# Post repair



## popup (Dec 5, 2011)

I am looking at a couple of old Tjet bodies (Falcon, Riviera, Jag) with posts that range from slightly cracked to full-on in pieces. You guys prolly consider this to be almost trivial w/ what you do to these bodies, so I am asking, what is the best way to repair posts? Do you just leave them if they hold a screw?
At what point do you take steps to stop a crack from growing, and what do you use? 
How do you approach a major reconstruction? Is it possible to cast a new post using gooped plastic from a dead body? Or can post damage be so bad the car is cannibal fodder?
Hope this is the right forum.


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## LDThomas (Nov 30, 1999)

Please visit the Model Murdering thread for your answers.


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## popup (Dec 5, 2011)

Nice, thanks. I'm about ten pages in from the front, fifteen in from the back, read some around page 80sumething on a link. It is a wonderful thread, taught me everything I know about gooping. Maybe a page ref?

Anyway, what I was asking and maybe I didnt express it well, is these are vintage cars that I am not wanting to customize but merely repair.My question was meant to be in the context of how far you would want to go if your concern was to keep the car as original as possible?

I am new to collecting these little cars, bought a set where a nice falcon was damaged in transit, and have others that have varying degrees of cracking or damage. just was looking for opinions on the best way to maintain whatever value remains.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*See the plastic, be, be the plastic....nanananananananana*

Yes agreed. It's like running the Gauntlet. A daunting task.

...but it also contains the answers to all your questions as well as specific "how to's" in both text and video form. :thumbsup:

Gooping is very easy to do...following all the rules and pushing through the learning curve is the difficult part. 

The first rule is....READ THE THREAD. If you dont have time to wade through the thread, you certainly dont have the time start gooping. :freak: No disrespect intended! 

The second rule is.... PRACTICE!.... until you get it right. Then keep your brush wet so you dont go stale. I always warm up after a layoff. Correct results are fairly obvious. 

The third rule is....DONT GIVE UP!....yer not practicing enough! :tongue:


I floundered off and on for a year before I figured out the basics AND am still learning today. My eyes where eventually opened by carefully re-reading Vitale's text and opening my mind enough to grasp what he was trying to express. Unfortunately what no thread or book can teach is the simple nuance of practice and patience; however there may be some eight billion references on the matter in the thread. 

It's not so much a technique as it is a mind set.


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## SplitPoster (May 16, 2006)

*Listen to Bill!*

I love bringing em back, and it seems post repair is a common malady and required fix on many lil' cars. Vitale's book is a great manual - but Bill has way more in depth experience posted with "gooping." Probably "Plastic Welding And Blending" is a better term, but PWAB-ing is a terrible acronym.

Donor - truly beyond repair - cars are very helpful for restoring those shortened posts, or where chunks are missing. I have been helped out once or twice with the correct color plastic from guys on this board, and have sent a hulk or two to Bill for scrap or liquid goop. There is no shortage of common colors. In less common shades, Bill did wonders with my treasured blue Jag and a super-rare black one. I think both those re-builds are on the model motoring thread, as that is where technique is on display, not just kustoms. 

Do have the right tools at the start. Can't do this with glue and an exacto knife alone. And patience is definitely a key. A lot easier to trim a little more than to build it back. Good luck!


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## beast1624 (Mar 28, 2009)

Popup
One thing that has worked for me is using a 3/16" diameter plastic rod like this one by Plastruct as raw material for a replacement post:

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/pls/pls90863.htm

I only do this on Fray bodies (resin) that have been broken in a race (quite common with my Grandson!) or on very beat up T-jets that aren't worth saving. I use a dremel round grinder (the one with a flat top) to gradually grind the old post down being very careful to make a flat and level spot to mount the new post. I always use low speed for this if possible.

Next I cut a piece of rod making sure it is a little longer than what I need so I can trim to fit later. I get the rod as straight up and down and centered left to right as possible (sanding or grinding the base as needed to make it fit the body and stand up straight), using a chassis to space it out and make sure that I am mounting it in the right spot. Next I super glue it to the body with a small dab and let it dry. Then I glue it some more around the base to reinforce it and let it sit for at least an hour or 2 (overnight if I can).

Next use the grinder to slowly and gently grind the new post down to the correct height for the chassis. Then put the chassis on and use felt tip pen to mark the spot for the screw hole. I use a 1/8" drill bit in a hand held pin vise and slowly drill a new hole for the screw...be patient as this can take some time to do it slowly by hand but it is easier to keep on target and to prevent splitting the new post.

The whole process takes some time and will take a few trial-and-error learning sessions so start on a real junker. Once I did it a couple of times the next few went really well and really lasted.


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## bondoman2k (Jan 13, 2003)

beast1624 said:


> Next use the grinder to slowly and gently grind the new post down to the correct height for the chassis. Then put the chassis on and use felt tip pen to mark the spot for the screw hole. I use a 1/8" drill bit in a hand held pin vise and slowly drill a new hole for the screw...be patient as this can take some time to do it slowly by hand but it is easier to keep on target and to prevent splitting the new post.


Hey Beast...you use a 1/8" drill bit??? :freak: Wouldn't that be WAYY too big?  Or is that just a 'typo'? 
Personally, I use a 1/16" drill bit when I drill out the posts. 
Ron (Bondo) :dude:


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## beast1624 (Mar 28, 2009)

Your right. 1/16 is the correct size.


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