# Repairing a T-Jet Body post



## slotcar58 (Jun 21, 2007)

I removed a Ford GT body today from a T-Jet I purchased over 20 years ago and never disassembled before. Part of the front body post fell off as I removed the screw. What's the best way to repair this? Super glue. If so, should I put a screw in so the threads much up. Thanks in advance for your help.

Leo Belleville


----------



## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

Testors 3502
as per Bill Hall
said many times
many places
Testors 3502


----------



## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Leo, 

Super glue is a no no. 3502 is the correct plastic welder for repairs. Re-install the broken piece. When cured, wet the inside of the post and work a screw in. Let it cure. Then wind it out.


----------



## slotcar58 (Jun 21, 2007)

Thank you. I will be purchasing some Testors 3502.

Leo


----------



## slotking (May 27, 2008)

note

I do use super glue to re-thread a stripped post.
I put a little glue inside the hole, while still wet, I put in a oil soaked screw.
let the glue dry, unscrew the screw. screw it back in and your off to the races


----------



## slotcar58 (Jun 21, 2007)

More great advice. Thanks Slotking!


----------



## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

Not meaning to dis Slotking, but you really should stay AWAY from Super Glue when working with T-Jet Bodies, follow Bill Hall's advice ! The Testors chemically melts the original plastic and reforms it- withOUT Polluting the plastic with foreign materials....
Just MY .02 ¢ (and I restore and/or repair quite a few T-Jet bodies)


----------



## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Ah yes....the we dont care and have no time for patience repair. Dont forget your trusty hammer/wheel press, Mike.

Save your breath Ralph, it's a legitimate mentality and not a training issue. Schlobbering T-jets back together with stone knives and bearskins is a perfectly acceptable method thats been around since Thundersaurii first roamed the race track. It's just not a restoration quality repair. It's just the philosophical parting line between the relms.

I often forget that if we dont clarify what type of repair is acceptable to the OP we'll see the devils advocate pop up every time this question is posted. There are those who can be perfectly happy with a "non-ductile, dis-similar material type of repair" that will eventually fail.

My bad for not inserting the clarifying disclaimer in the first place. Live and let live Ralph. We're on a completely different frequency.


----------



## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Would you use the Testors for a stripped post as well? I've had a couple stripped posts and just packed them with Plastic Wood and tapped them out when dry. They seem to hold okay, although I don't do any racing.

Joe


----------



## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

*Sighs*


----------



## slotking (May 27, 2008)

> but you really should stay AWAY from Super Glue when working with T-Jet Bodies, follow Bill Hall's advice ! The Testors chemically melts the original plastic and reforms it


I was not talking binding plastic to plastic. I was talking adding a filler for stripped posts!

I have been fixing stripped posts this way for years and it works great. (super glue & oil on the screw)

to repair plastic pieces, I have used plastic wield for many years


----------



## ajd350 (Sep 18, 2005)

Mike, I use the super glue method for resin race bodies where 3502 has no affect, but for fixing a shelf queen TJet, goop rules. Some of the reason TJet posts turn to poop in the first place has to do with prolonged exposure to oil.


----------



## slotking (May 27, 2008)

covering the screw with black from a sharpie also works
just harder to do.

but the plastic is shielded from the oil by the glue.
I have repaired the stripped post in my Tan jag about 4 years ago

still running strong


----------



## partspig (Mar 12, 2003)

Forget it guys, he just doesn't get it. He will drive all of the nails home until there are no more left to drive. pig


----------



## adiaz (Nov 26, 2012)

Bill Hall said:


> Leo,
> 
> Super glue is a no no. 3502 is the correct plastic welder for repairs. Re-install the broken piece. When cured, wet the inside of the post and work a screw in. Let it cure. Then wind it out.


A tip for buying Testors 3502

Go to Home Depot or Lowes where the terpintine and other solvents are and just buy the large can of MEK.
It's the same as the Testor's (Methyl Ethyl Chroride) or something like that. Same stuff used to glue PVC withouth the dye. MEK is clear and less than $9 for a quart 
I use it intstead of testors.
It is exactly the same!
The use to use this stuff making model glue in the old days.
Use a mask (respirator and gloves) this stuff causes canhcer even Testor's.


----------



## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

I am a fan of the Testors 3502 and goop for screw repair including stripped threads. Even if you do not do a color match I still think goop is a superior solution as it has some flexibility. 

I also have Earl Schieb leanings (i.e quick and dirty solutions) so have tried other methods but found them to be brittle and subject to breakage.

Now my screw post goop repairs would cause Bill Hall to throw up in his trash can but you can use goop for quick thread repairs. For broken hunks of screw posts goop works well but takes quite a bit of cure time. I put a screw into the broken post and layer goop on top of the screw. This method can work for shortened screw posts, posts with chunks missing or badly split posts. The value of the car determines how much time I spend filing and sanding the post to make it look nice.

I'd post pictures but it might make you queezy after seeing Bill's work


----------



## slotking (May 27, 2008)

are you sure!

they taste really different from each other:wave:

NOTE
be very careful with MEK
strong powerful nasty stuff
have good air flow when using it


----------



## slotking (May 27, 2008)

what is the goop?
where to buy

like to try it for thread repair and compare it to the super glue that work great for thread repair


----------



## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Goop is a mixture of Testors 3502 and chunks of T Jet body. Mix about 50/50 in a 3502 jar. Let sit over night. Instant goop! The color T Jet material used = the color goop you get. It can be made from 3502 and chunks of a 9" curve for non color matched repairs, but chunks of body are better. A great use for those pesky black shadows that show up everywhere. Another good source is a red base off a AFX semi trailer. 

For color matched repairs, you'll want the goop material to be clean (really clean) and free of any paint before putting in the 3502. Nothing worse than doing a color matched repair and finding inclusions in your work after it's cured. Speaking of curing, goop takes a while to fully cure. Patience is a must!!


----------



## partspig (Mar 12, 2003)

What is the goop??
Where to buy??

OMG!!! Methinks that a race weenie has awoken! Hark yon goopers, Hark, thy domain is risking exposure to alteration! The sand hath fallen away from yon ears and eyes! Should we expect a flood of gooping newbies? But as a gooper meself, .......I do fear that the rush of completion will ruin said project! Haste to completion is a gooper's sin!! Haste will bring much waste, as I have never known a racer/gooper newbie to go in slow motion in any endeavor, even when the goop comes into the foreplay of fixing and restoring little cars. Much haste will most certainly, make much waste, in an attempt, to restore a rough gem to it's once shining beauty! (this is sarcasm, so please)

Seriously!! Really!! Bill Hall has been using that term "goop" here on HT since 2008 or so. AND long before Bill started posting here about it, another fella by the name of Mike Vitale, that has been playing with the stuff, since when?? His book was published in 1995! Where have you been? Racing? Perhaps you should go back to racing and leave the resto/modeling to others! pig


----------



## ruralradio (Mar 11, 2011)

Damn! Thought I logged onto HT..... must've stumbled onto SCI... :tongue:


----------



## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Open your mind, then....*

Try this link Mike. Simply? I picked up where Vitale left off. Restoring screw posts is merely the tip of the iceberg, and there are several ways to do it depending on the damage. Hopefully the link(s) will give you an overview and some insight into the technique. I also repaired the gacked roof on the 63 slate vette examples seen in links within the link. Hint: Look for a grey XKE also; or any of the other calamatys that I've brought back from the dead. Unfortunatly it's not instant gratification so you'll have to weed your way forward until the eventual completions. If you take the time to read the thread you may find some needed understanding. 

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showpost.php?p=2539271&postcount=313

I've removed many superglue repairs from vintage slotcar bodies....and all kinds of other errant schlobbers. Over time the original plastic continues it's normal shrink rate. Super glue does not. Eventually the parent material will fracture, crumble, or pull away. Ralph said it best, it's a pollutant when encountered on a repair. In all cases it must be completely removed prior to beginning the process.

Al D. I cant and wont recommend MEK. Testors 3502 contains MEK, but MEK is not Testors 3502. Years back, I tried the cheap route as well. While the end result of a fill-cut-and polish when using MEK might be adequate for some the finished product doesnt meet muster here. Notably, the results after the mix is sprayed using MEK is even less satisfactory. The flash rate is too low.

Vitale was very clear on particular points. I initially went at it like the vast majority and continued failing with mixed results for the first year. One of my subsequent observations is that: If folks put the same amount of effort into learning/understanding the process; as they spend questioning or second guessing the process and trying to cut corners, there would be much better results. This realization is what brought me forward and into the light. 

Strict adherence to the script is the only way to produce the consistent high quality results that collectors want. Plenty of Money Ball cars have come and gone through Model Murdering over the years. They exist undetected; proudly displayed by their owners in collections all over the world.

...and thats kinda the whole point of it. If ya dont know, ya wouldnt know


----------



## tasman (Feb 17, 2007)

ruralradio said:


> Damn! Thought I logged onto HT..... must've stumbled onto SCI... :tongue:


Now that's funny, I don't care what anybody says!


----------



## slotking (May 27, 2008)

thanks so much for the info!!:thumbsup:


----------

