Are Citroen plastics repairable?

[sparksie]

Hi all

Following a recent visit from mindless yobs wielding bats, both cars outside the house now need drivers door mirrors.
SWMBO's Mitsubishi is not a problem, with a replacement glass already found and the shell survived intact.
The Xantia is a different story. Citroen made the whole mounting from brittle plastic, which has snapped clean off.
A trawl of the scrap yards has produced no results and the factors are no better.
With test looming on Tuesday and Monday being a bank holiday over here, I'm stuck with having to try and repair what I've got.
My question is, what adhesive might work with this brittle, faded black, plastic?
I have poly-eurethane and epoxy based adhesives. I also have some intended for polystyrene products, along with iso-cyanoacrylates (aka "superglu"), but since I only get one shot at it, I don't want to try any of them without being fairly sure they're appropriate to the plastic in question.
I have no spare plastic I can use for conventional "Plastic welding" techniques, which I'm usually competent at.
There are plastic filler rods, for plastic welding, but they're almost always the wrong composition and don't bond properly, so I regard this as a non starter!
While removing the trim from inside the door, to access the fixings, I also broke the little triangular piece of plastic that hides the topmost screws, leaving the three studs stuck in the door. Is this the same kind of plastic? It's certainly brittle!
Cheers all

[kenhall1202]

Suggest you try to identify the plastic - there is usually a mark (near a triangle with arrows on the sides - recyclable?) somewhere. Often it will be ABS or PS which I have repaired in the past using an ebay sourced solvent type product called Polyweld. Polystyrene glue may also be effective for ABS - try putting a blob on a hidden part and see if the plastic surface softens - if so then it may work in the same way as putting together Airfix plastic model aeroplanes.

Ken

Edit Polyweld not on ebay anymore but website is: http://www.glue-shop.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sparksie]

Thanks Ken

Sadly, too late for anything involving eBay.
I have to do whatever I do before the next post arrives!
Anyone done this and able to shorten the research period for me?
Cheers

[addo]

It's like a micro-foamed ABS. Horrible stuff to try fixing well.

I'd use an adhesion promoting primer, then a polyurethane glue.

[sparksie]

Thanks addo

I have primer we use for plastic bumpers. I guess that's the sort of stuff, but this plastic is not remotely like bumper plastic, so I was reluctant to use it.
I have two grades of polyeurethane. Black, fast acting, used for bonded windscreens, and various colours of seam sealer/panel adhesive.
They're all pretty tacky, but I know from experience that some plastics won't hold them for long and in this application we're talking about a small repair area with a long lever acting against it!
Given the fact I'm not too bothered what it looks like, as long as the tester's happy with it, I may just windscreen bond the whole thing and lose the ability to fold it in. That would dramatically increase the adhesive area, meaning the load would be better distributed and adhesive bond less stressed.
In fact, looking at it on the desk, it looks as though I may be able to remove the glass and supplement the adhesive with a mechanical fixing, if I'm prepared to forego the folding. Not nice for any pedestrians I subsequently clip with the mirror, though, so let's keep that as a last resort, only to be done on Monday night, when all other options have failed...

[addo]

Sika sell a range of primers, I was imagining you might have one of them floating about.

[Hell Razor5543]

What is the situation over a re-test? Normally (well, in the UK) you have a 14 day grace period (10 working days). If that is the case in R.O.I., I would be inclined to try a repair, and be prepared to explain the situation to the tester. Meanwhile, get a replacement wing mirror unit.

[Hell Razor5543]

What is the situation over the retest period? In the UK it is 14 days (10 working days). I don't know what it is in the R.O.I. If it is the same, I would attempt the repair, try to order a replacement, and be prepared to explain the situation to the tester.

By the way, would this do?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CITROEN-XANTI ... #vi-ilComp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sparksie]

Hi Hell Razor

Very different over here!
30 days for a retest, but it's not free.
No leniency allowed, especially for trade, and no repairs whatsoever allowed in the test center.
Thanks for the link, but no that's not right. Mine are electric.
I looked at that and wondered about transferring the mechanism from mine into that shell, but I think it's probably cheaper to just get the right thing!
Meanwhile, thanks to a return visit form the same mob, I now also need an O/S tail light!
Once again, none in scrap yards, so retest it'll have to be.
Starting to feel personal, now, but I can't understand why it could be!
Will have to try and catch them at it and ask them nicely

[Hell Razor5543]

BAR STEWARDS!!!

I would see if any neighbours have also been visited. I hope you do catch them, and are able to ask them nicely as to why. As you have had a second visit I would be inclined to let the police know.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-Xanti ... 3f2f5c4c59" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The coloured cover can be moved over (carefully).

There are two styles of rear lights on the Xantia. You have clear (reverse and indicator) and you have smoked. However, it seems that S2 Xantia only have clear (well, that is all I could find).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/99-CITROEN-XA ... 1253961523" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-Xanti ... 1286998749" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck (I do mean that) both with the repairs and with your hunting!

[Northern_Mike]

Yes, I would also be inclined to "ask" them why if you can catch them. Some years ago I was in Birmingham visiting a friend who was studying there. Wobbling back from the pub one night we spotted a guy walking down the row of cars parked on his road (Dawlish rd?) trying all the door handles. We stood in a door way out of sight and when he tried the handle of the car we were near too, we jumped out and grabbed him, and advised him it would be wise for him to desist in his nightly activities.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[Northern_Mike]

RichardW is breaking his S2 Xantia amd will have all the parts you need Sparksie. Post to ROI can't be that much, and it'll save you a load of eBay ballache and part hunting if you just get them off him

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Hi I do hope this isn't to late but I bought my Xantia drivers side manual adjust mirror from Central Auto Supplies
or CAS. don't know if you have one in your area my new mirror was £30.00 and it is a direct copy of the Citroën one.
regards.
By the way the MOT test does say that you only have to have two functioning mirrors so if one side mirror is broken don't worry about it is an advisory matter.
Nigel.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Hi Hell Razor


Starting to feel personal, now, but I can't understand why it could be!
Will have to try and catch them at it and ask them nicely

Buy a couple of cheepy cameras and put on in the front and one in the back and leave them running
here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-4-HD-1080P- ... 20dff18dfe" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
most of them have a sensor mode they will start recording as soon as someone walks past the lens. the night vision sensors may need covering as they can reflect off the windscreen and blind the lens.
put a sign in the car windscreen CCTV installed. I'd try anything at this stage to stop the vandalism
can you see the car from Home install a cctv camera on your building to and use a vcr with E300 tapes
on long play which will give you ten hours recording time. if your neighbours are likely to object to a CCTV camera put it in a bird box and hide it.
I made my first CCTV camera which was a dummy camera made from a fish food drum and old sunglasses lens cut to fit
the end of the drum and I glued the drum to a small box installed an led light, glued a wire in the back, painted it all black
except for the wire and hung it in my front room window pointing at the car & boat it worked. and kept vandalism at bay.
the led light gets peoples attention and they don't hang around. Don't tell anyone its a dummy as word travels fast not even your most trusted friends.
regards Nigel,

[falling-out-with-my-car]

One more thing there is a glue that sticks just about anything it is called Serious Glue made by Evo-stik I use it for modelling it is in small tubes and is sold by B&Q, use it thick for a flexible joint and thin for a non flexible joint it will even stick your fingers together and I haven't yet found a solvent to clean it off with I needed something that would glue draught sheet together to make sails that would stand up to storm winds and it works just great for that. it is waterproof and withstands temps from -30 degrees C to +130 degrees C a life time bond they say on the pack. it is moveable for 3 mins then it starts to stick apply gentle pressure to the joint tape up if possible and leave over night to dry. It is very good stuff. I repaired a split CV boot on my Xantia a few years ago with a piece of leather from an old wallet the cv plastic boot lasted another 10k before I bought a recon shaft with new boots.