OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Tech Talk Repairing a Catcher

This catcher has a small crack on the top. I'd love to just glue it together but haven't had a lot of success gluing other plastics up. I know I can reinforce it with some sheet metal and pop rivet it but then it I guess I'd have to paint it as well to make it look good. What would be the quickest way to repair this or is there no easy way?

Plenty of plastic welders on ebay but bit hard to justify the cost and then you need another catcher of the same type of plastic to cut some strips to use as filler rods. Even then it would still require filling and so still needs painting

I have been pondering the very same question for some time. I've thought the best way would be as Norm says and plastic weld it. You can use a hot air gun or alternatively using a soldering iron but as Norm says I reckon you would need a donor catcher to cut up for filler. There is always the chance one of the plastic welding blokes in the yellow pages might be able to do a nice job but I hear it's quite expensive. It might b worth a look at buntings for a hot air gun but it needs to be variable temp. Have you tried youtube? There is no doubt someone doing a how to on there and you can decide if it's a "how to" or a "how NOT to".

I had the fairings welded up on my VFR a few years ago by a bloke who did bumper bar repairs at home, still cost me $500 and quite a bit of filling and sanding after that. If you can't repair it yourself I doubt it will be worth paying somebody to repair it

Have you guys come across a product called 'Q Bond'? Basically it's plastic powder and superglue (cyanoacrylate) but it works incredibly well but don't try and substitute.

I've had incredible success on a range of plastics but mainly ABS. I use a rotary burr to grind a quarter inch wide channel about as deep as the material, back it with tape if needed, fill it progressively with the powder and wet it out with the glue, working progressively like your welding a thick piece of material.

The powder comes in two colours, grey and black, it dries quickly and can be filed, sanded.

Perhaps worth mucking around with? About 30 bucks for a kit

Cheers,

Sounds like a good idea PRD. Does anyone know what kind of plastic the catchers are made of?

Thanks guys some good responses, plastic welding a little too expensive for one-off jobs but I'd go down that track if I did a fair bit of plastic welding. Are there any other quick solutions worth looking at?

Catchers all use HDPE [high density polythene] AFAIK. The good quality ones are, at any rate. Which isn't really glue-able, at least not without specialist glues/equipment.

Past threads with useful repair info:

www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=64545

www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=68117

Thanks Gadge, that is very useful.

hi tiger
hears some pics off another silver streak catcher which was cracked and I repaired , pictures show how the repairs done, 1mm ally formed to shape and riveted from the out side. I have used this repair many times and never had any more trouble with cracks, washers added to top and bottom of rivets for more support


good luck damo

Thanks Damo, a picture worth 1000 words.

Much the way we used to repair VC160 catchers back in the 1970's. Except that we used galvanised steel for the patches, sometimes on both sides of the repair, if it was very close to the front lip.

The washers are a must.

You can get large flange rivets if look around. Usually a special order from an industrial supplier if your so inclined. You may even be lucky enough to find some that were powder coated.

G'day everyone!

I just thought i'd ask if anyone here can give me some advise on installing a Victa Catcher Patcher that I have purchased.

It is for an early Victa black plastic catcher with the screws on the sides of the catcher. I have searched the net and can't seem to find any information on these things in terms of the fitment of this metal panel onto the existing Victa catcher.

Is the metal catcher patcher panel fitted to the inside front lip of the catcher or to the outside front lip section?

I am not sure and before I go drilling holes and bolting it up I want to make sure from someone that has fitted a few of these things before.

I was thinking that it would better protect what's left of the existing front catcher lip if I install this metal panel to the outside lip of the catcher. But it may not then fit up against the mower correctly if it's this way?

If I fit it to the inside lip of the catcher, which it seems to fit better, then I am thinking the exposed plastic section of the catcher is just going to get more broken up and cracked from the junk that the blades are throwing at it.

Please any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers!

G'day again everyone I thought i'd take some pictures of the catcher patcher panel and my Victa catcher.

I am not sure if I should install this panel on the inside or the outside front lip of the catcher?

Please if anyone can help me or give me some advise on the correct installation of this patch panel it would be great.

Sorry Converse but I have to ask why? it is just a Victa catcher, millions of them available off the side of the road or for a couple of dollars on ebay. The problem with the metal repair sections is that they make the catcher heavy. Personally I would go for the middle pic. If I have to do those type of repair I use 3/16th rivets and I then make up washers to put on the other side of the plastic so the plastic is sandwiched between the repair panel and the washer

G'day NormK and thanks for all the help with this it's great!

I guess it's my original Victa catcher that I have been using for 37 years now and I want to keep using it. I have picked up a few over the years on the side of the road but they have also been broken and missing all along the front lip section.

I am not too fussed about the extra weight I just want to make it strong and reliable as I use this mower all the time and it does cop a battering from small branches, small rocks etc. So I actually probably need something like this metal panel on it as the plastic on it's own won't really last long at all with the rough mowing around here...lol

Cheers and all the best mate!