How to repair a wheel center cap?

[frosho]

One of the center caps for my white slicers is damaged. Out of the 10 rivets fastening the plastic cap to the metal ring on the back, 6 have broken off. Does anybody have any experience repairing these? Can the rivets be replaced by welding in some sort of filler? The cap is marked "PC/ABS" on the back, which I assume is some sort of ABS plastic alloy...

I'd love to be able to just paint one of my spare caps and be done with it, but I'm sure it won't match the wheels. Any help is appreciated!

:thankyou:

 

[hawkeye18]

Plastic weld might work. PC = Polycarbonate, ABS = Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene. The more you know!

Anyway, like I said, plastic weld the **** out of those areas and you should be good.

 

[tompumped]

3 of 4 of my white center caps need to be fixed. I'm going to rotate my tires tomorrow and try using this plastic epoxy I have. I'll let you know how it works.
I think it's a 5 minute epoxy, and it's stronger than I thought.

 

[hawkeye18]

Just make it so there is a lot of lip around the metal part with the plastic weld; it'll give it more structural strength...

 

[frosho]

Thanks guys. Post up how the epoxy works for you, Tom. I might end up going that route too, since it's easier and there's a lower chance of me destroying the cap in the process. I also plan to modify the retainer ring so it comes off the rim easier. I found a thread by Power Surge where he made 8 slices in the ring so it can flex when coming off. It worked well for him.

Here's that thread if anyone's interested - Slicer center cap fix?

 

[frosho]

Anybody know what kind of glue/epoxy/whathaveyou would work for this application? Doesn't look like superglue is gonna cut it, there's a small gap between the cap and the retainer. And I don't know jack about other adhesives...

 

[hawkeye18]

PLASTIC EPOXY.

They sell it at advance auto. It doesn't bond too well to metal, though, which is why you want the shoulder on the other side of the metal.

 

[frosho]

Well, I was hoping there was something that WOULD bond plastic to metal. One of those "Sticks to Anything!" type deals...

Actually, I might try the stuff I bought to put my fish tanks back together when I put lights in them. I have some expendable (scratched up) center caps that'll make good guinea pigs.

 

[hawkeye18]

Well, the only thing that really, truly sticks to everything is Gorilla Glue. Problem is, it's hideous, and difficult to apply well. It expands quite a bit, and requires moisture to properly activate.

 

[tompumped]

I tried it yesterday but I rushed it. I didn't take them off yet to see if it held. I don't care too much about the caps they need to be repainted along with the rims, then i'll fix it right.

That's interesting about the gorilla glue. I used it years ago, I don't remember how good it worked.

 

[notbange]

One of the center caps for my white slicers is damaged. Out of the 10 rivets fastening the plastic cap to the metal ring on the back, 6 have broken off. Does anybody have any experience repairing these? Can the rivets be replaced by welding in some sort of filler? The cap is marked "PC/ABS" on the back, which I assume is some sort of ABS plastic alloy...

I'd love to be able to just paint one of my spare caps and be done with it, but I'm sure it won't match the wheels. Any help is appreciated!

:thankyou:

I used Loctite automotive adhesive on mine, it's clear and sorta flexible still when it dries. Found it in the Walmart auto section. If your glue is solid hard when it dries, the ring will break off again when you remove the center caps. I tried JB weld first. Broke upon removal. Tried plastic weld. Broke on removal. My Loctite adhesive centercaps have held up to several removal and installations over the past few months. I placed an old rotor on the rings to press them into place. I pretty much just ground off all the plastic rivets using a buffing wheel on a die grinder, btw, after several failed gluing attempts.

 

[frosho]

UPDATE

I ended up using a buncha hot glue between the ring and cap. I also did the Power Surge mod, and it really makes them easier to remove. So... so far so good. I'll update again if I have any problems.

 

[Vnuk1]

Please enlighten me on "Power Surge Mod"..

 

[frosho]

Slicer center cap fix?

You just make some slits in the metal ring so it can flex easier.