Metal repair
 

I think this query belongs in here, but it could equally well belong in a forum that deals with general technical information that is not bike specific - but there is no such title at present.

Anyway, I am interested in the capabilities of cold metal repair "goo" but I have never used such stuff. I have read in various threads some reference to repairs on the road using some sort of product.

So, what products are on the market at present?
What can they do and what can't they do? - different types of metals to be repaired, stress\load bearing\oil & petrol resistant, along those lines.

Thanks for any information,

Dave

I've messed with it once or twice with not great results. If you are trying to plug a hole or strengthen a crack it may help you for a while but anything with a load or weight bearing it's useless. The Touratech guys tried it on their starter motor casing when it broke in Bolivia - they shouldn't have bothered. I'd like to hear of any products that do actually work but I've never found a substitute for hot metal welding yet .

They work..... sometimes....
 

A friend of mine punched a 2-3cm hole in the crankcase of his Honda XLV600 TankSlap somewhere in the mountains of Pakistan, with a large rock. It was in a very awkward place with angles and bolts, underneath near the sprocket. He cleaned it up and used one of those liquid metal concoctions. I don't know the brand, but it lasted until New Zealand! Then it fell out http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...milies/sad.gif
:(
Anyway, a packet of that stuff is in my kit now.

Regards

Nigel in NZ

That's the sort of problem it would work well with, where there's no real stress on the material. It wasn't much use when my kickstart snapped off in Mauritania a few years ago. TBH I didn't expect it to be but you have to do something to pass the time while waiting to be rescued!

Quick Metal Repair
 

Hi

My fella used it on the cockpit support/indicator on his R1200GS after flipping it upside down in a remote Pakistan desert - It lasted for 8 months until we could get it fixed properly.

We were quite impressed with it.

I've had excellent success with JB-Weld when using it with a re-enforcement. I once had a crack in an aluminum block, i drilled holes on either side of the crack and bent some wire to fit into the holes and span the crack, then JB-Weld overtop. Just think of concrete re-enforcement and you'll get the idea.

JB Weld or one of the others?
 

Interesting Mr Ron; you are the first one on this thread to tie down what sort of stuff you have used.
That will be this then:-
J-B Weld Company - Products Overview

It appears to be available across the world as well, with a network of distributors.
Did you use the "Weld" stuff (which is described in the blurb as if it is very effective at doing most things) or one of their other items?

Thanks,

Dave

It cannot be stressed enough that the surfaces, to which the product should stick, are absolutely clean, particularly free from oil and grease.

You can get an epoxy product for just about any purpose. We used to use Devcon Steel 2-part epoxy to fill holes inside engines. For instance, when boring a "peripheral port" in a rotary racing engine the professional engine builders would use Devcon to fill the old port - the epoxy was actually inside the combustion chamber. Never heard of one failing. We've used liquid steel to build and repair machine dies, as well as repair cracks in ball mills.

There is no question epoxies are as good as and often better than welds, you just have to use the right stuff. If you want a quality metal repair epoxy you need to source it from an industrial supplier, not the local DIY shop. These epoxies soften under heat stress and are no good for engines no matter how well they initially stick to the metal. Needless to say, specialty epoxies are outrageously expensive.

Devcon | A line of metal filled epoxies used to repair worn equipment, fix gouges in metal, rebuild metal, and able to machine to close tolerances, while protection metal against corrosion and abrasion. | rebuild metal, machinable epoxy, repair equip

cheers
Brett

The Devcon stuff is good - cames in a range of products (aluminium, steel etc). However it has a limited life .. that degrades with - temperature, product has been opened... it is not cheap either .. so I'll stick (pun) with the cheap stuff (metal epoxy - brand not important) ... it is a hole filler .. if you need strength then suport it with something else (wire, wood, cable ties).

That's two products identified now. This manufacturer has a very wide range of products on their website for lots of applications and it claims that non-specially trained personnel can apply the stuff.

For Frank's point about reinforcement, epoxies claim to have tensile strength etc so I don't quite see the value of introducing another material that will need to get bonded with the epoxy and the parent metal; however, I reckon it is still of value to hear from people who have had success with whatever they used on the road. Equally, there are things to be learned from anyone who has had a poor experience with a particular product, including things like not following the instructions properly (for instance).

So, is there any more information available?

Metal repair
 

If any of you has a mechanic type friend in the RAF ask them to get hold of the metal repair stuff they use. It comes in a plastic tube about 6 inches long and an inch wide, it has the texture of plastecine, you simply chop a piece off the end then mash it up. Has worked very well for me in the past, obviously everything needs to be very clean for it to work well. The RAF use it to repair holes in fuel tanks and many other uses you probably wouldn't want to know!
Not cheap, about £70 a tube so I think it can be tricky to get out the hanger door. Good stuff though

Jb Weld
 

JB weld has save my bacon numerous times !

Don't leave home without it !!:thumbup1:

Things it can "sort of" fix that you would not believe:

Patrick Mollydog,
That's a good post and thanks for the detailed appraisal of the 3rd product to be identified (counting QuikAl and QuikSteel as the same thing, and there are loads more items in that range to fix just about anything). + it is available in the UK/Europe & it is not expensive:-

EPOXY REPAIR PRODUCTS

While on this topic, the Caswell home page offers a service to anyone who is fixing things like rust, leaking petrol tanks and whatever:

Caswell Europe, Electroplating and Powdercoating systems for small commercial workshops or home restorer

Any more experiences of using these repair epoxies?

Belzona is the best!
 

I work on ships where cracked blocks, boiler holes, you name it have to be repaired at sea. The Devcon line of products are good. We use them in low stress areas as Devcon is cheap. For "We at Sea", Belzona is ABS and DETNORSKE approved for such repairs (the alternative is replacing the parts). In many cases, it sets harder than the metal you are repairing. It can be filed, ground, and polished and is essentially liquid metal. I don't know where you can purchase it outside the maritime industry. I had to check the spelling (thought it was called Balzona) and they do have a website. It comes in a small pearshaped container and is sold by weight. It's not cheap stuff. If you have a job (like plugging a hole in a crankcase) and don't mind the expense, It's a permanent fix. Good luck Smitty

.this clown busted a hole in the trans case of this Honda CRF450F..
He won't be invited back.

4th metal repair material
 

Thanks for the information Smitty,
Thats the 4th trade name to be listed here; I have found the Belzona webpage but I haven't found anyone that sells it to the public, other than one "offer to sell" on ebay UK and, as you say, it is very expensive = £36 for 1 Kg and still bidding on that item.
(For each of these trade products I have done a quick search to see if the public can get hold of the product).
There are lots of webpages that offer repair services based on using Belzona but not one that sells the stuff; understandable because those services are like your job - specialist and heavy industry related to Maritime, Oil and Construction applications and the like. As for some of the other tradenames here, there is a wide range of types of "Belzonas" as well; liquid metals, protective coatings etc. I guess if anyone gets hold of some, they should read the instructions and applications list carefully!

belzona
 

I did some footwork for you and you're correct. I can't find anyone who sells the stuff to the public. I order from "Mariners Annual" but you need a password to get in to the catalog. I don't have one. My company takes care of that. The Belzona website gives a phone number in Harogate, UK as a distributor. Another thing you can try (I just did) is search "Ship Chandelers, UK". It gives a big listing of Chandelers throughout the UK and if you tell them what you are trying to do, they might be able to help you. You'll find that the maritime industy world wide is quite an exclusive club. Good Luck, Smitty

I'm doing OK Smitty 'cos I am not actually doing any repairs at present!
Touch wood etc etc.

I was interested in getting some info together about what works OK (and anything that does not, but no one has come up with examples of that so far).

I've come across a good case here of using JB Weld:-

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...359#post145232


I think it would be useful to get any cases of these repair materials where they fail to perform well; perhaps fall out or otherwise fail after some time.

Walkabout,

I just got a fresh chance to try another JB weld patch on my XT's case. I was riding trails at our local OHV park and my XT decided to ride me around a hairpin turn. (I wont mention the tree root I failed to miss). Any ways, my shift lever made a nice little crack in my lower left case. Very tiny and just barely seeps oil out.
I did pretty much the same repair, but instead of draining the oil out of the bike, since i had just filled in with $15 worth of oil, I leaned it over and pushed some black silicone HI-Temp RTV into the crack. I let this set up, re-cleaned the area and then applied the JB Weld, waited 6 hours and applied a light coat of engine paint. I will have to let you know how it hold up. 14 hours so far and no leak.

Trainman.

Aflow,

The stuff your talking about is called "PIG Putty". Looks like two different putties, one wraped around the other. roll it between your fingers, stick it on, and next day it is harder then hell. My work uses it to fix Locomotives.

Trainman