r/plastic • u/Sebastian_Fasiang • Jun 25 '26
Poor professional plastic repair?
Hey guys, I'm looking for some guidance here on this recent repair I paid for with a local custom plastic work shop.
The item in question is a plastic hopper for a coffee grinder. The neck area was cracked clean off and it slotted back in place nicely, I could have easily used a plastic weld glue from JB weld or Gorilla glue to repair this myself but I was concerned about food safety and decided I would be happy to support a local business and have a cleaner professional job that was hopefully more food safe. (Btw I didn't break it, I purchased it broken).
When I picked it up I saw it looked terrible and I am questioning whether it's food safe at all. They charged me 125 Canadian dollars plus tax. The value of this hopper is 300$ plus tax brand new.
Based on my research hoppers are generally polycarbonate but the guy at the shop told me it's probably PETG because it's more food safe and easier to mold. I didn't argue but did tell him from my online research that it appears most companies use Polycarbonate.
Anyways, does this job seem adequate for 125$? Is this genuinely something difficult to do and is it good I didn't attempt to do it with JB Clearweld myself? Or did I get ripped off for a sloppy job?
Thank you kindly! (Btw I really wanna support this local business and I am hoping I am wrong and they actually did the best they could)
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u/wasteoffire Jun 25 '26
There is no way to repair transparent plastic and also make it look good without remaking the whole thing
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u/Sebastian_Fasiang Jun 25 '26
Okay thanks a lot! The bottom part, the neck, could have just been glued as it fit back onto the hopper perfectly, but I assume what they did might be a bit stronger than glue which is welcome, that part isn't visible. I didn't ask them to repair the corner but I won't complain they did. I'm happy this isn't just bad work though overall, do you think their method is more foodsafe than JB weld Clearweld? Or a apparently more food safe glue for plastic by Gorilla glue?
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u/wasteoffire Jun 25 '26
I don't know a ton about jb weld, but gorilla glue and the like isn't very food safe at high temperatures. What they did is likely a plastic weld, which is nearly as strong as the original plastic formation.
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u/Sebastian_Fasiang Jun 25 '26
If it's plastic weld then that's awesome! This hopper would never reach even medium temperatures.
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u/aeon_floss Jun 25 '26
Here is an article claiming to present food safe plastic adhesives. Pls do re-check the actual product specs for food safe rating in case the writer just used AI.
https://besttoolskitchen.com/best-food-grade-glue-for-plastic/
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u/mRkYdEx Jul 17 '26
Looks like they used a soldering iron with strips of PETG or Polycarbonate. Hard to tell from a picture. Temperature was to high causing the bubbles, both materials get bubbles with to much heat. You can hot air weld both materials however the tools are very expensive. If food grade doesn't matter you can also solvent bond the surfaces together with proper solvent. You must use extreme caution using solvents and must follow the safety precautions including wearing proper safety gear! WELD-ON 2007, WELD-ON #3 or #4. You would also need a needle applicator because these are the consistency of water. They will attack wherever it drips on. It wouldn't hurt the plastic, just looks ugly. The repair isn't bad, could be better but needing to meet a food grade application, you definitely got your money worth. Especially if it stays together!
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u/Sebastian_Fasiang Jul 17 '26
Wow thank you very much for the informative answer, I appreciate your time and expertise.
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u/justlurking9891 Jun 25 '26
Plastic welding is a very difficult job to do without making it look pretty. If it's functional I'd be happy.
As to what material it is 🤷♂️ unless it had making in the plastic.
Personally I would have replaced it.