Best way to fix cracked plastic on laptop case around one of the hinges?

[Master Disaster]

A few weeks ago my dog jumped up on to my bed while we were play fighting and while bouncing like a lunatic she knocked my laptop off the bed on to the floor, it was actually closed at the time  however it landed pretty hard on its side and when I picked it up I noticed that some plastic was broke around the USB port, I can hear broken plastic rattling around inside the case  but most worryingly there's a crack on the top face, just above the keyboard right next to the hinge. It started off tiny and I really wasn't worried however over the last few weeks its gotten bigger to the point that when you open the lid you can feel the hinge moving on the Z axis. I think that every time I open the lid its putting stress on the Z axis and making the crack worse and now I'm worried its going to break entirely (it already feels like one of the screws holding the bottom on is coming loose).

 

I was going to take it apart to remove the plastic that's rattling around inside the case but now I'm worried that, as soon as I unscrew this corner its just going to fall apart and be impossible to reassemble.

 

Anyone got any tips?

[dizmo]

Pictures would help, but I'll start by suggesting JB Weld.

[ACEHACK]

31 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Pictures would help, but I'll start by suggesting JB Weld.

that or some kind of transparent epoxy glue. but again a picture would be nice.  

[Biomecanoid]

45 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

A few weeks ago my dog jumped up on to my bed while we were play fighting and while bouncing like a lunatic she knocked my laptop off the bed on to the floor, it was actually closed at the time  however it landed pretty hard on its side and when I picked it up I noticed that some plastic was broke around the USB port, I can hear broken plastic rattling around inside the case  but most worryingly there's a crack on the top face, just above the keyboard right next to the hinge. It started off tiny and I really wasn't worried however over the last few weeks its gotten bigger to the point that when you open the lid you can feel the hinge moving on the Z axis. I think that every time I open the lid its putting stress on the Z axis and making the crack worse and now I'm worried its going to break entirely (it already feels like one of the screws holding the bottom on is coming loose).

 

I was going to take it apart to remove the plastic that's rattling around inside the case but now I'm worried that, as soon as I unscrew this corner its just going to fall apart and be impossible to reassemble.

 

Anyone got any tips?

Yes you can glue it and it will probably last a while but since the crack is at a stress point the crack will open again eventually. Maybe you can find the whole plastic panel and replace it

[Master Disaster]

[Master Disaster]

Anybody ever heard of superglue & bi carb? Apparently you can use it to rebuild broken plastic to almost as good as new though you have to sand it and paint it afterwards.

[Guest]

if you can find a disassembly guide on youtube and take the thing apart you're best trying to glue it from the back.
 

Use some really strong super glue and cut a strip of thin plastic off something like an old credit card, guitar pick etc. that's not going to interfere with anything inside.

Hold the crack together with your fingers as you glue the strip of plastic onto the rear of the crack, inside the case. Hold it for at least a minute, or as long as you can manage. You're essentially stitching it together from behind with plastic like you'd put paper stitches on a cut.

That should hold the crack together.

[Biomecanoid]

6 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

The button right in the middle of the crack makes it more difficult now

[Biomecanoid]

6 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Anybody ever heard of superglue & bi carb? Apparently you can use it to rebuild broken plastic to almost as good as new though you have to sand it and paint it afterwards.

bi/carb or baking soda acts as an accelerator to dry the superglue instantly. Does not add strength to the end result

[Master Disaster]

10 minutes ago, Shabba said:

if you can find a disassembly guide on youtube and take the thing apart you're best trying to glue it from the back.
 

Use some really strong super glue and cut a strip of thin plastic off something like an old credit card, guitar pick etc. that's not going to interfere with anything inside.

Hold the crack together with your fingers as you glue the strip of plastic onto the rear of the crack, inside the case. Hold it for at least a minute, or as long as you can manage. You're essentially stitching it together from behind with plastic like you'd put paper stitches on a cut.

That should hold the crack together.

I genuinely think its at the point where, as soon as I undo the screw underneath the crack the entire piece (including the power button) is going to come away and I'm not going to be able to glue it back together. I'm also suspecting some of the plastic I can hear is actually the screw hole that's disintegrating as the screw is being pulled out.

 

Its my fault, I've been putting fixing it off for 2 weeks and now I think its gone too far to fix

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

I genuinely think its at the point where, as soon as I undo the screw underneath the crack the entire piece (including the power button) is going to come away and I'm not going to be able to glue it back together. I'm also suspecting some of the plastic I can hear is actually the screw hole that's disintegrating as the screw is being pulled out.

 

Its my fault, I've been putting fixing off for 2 weeks and now I think its gone too far to fix

don't give up. All you can do is try but repair from behind is better for aesthetic reasons if nothing else

[Biomecanoid]

1 hour ago, Master Disaster said:

A few weeks ago my dog jumped up on to my bed while we were play fighting and while bouncing like a lunatic she knocked my laptop off the bed on to the floor, it was actually closed at the time  however it landed pretty hard on its side and when I picked it up I noticed that some plastic was broke around the USB port, I can hear broken plastic rattling around inside the case  but most worryingly there's a crack on the top face, just above the keyboard right next to the hinge. It started off tiny and I really wasn't worried however over the last few weeks its gotten bigger to the point that when you open the lid you can feel the hinge moving on the Z axis. I think that every time I open the lid its putting stress on the Z axis and making the crack worse and now I'm worried its going to break entirely (it already feels like one of the screws holding the bottom on is coming loose).

 

I was going to take it apart to remove the plastic that's rattling around inside the case but now I'm worried that, as soon as I unscrew this corner its just going to fall apart and be impossible to reassemble.

 

Anyone got any tips?

You need to approach this like some people do bumper repair. Glue it and add hot staples,  that you will of course cut and glue over at the back so they don't sort anything.

 

Also in bumper repairs to stop cracks from expanding you drill a small hole at the end of the  crack fill it with glue sand it paint it.

 

You don't actually need to buy the whole kit the photo is just an idea of what you need to do, you can DIY it.

[YoMz]

if you are not comfortable using heat, then any clear super glue and paper will work great for that... you basically reinforce the area with a strip of paper than you then soak with glue and then you sand it clean... with this method, you are basically building a very thin layer of reinforcement that will hold that crack together for a good amount of time... (unless that crack is on an area where flexing and movement is inevitable)

I've personally used this method to repair a lot of broken plastic over the years and it works great... super glue holds really well together unless the area is exposed to regular stress...

 

you can also replace super glue with any kind of clear epoxy which is an even stronger bond because it's not as brittle when it cures unlike super glue...

[Biomecanoid]

6 minutes ago, YoMz said:

if you are not comfortable using heat, then any clear super glue and paper will work great for that... you basically reinforce the area with a strip of paper than you then soak with glue and then you sand it clean... with this method, you are basically building a very thin layer of reinforcement that will hold that crack together for a good amount of time... (unless that crack is on an area where flexing and movement is inevitable)

I've personally used this method to repair a lot of broken plastic over the years and it works great... super glue holds really well together unless the area is exposed to regular stress...

 

you can also replace super glue with any kind of clear epoxy which is an even stronger bond because it's not as brittle when it cures unlike super glue...

Sadly its a stress area, its near the hinge

[YoMz]

8 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

Sadly its a stress area, its near the hinge

you need to follow the staples and heat fix posted above my reply then... that would probably be the best choice for you... I've mostly repaired models and plastic figures with my method so I don't think it would work if it's exposed in stress areas...

[Master Disaster]

Cheers everyone, it turns out HP have an official spares dealer here in the UK and I can order an entire new piece. Hopefully it will last another week until I can order one.

[dizmo]

9 hours ago, ACEHACK said:

that or some kind of transparent epoxy glue. but again a picture would be nice.  

You mean like....JBWeld?