Lorus - what sort of plastic glue

[Chris123]

Had the corner that holds the strap on my watch fall off.

Anyone know what sort of plastic that is and / or the best glue?

Even though still under warranty Lorus offered to fix it at a cost 

of more than it is worth - if they could find the part!

As that's my last seiko can you also recommend a watch that won't fall apart in under a year?

[yankeedog]

ugh ....you  might try "super glue" if it works it would be the least obvious . Personally I wouldn't hold out hope of any lasting repair. As for what won't fall apart? a watch with a stainless steel case, Casio duro comes to mind for an everyday quartz beater.

Edited June 1, 2019 by yankeedog
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[watchweasol]

Hi Chris  Any watch with a Plastic  case is a possible problem, firstly over time the plastic reacts with the sweat etc and turns brittle and once the straps and or case lugs break off it is almost impossible to fix. I have tried drilling and pinning with super glue but they eventually fall off again. Personally I dont wear them for that reason. You could fit the movement into another metal case. My daily beater is a lorus lumibrite with a rice grain bracelet, solid as a rock and when the bracelet gets dirty its taken off and put in the ultrasonic for a wash.  There are many good watches out there for daily use the choice is yours and yours alone.

[Chris123]

I have a Solution - Clear nail polish

Find an inconspicuous spot then under magnification put a small drop on the tip of a pin and try to mix it into the plastic.

If it polish changes colour you have your glue if not, let it set to see how well it adheres anyway.

If above fails try another brand - nail polish is just a solution designed to dissolve shiny plastics an their additives.

[AndyHull]

The plastic could be anything from ABS through glass reinforced nylon, polycarbonate, PLA, polystyrene, epoxy.. you name it.. so figuring out the correct solvent is tricky. Nail polish *may* work, but equally it may not. Superglue may appear to work, but fail shortly after. You might also have luck with a mix of superglue and baking powder, which rapidly sets up hard as a rock. It dries as an off white to clear resin though, so you would need to paint it to hide the repair. Test it on some similar plastics first to get the hang of using it. Also be aware that some materials react in a very exothermic way with cynoacrylate (superglue). Cotton wool for example may actually catch fire. An interesting party trick, but not much fun when you spill it on your frayed jeans. 

You could try a repair with black epoxy resin, having keyed the surfaces with sandpaper first,  but in my experience it is very tricky to get a neat, but robust, lasting repair of small plastic items, since plastics are generally difficult to stick anything to reliably.

Edited June 21, 2019 by AndyHull

[anilv]

I've successfully repaired similar breakages with superglue mixed with baking powder to build-up the area and then filed it to shape. Apply light layer of super-glue, sprinkle baking powder over it..repeat. Use a piece of pegwood where the springbar goes so that once the glue sets you can dig out the wood, easier than messing with drills. Also is the screw showing is only cosmetic? If yes then let it be in place when you apply the superglue/baking-powder.

Using super-clue with baking powder creates a hard structure, to make it stronger I suppose you could heat and embed some steel wire in the case a reinforcement.

Good luck

Anilv

 

 

[Johnnie]

Hi Chris, the answer to your problem is Casio MDV 106, it's cheap as chips, it's good looking, waterproof as a Rolex and more accurate as well. I am not really a quartz watch person but this watch for the money is superb.