Using Super Glue and Baking Soda to Repair a Plastic Switch Plunger

I used the super glue and baking soda trick to repair a plastic switch mechanism.
I first experimented with scrap wood to get a feel for the process. It would be best to start with the baking soda and then add super glue drops as needed.
Various fillers may be added to help strengthen the bond further, and a small mold can be set up to build up the structure, then removed almost immediately when it sets.
The result can be sanded or carved into the desired shape.

CA / Super Glue Info

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[dougggiereid]

During the first week of our COVID19 Lockdown here in South Africa I accidentally broke the metal hinge on my spectacles. Since need these to read and all optometrists were closed for who knew how long I decided to use the method to build up a nodule welding the ear piece to the lense frame. I could obviously not fold the ear piece closed like this but it got me through to when optometrists reopened. It held strong for about 4 months! The frame was black so I used a permanent black marker to colour the repair black and hardly anyone noticed the repair. I also used the method tho repair and build up our ice maker container in our fridge/freezer which has held up for over a year now at sub zero temperatures. Amazing stuff!!!

[yogibait]

For more strength, use .6 ounce fiberglass cloth instead of powder. The CA will wick through the fiberglass cloth and bond over a large area and the .6 ounce fiberglass cloth is extremely thin.

[peekaboo]

You can also use fine dust of charcoal for black filling and cocoa powder for brown filling. This can also be done to color epoxies on wood and bakelite repairs.

[nickgeorge]

I used this method on a lawn mower plastic intake manifold that had completely broken off, that has to withstand heat, presure and vibration and so far after 3 years of use is still holding.

[jared]

Since watching this video I have been using this trick everywhere, fixing things that I wouldn't have been able to fix an easy way. Not only that but it's more a solid fix that just glue by itself. Thank you!

[volvosan]

For years, I had used a product called Insta-Plastik, which is a powdered solid-bonder, which re-creates plastic, when mixed with super glue. Same idea. When that became unavailable, I found Q-Bond - a more advanced form that has 2 powders, 1 w/ pulverized metal (super strong bond). Work on office equipment, which involves lots of plastic that is fracturing and breaking constantly. The 2 part bonders (acrylic adhesive & accelerator) also create a strong bond. The plastic that doesn't repair with these methods is the heat-resistant plastic.

[awizardalso]

I have used baking soda and CA glue with good results. With plastics, I did use coarse sand paper to provide more adhesion surface which did work.

[chiphill]

Colloidal silica, also known as Cabosil, is used in boat building and is a great thickener for CA Glue because it can be mixed in without hardening immediately. It creates a better structural bond than baking soda.

[blakehendrix]

I've used this on quite a few different things with varying levels of success... Baking soda and talcum powder can both work decently well but using thin or extra-thin super glue helps a ton (don't even bother with gel, extra control, etc)! Also, for this particular project, I would've just used a small soldering iron to press a hot piece of metal parallel with the arm (perpendicular to the break)! For something small like this I typically use a staple (already bent, as if you just pulled it out of a piece of paper)!

[djtchort]

I fix vintage electronics of all sorts. Often times, internals are broken because plastic became brittle. Broken off screw posts, cracked gears and levers, broken knob skirts. This fixes EVERYTHING. I bought a little barber shop powder applicator thingie with the bulb jar and a nozzle and it works wonderfully. At first I thought it did not disperse enough baking soda, but had no issues so far. It also help in hard to detach and vertical spaces, but make sure to cover everything, because it just shoots soda. Though it’s not that hard to 3D print a Nozzle for it.

[cerduteter]

I once accidentally made a knife cut of 3/4" on my hand and after cleaning it and waited few minutes to stop bleeding, i quickly covered it with crazy glue and added very little amounts of baking soda to dry it out, i added the baking soda very slowly to avoid that dangerous high temperature of the reaction. That patch lasted attached to skin the enough time to heal, many days.%

[Steve-qtce]

Great !Thanks! I repaired a fuse box cover on my 1990 Chevy truck like you did. Its a little fatter wider tab and broken right at the base. So it was still barely attached. I just built a little clay dam around it and started adding baking soda first then the super glue alternating like you did. Built it up to the level of the dam, (about 2mm), and its awesome. Guys with trucks etc of this vintage have to deal with a lot of brittle 30+ yr old plastic parts and this looks to be a game changer!❗thanks again❗👍🇺🇸

[johncoops]

Some plastics will not adhere properly to CA glues. When used with baking soda the bond area is hard but will snap off easily.
For plastics it's best to your a Surface Activator or "primer", which is typically a felt tipped pen supplied with specialised plastic glue packages from Loctite etc.
The primer chemically alters the plastic to make the CA really grab hold.

[briangerhart]

I just plugged 2 quarter inch holes in a tin with bronze coating flower pot .Imediately checked for leaks ...No leaks .
Success !!

[Anonymous-itjw]

Thanks for making this video. Your push button repair seems to have bonded well.


P.S. I know that baby powder used to be made with talcum powder, and now is primarily made with corn starch and/or other ingredients. Please refer to the linked video to determine the exact ingredients that they used to make the paste that doesn't set instantly, but only when sprayed with the CA accelerator, if I correctly understood what these guys were doing.

[paulromsky]

In my fiero, I had two broken plastic straps/bars that the shifter console screws into. There are two holes (one towards the front and one towards the rear) in each strap/bar which are part of the center console plastic frame. Each broke right at the screw holes and even broke into smaller pieces at each point leaving big gaps in the plastic (impossible to glue). I taped off areas to create pockets to fill the gaps and to make reinforcing spans on each side of the four repair points. I coat the plastic edges first with THIN superglue (not Gel) and sprinkle in some baking soda to get a good base at each end of the gaps, then I add a few thin layers of baking soda/superglue into the tape forms until the repair is built up. The mix will get very hot for a few seconds and may start to smoke slightly. DO NOT GET A WIFF OF THE ODORS AS I BELEIVE THEY HAVE TRACES OF DEADLY CYANIDE. Use safety goggles, N95 Mask, Nitrile Gloves, Ear Protection when grinding, and a good Exhaust Fan venting outside away from people and animals.

The whole repair area will be hidden so I just trimmed/smoothed up the repair with a Dremmel Tool, drilled new holes for the screws, (yes this stuff is gridable and drillable) and painted the patch areas with a little flat black enamel paint. The screws are very tight because the patches are very hard but a bit giving on the surface too... and since they are sheet metals screws into plastic, I don't have a tap for them. I lightly coated a screw with Acetone and screwed it in until it started to bind, then worked it slowly looser and tighter working my way until each screw can be fully seated. It is very strong, the plastic flexes but the patches don't much, they are rock hard. I have been using this technique building Radio Controlled model airplanes to make Balsa wood as strong as thick plastic. It holds up well to heat, cold, humidity, vibration, and atmospheric pressure. It has nearly the same thermal rate of expansion as most automotive plastic so it will hold up to wide changes in the environment.

But don't put too much force or it may break the plastic before the patches break, but that is what causes these straps to break in the first place - leaning on the shifter console as you reach over to pick up something off the floor in the passenger seat - I wait and stop the car to do that from now on. This plastic is 35 years old so it needs TLC and respect.

[sweetlou]

I use it all the time, have always had amazing results, even where the CA alone wont bond, the baking soda is magic!

[johngibson]

plasticweld with a 25w solderiron might be better and you can fininsh with JB Weld. plastic tie wraps are a good filler when doing plastic welds.

[billbucktube]

Good demonstration.
Can't be mixed, the exothermic reaction is fast.
When possible place tape under to contain the superglue, then put on the baking soda.
Dumping out the uncured baking soda is needed to prevent dry pockets.
I've used gel superglue as my first layer when I couldn't get a good seal with tape.

[NipplesOfDestiny]

I had a pair of boots that needed repair, I only had a small bottle of superglue and a pair of nitrile work gloves. I thought the nitrile was similar enough to the rubber on my toe, so I applied a small strip I cut from my gloves. There was a chemical reaction that actually made it heat up and start smoking, and the bond from that was stronger than the original rubber that fell off. I don't understand exactly what happened but it is worth mentioning that nitrile bonds well with superglue in my experience