Polyethylene repair

[joelsthings]

I have a National Surfside 32' Class A in good condition other than the lower cabinet doors. The doors are made of polyethylene which have a tendency to crack near the hinges. Can I repair the doors using fiberglass cloth and resin? If I can I can either tint the resin or use striping to cover the repaired areas of the doors. The major question is will fiberglass adhere to the polyethylene.

[DonDee]

I would weld them. I have an airless kit from Urethane Supply that is inexpensive and effective.

[Clayobx]

Fiberglass resin will not bond to polyethylene. I agree you must weld them.

[Muddypaws]

Back in the early days of windsurfing the boards (poly-whales) were made of polyethylene and had a bad habit of splitting along the seams. We repaired them with a bar of polyethylene and a heat gun.

[Arch Hoagland]

The entire door is plastic??? Not wood covered with plastic?

Hadn't ever heard of that.

[dabrooks]

You could try taking one of the doors to a cabinet shop and see what it would cost to have a door made out of real wood.

[joelsthings]

To clarify; the cabinet doors I am referring to are the exterior cabinets.

[ralphie]

If the material is "plastic" weldable that is what I would do. After welding, I would use sheet aluminum behind the welded to reinforce the hinge attachment area. If it will stick, try using epoxy or something like JB Weld to adhere the aluminum to the plastic door.