How to Fix Cracks in Plastic Using a Hot Stapler

Step by Step!

Today we'll be using a #HotStapler to fix a cracked John Deere hood, on a #GX335 riding lawn mower.

This technique doesn't fuse the plastic together like #PlasticWelding would, instead, it uses metal staples to link the 2 pieces of plastic together.

To achieve penetration into the plastic, the tool uses electrical current to heat the Stainless Steel elements (this is why they're referred to as Hot Staples) which allows them to be pressed into the plastic.

By linking both pieces of plastic together, movement is eliminated. This increases the plastic's structural integrity, and prevents the crack from spreading further.

Combined with plastic welding, you could hypothetically achieve a fix that's stronger than the original plastic itself.

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[eis]

Definitely beats the old drill'n'stitch zip tie mechanic method I've been doing for years.

[UtahDarkHorse]

The staple tails have some indentations in them to allow you to just bend them a little and they'll snap off, but I've only had marginal success with that. I typically use a Dremel with a cutting wheel on them.

Only other thing I'd mention is once you get the staple to depth, give it a very slight twist to help the staple become completely embedded under plastic. Otherwise, they could sometimes pull out.

Thank you for a great video and for sharing 😊

Just for your info. I have this item plus the regular soldering iron looking plastic welding kit and have had and used them both for a couple of years (occasional use) with no issues. I tend to use the soldering iron looking one along with stainless steel screen more often than this one, but there are use cases for both.

[Ret_Army_Combat_Vet]

I bought mine from Harbor Freight for $ 10.00 15 years ago and it still works. I've used it on cars, computer chairs arm rest, trash cans, anything plastic. Best $20 bucks ever spent.

[Aikano]

Very fine stainless mesh and a soldering iron with a large surface area tip does a great job too. Just cut out the right size of mesh and push it in with the soldering iron, leaves a better surface finish and is very strong, you can also use it to add filler material on the top surface before sanding it to same surface finish as the rest of the piece, maybe vapor smooth it with acetone if it’s abs or asa

[yogidemis]

I had a few riding lawnmowers which the plastic broke in the same spot. One thing I did was when I bought a new mower I took off the hood and fiberglassed a few strips around the inside edge, mostly on the weak points. It's been about 6 years and no cracks anywhere. This has been a great review, I was always curious about these plastic welders.

[mjremy]

Very good demo, clear visuals, great instructions, comprehensive, and NO MUSIC, WHAT JOY!
Excellent. I needed this. Thank you!!!
Dremel is useless for anything other than jewelry! No power. My trusty angle grinder is best. I have a 5" Bosch which is too heavy and too powerful for small jobs. I would suggest a small angle grinder, light duty with 4.5" blades or smaller. If anyone knows a good brand, please let me know.

I would have done one more step - put painters tape on good side. Fill in the cracks with super glue on bad side, and sprinkle baking soda to harden. Now sand down, This will be harder.

[ericklassen]

I use paper clips to make specific shapes (circles, triangles, squares) and they're cheap. They are chrome coated and will not rust. Also, I melt the bubbled surface to both smooth the repair and to seal the element from the weather if I don't get around to paintint the seam. Great video though.

[SC-qxkj]

If I am not mistakened, the tool is actually a low voltage high current transformer, more or less the same idea as a soldering gun. Other than the on-off switch and the plastic case, there is nothing to breakdown. You should expect the it to last for a very long time. Just make sure you do not over heat it by not using it continuously for a long time. My soldering gun lasted me over 30 years and keeps on working.

[hawkeyejohnny]

I fix my daughter’s 335 hood this week. I ended up ordering the same kit and after installing the staples I put a coat of clear JB Weld over the staples. It served two purposes by working into the joints left by the staples and also covered the sharp points.The hood had one side completely broken out and after reconnecting everything I laid a layer of fiberglass over the entire area. The bottom area of plastic where the mounting brackets attach was completely gone. I found some plastic inserts to fit into the holes of the brackets and drilled new holes through the bottom of the front grill. With the fiberglass repair kit and plastic welding kit I had fifty dollars invested.

[markedward]

The kit I bought on ebay is 150w, which makes it work much better. Also, it came with a spade-bit looking thing to do the smoothing out afterward. And I use a small needle-nose pliars to bend the legs back and forth, and they usually break off. I've seen people use metal window screen mesh with the spade-bit thingy, and embed that into thinner plastic for great strength.

[waynestefinashen]

John Deere and Toro should include one of these in every sale. Nice tool addition to the shop supply boss it will come in handy and pay for itself in a short period of time. Money well spent and a fine repair that our customer will be happy to see although this was the minor part of his repair. Very well presented tool review looking forward to seeing other tools you use in the shop and any that you may have made to make repairs easier.

[sparky]

Excellent video! I learned a new trick! Tx.!
For cutting the ends of the staples its best to use an electrician's side cutters. You can get exactly at the staple where it comes out of the plastic.

[scaletownmodels]

I bought one of these and a soldering iron style kit for setting in metal mesh and plastic rod. I've used them for quite a few repairs now and something handy to have around.
The staples are really surprisingly hard to cut. I found a pair of guitar fret, end nippers that are very sharp and flush cutting.

[robertcheslock]

I got a Cordless Plastic Welding Gun on Amazon for $19.99 with 4 different staples. It uses DeWalt batteries. I repaired the fan Housing on a Kowasaki zero turn and the plastic handle on a worx string trimmer. To replace these two items would have been oven $170.00. Have done several small jobs with it. It has been well worth the 20 bucks I spent. As you showed the crack is visible on the outside if you look close. I also used the triangle tip on my heating iron to smooth over the repairs.

[JonnyMudMower]

Fixed the hood on my x300 with one, never new it existed but it sure does the trick and it’s great on car bumpers 👍🏻🍻🇨🇦

[georgelowe]

I really thank you for a great demo on how to fix plastic cracks. You covered all the little details, including safety, as well as cost and reliability. Good Show!

[hunter]

Used to do that with a soldering iron and just cut little pieces of stainless wire, hada small hole on the tip of the tool for it, it worked great

[ozzman]

Great video. I bought something like this to fix my cracked dash in my pickup. A couple things I noticed, a grinder or cutting wheel will reheat the staples, so take caution while smoothing off the tips. I also used some needle nose pliers to hold the tips while I cut them off. Pretty easy to do and avoids the mess if you let them fly all over. I also used the wavy ones perpendicular to the crack. It takes more of them but it allowed me to fuse the plastic across the crack after I stapled things. You can just stitch together like a welder would and the kit I bought came with a tip the heats up and uses filler material. I guess you could also get that same outcome with a soldering iron or a plastic welder that works like one.

[Ebbrush]

dammmitt ...a tool i dont have i go again

[subliminal]

After sanding them down smooth you could also go over it with a coat of body filler to further help hold the staples in and make it a seamless looking repair