Plastic putty will help repair damaged parts

Savig June 8, 2017Specialization: master of interior finishing works. I am well versed in power tools for repair and construction. Formerly a teacher at a radio engineering college.

Epoxy putty allows you to partially restore damaged surfaces of various types

Do you know how, in practice, epoxy putty for wood differs from the same mixture, but for metal, plastic or concrete? Then let's look together at the features and areas of their application. Illustrative examples of proposals from popular manufacturers will help us with this.

Variety No. 1: for wood

Wood is a very capricious material, often changing its volume depending on environmental conditions. For example, in cold weather it contracts, and from excess moisture it expands. The type of epoxy putty mixture in question easily copes with such vagaries thanks to a number of features:

Character traits

• No shrinkage during the hardening process;
• High elasticity;
• Easy to process with your own hands;

After sanding, areas sealed with epoxy wood putty will be difficult to distinguish from the untouched surface

• Possibility of painting in any shade.

Putty areas can even be painted pure white

If you plan to treat the wood with stain after puttying, as is often done, for example, with floors, then I do not recommend using an epoxy compound, since it is not compatible with the specified finishing material.

Areas of use

• Repairing chips, cracks and scratches in wooden structures;
• Filling cracks and eliminating unevenness when restoring floors;

Epoxy wood putty helps seal joints between floorboards

• Treatment of doors and windows.

Recipe

You can make epoxy putty for wood with your own hands:

Using aluminum powder, crushed fiberglass or cement as a filler instead of sawdust, you can obtain epoxy putty for metal, plastic and concrete, respectively.

Using epoxy putty

Areas of application

This composition, like any other putty mixture, is used for various repairs and construction work:

• For leveling the surface of floors, walls, ceilings. Moreover, it can be used for both concrete, stone or even wooden surfaces.
• For waterproofing.
• For fastening materials together. In particular, it can be used for plastic, glass, wood, metal, ceramics, etc.
• For eliminating minor damage, sealing seams and other repair work.

Application of the composition

Before buying a product, you need to become thoroughly familiar with its scope and methods of use, which is usually indicated on the packaging. The fact is that different compositions can be intended for different purposes.

In the photo - mixed putty

So, the instructions for using putty are as follows:

• As mentioned above, the package contains two separate bags that contain a hardener and a putty mixture. Before use, separate the required amount of substance from one bag and a proportional amount of hardener from another bag.
• Then both substances must be carefully mixed until smooth.
• After the mixture is prepared, it can be applied to the prepared surface, which does not need to be primed or even cleaned of paint if it is painted. The main thing is to simply degrease, after which you can apply the composition with your finger, spatula, brush or spray. The application method depends on the type of putty and its thickness.
• Then you need to wait 6-8 hours until it hardens completely. After this, the surface can be treated at your discretion, for example, sanded and painted. If a rough finishing compound was used, then finishing putty must be applied on top of it.

It must be said that you can purchase such putty at any hardware store, not necessarily intended for professionals, since the composition can be used in household repairs done by yourself.

Variety No. 2: for metal

Epoxy putty for metal differs:

• Excellent adhesion;
• High moisture resistance.

That is, it is able to adhere well to iron and protect it from corrosive processes, due to which it is widely used in the following industries:

Areas of use

• Car repair;

Using epoxy putty for metal, you can not only level the body of the car, but also protect it from corrosion

• Restoration of boat and boat hulls;
• Pipeline restoration.

Manufacturer's offer

As an example of what can be found on the shelves of construction stores, consider the technical characteristics of the epoxy putty PENOSIL FastFix:

Hereinafter, prices are current in spring 2021.

PENOSIL FastFix easily withstands various chemicals and prolonged contact with water

Features and Specifications

This type of repair building material hardens quite slowly, therefore, workers can slowly mix the ingredients to a uniform consistency. Polymerization begins at least an hour after the building material is distributed over the surface. After six hours, the mixture has completely hardened, so eight hours later, the area treated with putty can be sanded and painted. At the same time, it is not necessary to use an insulating agent to carry out the work, which is considered one of the clear advantages of putties. After completing the manipulations, the product or structure will be prepared for processing and painting. Other advantages of the composition include the absence of the need to prime the surface. It is enough to degrease the structure and clean it of debris. Also, workers should take into account that after the product has hardened, it must not be diluted with a solvent, since then the mixture will lose its properties. It is advisable to heat it to eighty degrees.

Tools for application work

Putties have a number of features and advantages:

• after polymerization, the product becomes resistant to harmful substances;
• putty is resistant to external influences;
• the mixture is odorless;
• putties are easy to sand;
• the products have a long service life;
• the solution serves as an excellent basis for painting various surfaces;
• the material is sold at reasonable prices.

The above characteristics allowed the composition to gain wide popularity in the construction industry.

Variety No. 3: plastic

Today, pipes made not of metal, but of polyvinyl chloride, are becoming increasingly common. Many parts of a car or boat can also be made of plastic. In these cases, a special epoxy putty for plastic is used to eliminate defects and other damage.

The fiberglass hull of the boat is leveled using epoxy putty on plastic.

The fiberglass hull of the boat is leveled using epoxy putty on plastic.

Usage algorithm

1. We clean the plastic surface from dust and dirt;
2. We clean the damaged areas with sandpaper;
3. Degrease the treated area with white spirit;
4. Apply the putty with a rubber spatula;

Quick-curing epoxy putty when restoring a plastic bumper is applied with a rubber spatula

1. We sand the frozen mixture first with coarse sandpaper, and then with fine sandpaper.

I recommend that you wear a respirator before working with epoxy putty for plastic, as it is highly toxic.

A respirator will protect you from possible poisoning when working with toxic materials

DIY epoxy putty: how to do it right? Instructions + Video

How to make epoxy putty with your own hands.
Various mixtures, with the help of which repair work was carried out 30 years ago, have long since disappeared into oblivion. Such mixtures are made with your own hands, so it is extremely important that all proportions of the components are observed. This did not always happen, which is why the end result often suffered and was of questionable quality. At the moment, everything is much easier, and ready-made mixtures for repairs, for example, putties, can currently be bought both ready-made and dry. These solutions are of high quality, and the proportions of the ingredients in them are observed with great precision.

Variation No. 4: for concrete

Cracks, potholes and chips can easily be repaired with concrete epoxy. It is noteworthy that here you can even use simple epoxy glue, which, in order to save money, can be diluted with cement and sand.

The principle of sealing a crack in concrete using epoxy putty is very simple and is carried out using a spatula

A crack repaired using this method will ultimately become stronger than the rest of the concrete surface. So we can talk not only about restoration, but also about strengthening concrete. Subsequent grinding of the hardened mixture will hide traces of the work.

Manufacturers

The variety of epoxy putties on the construction market makes it difficult to choose the right brand. And this takes into account the fact that, as it turns out, it is quite possible to use inexpensive epoxy glue for the job.

However, almost all well-known manufacturers of construction and finishing materials produce epoxy putties for various types of surfaces. Among them are:

• Gypsum polymer;
• Craps;
• VOLMA;
• Ceresit;
• Bergauf;
• Brozex;
• Knauf;
• Litokol;
• Pro;
• Unis;
• Weber Gifas et al.

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General information

The variety of putty mixtures is so large, because each type is designed to determine the type of work, and is also associated with certain materials. For example, do-it-yourself epoxy resin putty was able to take its rightful place among other similar compounds offered by the construction industry. Also, it is worth noting that such a product is intended not only for repairing wooden products and materials, because there are many putties for ceramics, concrete, metal and more. It turns out that, according to their purpose, such mixtures are capable of covering a fairly wide area in construction.

Ingredients for epoxy putty

Epoxy resin putty is a material consisting of two components:

• The first element is the epoxy resin itself, to which fillers are added. Typically this is fiberglass or metal shavings.
• The second component is the hardener.

Both materials can be sold separately, but only as a set; mixing should be done only before starting to use the composition. In this case, it is important to carry out the mixing process correctly and according to the instructions. There is definitely no need to rush in this matter, since the epoxy putty will polymerize within 8 hours. It is important here that the composition is mixed in such a way that both components can be evenly distributed throughout the entire volume of the solution.

How to apply it correctly

The process of applying material to the surface that you decide to repair is quite simple. First of all, the surface should be cleaned of dirt and dust. If there are oil stains, try to remove them. But there is no need to perform priming, and even if the surface was previously painted, the old layer of paint also does not need to be removed.

1. The finished mixture should be applied to the surface to be treated using a brush, roller, or better yet, a spatula; you can also use a sprayer, but this is not permissible for every type of epoxy mortar.
2. The applied layer must dry well, and this should take 6 to 8 hours.
3. If the application had small defects or was uneven, the surface should be sanded using sandpaper.
4. If a composition intended for rough finishing was used, then when it dries, it should be covered with another layer, but this time with a finishing layer. In this case, the fillers will have a fine structure. The use of two types of putties is necessary when the plane to be repaired will have large flaws and defects.

Fiberglass putty

Designed for sealing through holes, it is durable and has excellent elasticity. Used as an initial, rough seal of the flaw.

After treatment with such a mixture, final finishing with a finishing composition is required. The through hole is reinforced using fiberglass threads.

This allows you to apply thicker layers of regular mortar. It can also be used to smooth out particularly deep dents and uneven surfaces.

It is quite hard and very difficult to further process.

In stores selling building materials, the selection of putty for plastic is usually very small. It is best to buy this type of putty in automotive stores.

There is much more choice there, because there are many plastic parts on the cars. You should pay attention to polyester putties.

They consist of two components and are designed for plastic car parts.

Before purchasing putty, you need to carefully examine the damaged areas and decide what exactly you need to do.

And only after that choose the appropriate composition. Before you begin the repair, you need to carefully read the instructions for using this putty mixture.

Especially in the part where it is indicated on what surface and from what material it is recommended to be used.

Portions of the solution for work should be such that the next one does not have time to harden while the previous applied layer dries.

To seal a crack in a plastic window sill, you should use a special high-elasticity composition designed for through cracks.

We invite you to watch a video on the topic of the article:

Of course, the window sill will not be monolithic, but even with a small load it will not crack or fall apart.

Thanks to this composition, you can do without complex repairs using reinforcing mesh.

There is another necessary and interesting type of putty - these are compounds that expand themselves.

When they fill deep cracks or other serious flaws, all voids are filled, and the remains of the unused solution come out.

After this, they are easily cut and cleaned. A crack treated in this way becomes almost invisible against the general background.

Single-component compounds are excellent for grouting small cracks. There are also solutions that have properties similar to glue.

With their help, you can even connect different structural parts that are subject to significant loads. They can also be used to level surfaces.

For frequently occurring small defects, universal solutions can be used.

They include the basic properties of special compositions and serve as an ambulance when there is no time to select the composition required for a given product.

Of course, each type of plastic defect requires its own special option in order to achieve the maximum quality of product repair.

The use of universal products has a negative impact on the durability of the repair.

• It does not require preliminary priming of the chipped area due to increased adhesion;
• Able to withstand light impacts without breaking;
• Good resistance to severe deformation;
• Withstands mechanical stress without bursting due to its high elasticity.
• After purchasing the necessary putty, you can begin preparing the defect site;
• Surface preparation is a mandatory step for further processing;
• Without this action, the elimination of the defect will be of poor quality.
• Clean the part from various contaminants;
• Sand with fine sandpaper;
• Degrease with anti-silicone.

After complete treatment of the surface, you need to, following the instructions on the container, bring the putty into working condition by combining it with the hardener in the required proportion.

It should be taken into account that the more hardener there is in the working composition, the faster it will harden. The next step is to apply the solution to the defect site, but do not try to immediately level it perfectly.

It is better to apply one or more layers later, because large defects cannot be smoothed out well the first time.

Before applying the next layer, the previous one must be dried for thirty minutes.

Normally, drying should occur at the current air temperature. But if due to various circumstances you need to speed up drying, you can use a hairdryer with warm air.