ATV Welder, Pro Model

• Making the repair stronger:
  Cut a piece of the included stainless steel wire mesh about an inch wide and the length of your crack (use multiple smaller pieces along the crack if needed). Use the tip of the welder and push it down into the plastic. (It is recommended to do this on the backside because it will not be pretty). Let it cool off and then make your weld. Burying the wire mesh into the plastic is like putting rebar in concrete... it makes it much stronger.
• Making the repair look better:
  You will be able to see where you made the repair. However, you can make it look better. After the weld cools, sand with 80 grit sandpaper and then 180 grit. You can progress to finer grits if you wish. Use a heat gun or a blowtorch over the sanded areas. This will make the sanded area look glossy again. Don't linger the heat too long or you might scorch the part.
• Painting/Refinishing:
  If the fender is polypropylene, you can follow the normal refinishing process. However, polyethylene is virtually impossible to paint. Some people have had success with this method, but we can't guarantee that it will work.

The difference between LDPE (low density polyethylene) and HDPE (high density polyethylene) is the length of the molecule chains. HDPE has longer molecular chains than LDPE and the melting temperature of HDPE is often higher than that of LDPE.

LDPE's lower melting temperature usually makes using it as filler rod easier-to-use than welding HDPE filler rod to HDPE plastics.

HDPE is also "tougher" and more abrasion resistant than LDPE, but the practical difference is minimal when doing repair work. If you need the best wear characteristics and can live with making slower, more difficult welds, use HDPE rod. In most cases, we see better quality welds when using LDPE rod for typical crack or hole repair on boat hulls and ATV plastics.

This will give you an idea of the kind of repair that is possible with the easy-to-use ATV PRO welder.

Before

After