1. With the increase in the number of plastic body parts used by car manufacturers (such as bumpers, spoilers and, in some cases, main body panels), the question arose of repairing their more serious damage. The basic repair technique involves making grooves along the line of a crack in a plastic part. The damaged part is then welded together using a hot air injector to heat and melt the plastic filler rod into the groove. Then the excess plastic is removed and the repaired area is leveled. It is important that the correct filler rod be used as body parts can be made from various types of plastic such as polycarbonate, ABS, polypropylene.
2. Damage of a less serious nature (scratches, minor cracks, etc.) can be restored with epoxy resin filler. The filler usually cures within 20-30 minutes and is ready to be stripped and painted.
3. If you are restoring a part completely with epoxy filler, then there is a problem to find the right paint to finish the repair, which will be compatible with the type of plastic used. At one time, the use of an all-purpose paint was not possible due to the complex range of plastics encountered in the repair of body parts. Standard paints will not stain plastic or rubber at all. But now it is possible to purchase plastic body parts that come with a primer and paint for surface treatment. First, the damaged part is repaired and dried (up to 30 minutes). Then a primer is applied and it is dried for an hour before applying a special paint. As a result, the color is correctly chosen and the paint has the properties of flexible plastic or rubber.