're overthinking this. I have about a 10 to 15 year old Cascade which was about Thule's cheapest and flimsiest box. It had a lot of cracking around the 4 mount points. i don't even know what I used for cloth...it could have been cotton t-shirt strips I cannot recall what I used. I also used some hardware shop household type 2 part epoxy: nothing special. I went in thinking the odds of my fixing the cracks were slim thus the weak effort on the cloth and epoxy choices.

I roughed around the cracks (to enhance epoxy adhesion) with the sanding wheel on a dremel then applied the epoxy en-masse in and around the cracks then the strips of cloth and ensured they soaked. It's held for many years now. It looks like crap on the inside but you cannot tell from the outside.

Just saying: my crap patches appear to have way more integrity than the original plastic.

im way past point of return, as of yesterday...

i think this is where i am leaving the interior....



close up. you can no longer see the wire mesh that was melted into the plastic. i have covered it with the abs weld sticks melted
over the mesh and bonded into the original plastic of the box..one of the main reasons I went this route with welding is that i am working in cold temps and do not think that using epoxies would have cured properly...

[Micol]

Wish I'd read this sooner. I am not afraid of Harbor Freight and have had more good than bad experiences. However, the plastic welder I bought there several years ago was a real POS.

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with you on this. i have gone through 7 of the welding kits. Luckily they keep taking them back as faulty. The specific issue is that the tips keep breaking. I am working inverted and applying pressure up and out. The melt sticks take some pressure to work into the original box plastic. When the tips are heated to the point to melt the sticks, the shaft becomes brittle and snaps. If i had the time, I would have ordered a professional weld kit.

[SumJongGuy]

Go 100% functional butt ugly as needed patching from the inside. Fill in any remaining visible cracks on the outside with 2 part epoxy and sand it down a little to smooth it out.. Then cover it with bad ass ski resort stickers.. Or, do some creative custom pain job over it..

[XXX-er]

I tried ...

[Micol]

Go 100% functional butt ugly as needed patching from the inside. Fill in any remaining visible cracks on the outside with 2 part epoxy and sand it down a little to smooth it out.. Then cover it with bad ass ski resort stickers.. Or, do some creative custom pain job over it..

i filled in some outside cracks with abs and some actually welded together on their own. i will post pic of that later. i am done and road testing. i bought 2 ft of 15 inch black shiny vinyl (basically car wrap) and cut a piece to go over all the outside scar tissue. visibly good enough for me. i think i have the strength (knock on wood) .