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Abs cement

bibilit

Well-known member
Have several broken studs on Powerbooks 1xx screen covers.
At some point tried to fix with different methods, so far never worked permanently.
i know a 3D repair file is available but have no access to material.
i tried JB weld or equivalent, super glue…nothing is really bonding to the plastic.
So having nothing to lose really, but having spare parts, i am trying ABS cement for a change.
with an old battery casing and some acetone, mixed both together to get a color matching product.
So far, process is slow, but hardening is there.
Cement is easy to do and cheap.
Will let you know how it works in the end.
 

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Johnnya101

Well-known member
If that doesn't work, use Weld on 2354. That stuff is very strong and will literally melt the abs together.
 

bibilit

Well-known member
Will let you know, but as the piece i mixed with acetone was solid before turning to goo and is pretty solid now… i am confident with some more time it will be bonded enough to cope with the hinges strain.
 

Trash80toHP_Mini

NIGHT STALKER
Your mix should be mostly MEK with a tad of Acetone, that's the formulation of industrial ABS Cements. Check the MSDS.

Acetone lore is online disinformation/received "wisdom" from those who don't know a lick about chemistry/materials science. Resident chemist here (who are you, I forget?) confirmed that observation as fact. He was going to ask his materials science buddy about proper formulations to make cement, paste and sludge.

My current understanding would be that MEK cures over time for strength in the chemical welding process. Acetone is a hotter solvent, flashing off quickly to hold the joint for the longer cure time of the full strength weld.

YMMV, but follow the science. :sneaky:
 

rplacd

Well-known member
Keep me posted! I have two PB180s in various stages of disassembly that I can't touch because the display bezel studs have completely broken off.
 

bibilit

Well-known member
Ok, used it on three different bezels so far, getting harder every day, will probably get everything back together this week-end (should replace capacitors first on the LCD side)

Also removed hinges to remove old grease and apply new one, pretty sure will help to relieve some pressure from the plastic side.
 

bibilit

Well-known member
One done and pretty solid, tested ok.
One more to go.
 

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bibilit

Well-known member
The second one solid too.

ugly from the inside but no big deal once all is fastened down together.
 

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bibilit

Well-known member
To be compared with the JB Weld test, still not bonded several months (years) ago.
Turned to pieces when poking around.
 

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desertrout

Well-known member
Nice work @bibilit and thank you for documenting. Interesting as well, as I've had not-so-great experiences with ABS cement but I could be using the wrong kind (the hardware store stuff for pipes)... or your addition of plastic might be making the difference. I haven't tried JB Weld, but I have had good results with two-part epoxy formulated for plastics.
 

bibilit

Well-known member
Another try, this time with a PowerBook 3400 screen cover.
Mine was broken, Galgot (68kmla member) had a spare, so a swap was done.
but mine was too good to go yet, so tried the same repair.
Not bad in the end, you still can see where the plastic was broken, but pretty solid.
 

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