Buddy Panel Repair

[az_slynch]

I recently picked up a 2008 Buddy 150 Pamplona from a local who posted it on the club's FB. It looked pretty beat but supposedly ran good. The price wasn't bad, so I picked it up as a rescue project.

The body was seriously thrashed from multiple crashes. The rear panels were cracked in multiple places, were missing tabs and the Tucson sun had faded the color to a dull magenta. I opted to replace parts of the bodywork that looked like they might shatter if breathed on.

Rear panels were very faded

My searching paid off when I found a set of rear floorboards, under-seat panels and painted tail panels from a 2013 Pamplona 170i for the low price of $75. The listing indicated there was one broken tab for the rear fender, but it looked decent overall. When the order arrived, I was pleased to find that the seller threw in some extra bits not shown in the order, so I effectively had a nice set of Pamplona bodywork from the battery box back!

Sweet score on panels!

Now, I just needed to deal with that tab...

[az_slynch]

Bodywork on most modern scooters tends to be formed out of two different plastics. One is ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and the other is PP (polypropylene). Generally, the painted parts are molded in ABS, and the molded-in-color parts are made of PP. You can usually tell which plastic you're dealing with by looking on the back of the panel for a marking that resembles >ABS< or >PP<.

Example of panel plastic type mark.

Our focus will be in dealing with an ABS part. Parts made of PP are extremely difficult to bond with adhesives and require special chemical or thermal welding to be fused together. Tools start in the hundreds of dollars and are out of scope of this project.

One of the replacement rear panels had a broken tab for mounting the rear fender. Since the fender is only supported with one screw and two plastic body plugs, I wanted to fix it. This tab is hidden behind the rear fender, so it's not going to be visible after assembly. The panel it's replacing has several cracks in it and it missing material around the luggage rack mount. I'll be snagging the fender tab off of it for the repair.

Here's the broken tab:

Broken tab from above.

Broken tab from below.

And here's our repair part:

Donor tab from above.

Donor tab from below.

Next, I'll discuss the tools and chemicals used for the repair.

[az_slynch]

These are the supplies I used to facilitate the repair:

• A Nicholson 5-1/2" Hobby File kit

• A Manwha craft saw kit

• Oatey Clear Cleaner, 4 fl. oz. (For ABS, CPVC and PVC)

• Oatey Medium Black ABS Cement, 4 fl. oz

The file kit and Oatey chemicals were picked up at Home Depot and ACE Hardware, respectively. I picked up the craft saw kit off of Amazon, but it might be available from Michael's, Hobby Lobby or you local craft store.

Craft saw kit. I used the middle blade.

I chose a craft saw to make a cleaner, narrower cut in my materials. The ABS cement works best in small gaps, so a snug fit will make a better bond. I used the hobby files to fine-tune the part fit and rough up the mating surfaces prior to bonding.

Oatey chems.

The Oatey cleaner is not strictly necessary, but I've found it really helps for surface prep and it's worth it to only do the job once.

Now, on to the repair...

[az_slynch]

The first task was to get a basic measurement for the mounting hole in the panel. In both cases, it was 7mm from the body of the panel to the closest edge of the hole.

The second task was to clean up the damaged panel. I trimmed out the center of the broken tab. To make the horizontal cut, I simply scored the line I was looking to cut several times, and then sawed in short strokes until I had a slot to pass the blade through.

Trimmed up the damaged panel.

The next task was to trim the repair part of the old panel. I removed it as close to the body of the panel as possible so I'd have as much material to work with as I could get.

Here's the repair part.

I used the location of the hole in both parts to identify where material needed to be trimmed. Realistically, I could have probably sawed both tabs off in the same manner and still gotten a decent bond, but I left part of the old tabs to help locate the repair part and offer more bonding surfaces in an attempt to make a stronger repair.

Comparing the material.

Next, I trimmed down the repair tab to get it sized as closely as possible two the tab remnants on the old panel. Final sizing was done with hobby files.

Trimming the repair part.

Then we check the fit.

Fits decently. Just needs a touch more file work at the rear to sit lower.

Next up, we bond it in place.

[az_slynch]

I roughed up the mating surfaces with a coarse hobby file, then brushed them clean. Then, I treated the bonding surfaces with Oatey Clear Cleaner. I would recommend gloves while doing this part.

For both the cleaner and the cement, the can contains a small loofah for applying contents. For a tidy repair, consider using a couple of cheap hobby paintbrushes. Since this part is going to be hidden, I didn't bother with detail work.

I left the cleaner dissipate for a few minutes, then I applied the ABS cement to both parts, being sure to evenly coat all contact surfaces. Once the cement is applied, you have several seconds to position and fix your part. It doesn't set up quite as quickly as Crazy Glue (cyanoacrylate), but time is of the essence: the ABS cement is effectively liquid plastic in a solvent suspension. The solvent slightly melts the bonding surfaces, then it all solidifies as the solvent dissipates.

Bonded in.

Once the part was set, I applied a little extra cement to the back of the tab to fill in the gaps and provide additional support.

Extra cement for additional strength.

Had this been a visible part, I would have smoothed everything down with 400-grit paper and sprayed on an adhesion promoter before applying paint.

A day later, I can bend the panel by manipulating the tab and there's no indication that the bond wasn't successful. Now I can continue reassembling the rear of the Pamplona while I wait on parts for the other repairs that the scoot needs. Hope this helps with your Buddy bodywork repairs!

[sc00ter]

Very impressive work! I've had great luck with Plastex Plastic Repair Kits. But thanks for sharing your results and the products associated with said repair.

[az_slynch]

Thanks!

I just wish there were simple solutions for the polypropylene panels. It a pain to deoxidize them and some Buddy colors are no longer available new for replacement.

I'm experimenting with tricks to remove the "dead" plastic so I can try reflowing the upper surface with a heat gun.

I've also heard about a mixture of acetone and boiled linseed oil for freshening the polypropylene panels, but I'm not sure how well it will hold up. I'd bet that some good panel prep first would help.

[tenders]

This is cool, thank you for posting. My approach for broken tabs that need to be replaced (not all really do) has been to rough up the surrounding surfaces, overlay the stub of the broken tab with several layers of epoxy/soaked fiberglass, file down the result as necessary, and redrill the hole. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time.