Filler for cracks?

[EFaden]

Hey,

So I have a brush I am mid restore on. After I drilled out the knot I noticed that there are a lot of areas of missing plastic. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for how to fill the spots? I was thinking of trying to find some sort of red epoxy, fill it, and then sand it flush. Any other ideas? I attached an image.

-Eric

 

[Lather]

You could try red Lego/acetone. It might be hard to colour match perfectly.


Edit: After thinking about the Lego, not sure if the ABS would bond to the handle. You may have to test it on the inside first. You can tint epoxy but that would be pricey for the amount you need.

Maybe some one else with more knowledge will chime in.

 

[EFaden]

You could try red Lego/acetone. It might be hard to colour match perfectly.


Edit: After thinking about the Lego, not sure if the ABS would bond to the handle. You may have to test it on the inside first. You can tint epoxy but that would be pricey for the amount you need.

Maybe some one else with more knowledge will chime in.

I was thinking about a red epoxy if I could find one or an epoxy colorant. Not going for 100% color match... red would be close enough. I'd even consider just going clear. Its mostly going to be hidden by the knot, I just want to make sure it doesn't continue to crack.

 

[Snargle]

I think any filler you use is not going to match the old plastic and will end up looking weird. I'd be tempted just to grind/sand down the damaged area, reshape it a bit so it curves nicely and load it with a nice, big, fat badger knot.

 

[theretroshave]

You could also try to fill the spaces with plain clear epoxy like Devcon Clear Epoxy, which can be found in the U.S. at Lowe's. You'll know the one, both tubes are clear, as opposed to something like Loctite in which one of the tubes has a yellow tint. It may not fill the space with color, but if you don't want to grind/sand down the ferrule this at least fills the gaps. Plus, I don't think the clear epoxy would stand out in a bad way once sanded smooth. Good luck completing this one. I look forward to seeing how it works out for you.

 

[ras120]

I fabricated a bottom for one of my handles by using Devcon clear epoxy tinted with enamel spray paint. It worked really well except for the pits that showed up after I sanded it down because the epoxy tends to get air bubbles in it. Adding paint to epoxy slows the cure time, so you have more time to work with it.

 

[theretroshave]

Anyone ever heard of this stuff? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5uSTYNURJ0

ras120- I'd like to see the rest of that brush.

 

[MaxP]

I think any filler you use is not going to match the old plastic and will end up looking weird. I'd be tempted just to grind/sand down the damaged area, reshape it a bit so it curves nicely and load it with a nice, big, fat badger knot.

+1. Trying to fill them and color match will likely result in an unsatisfactory outcome. Snargles advice is spot on.

 

[EFaden]

So I decided not to fill it. Instead I used a step bit to widen the hole. It went pretty well... a TINY bit off center since I don't have a drill press. But not half bad. Checkout the pics and let me know what you think.

 

[tomcj2]

................ a TINY bit off center since I don't have a drill press. But not half bad. .............

Looks great. That little offset will not be noticed once you have the knot in it. A blind guy would love to see what you consider a flaw.

 

[EFaden]

Looks great. That little offset will not be noticed once you have the knot in it. A blind guy would love to see what you consider a flaw.

Thanks. Now just need to finish sanding, polishing, filling, and knotting...

 

[Snargle]

I like it...I think it's going to look great when you get it finished.

 

[EFaden]

Polished it... Pictured with a few others waiting on my table. School delayed my restorations.

 

[Mike H]

Those look great.

 

[MaxP]

Looks really good.

How-what did you do for the polishing?

 

[mattdenicola]

Very nice. Looking forward to seeing them knotted up!

 

[EFaden]

Looks really good.

How-what did you do for the polishing?

Thanks all.

For polishing it depends on how bad the piece is. I have Wet/Dry sand paper at 200, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 and 2500. Then I use flitz....

-Eric