Oh Gawd that's funny.
And it's all fixed. Too bad I did the deed prior to reading MOB's post. I guess I can go back on it and hit it with heat now that I think about it. Nice write up MOB, thanks. Remember kids, say no to Crack.
The gum in the pic was added for increased stiffness after the initial road test following the repair. That will have to hold until I can get a torch.
you really need to go back in and 'smooth' the hole you drilled; you can see clearly how the plastic has some 'chipping', and small irregularities from the drill bit 'popping' some small edges creating mini fractures....that will likely propagate also... get some 100 grit ( or finer) sand paper, and wrap it around the end of a pencil tip, creating a 'cone shaped' sanding tool... stick that in the hole, from both sides, and rotate it to smooth those micro cracks and chipping until they are smooth, and 'frosty' looking. Thos tiny fractures are where further cracks develop, the same thing is done when drilling holes in glass, like aquariums and stuff (where i was told about sanding the edges)... very important step. The propane torch thing kinda accomplishes it, and anneals the plastic at the same time. (I actually have a small butane micro torch, used for delicate soldering on jewelry and stuff, has a pinpoint flame... works great...) .
Cee Bailey's always made their screens from a high quality Polycarbonate, aircraft grade stuff, and the micro-torch annealing thing was something i was told by a technician that specialized in that Polycarbonate repair stuff... same guy explained about trying to drill poly like that, and how important it was to have a sharp bit, and heat the spot immediately before drilling, to soften the plastic, preventing the spawling and chipping (he even suggested just using a piece of very thin wall tubing, heated red hot, and plunging it thru instead of drilling, then carefully sanding the excess stuff off, after it cooled.
I never tried using a solvent on Polycarbonate like the screen is made of, not sure if acetone would have the effect, so i can't suggest "chemically welding", I'd really be careful on lexan, as the wrong solvent will cause the material to 'craze' (forming a bazilion tiny surface cracks) and break. I do know some solvents do work great for many acrylics, like is used in aquariums, but there are so many different compounds of plastics, that are similar, but during the forming process where it's heated, and molded and shaped the molecular structure is altered.
love the chewing gum thing tho...
there's a bit about Lexan, and stuff I mentioned here, for reference, so you don't think I'm making all this up....
http://www.plasticgenius.com/2009/03/repairing-crack-in-plexiglass.htmljust remember, Lexan and common plexiglass are very different materials.
https://www.cutplasticsheeting.co.uk/blog/uncategorized/how-to-glue-polycarbonate/