Chicago Electric - Item#60662 Plastic Welding Kit

My wife damaged her 2006 Honda Accord front bumper about a year ago and I just got around buying plastic welder. I ended up getting this Chicago Electric - Item#60662 Welding Kit form Harbor Fright. It’s your standard hand held 80 watt iron type welder you see at various websites. It has no bells or whistles like the fancier units that use forced air, or like the ones you can dial in the heat on. But for around 15 dollars, after coupons, it does a decent job of melting “welding” various plastics like TPO, TEO and PP. 

The kit comes with black plastic strips, which is the same plastic used in “SOME” bumpers. I say some because this plastic will not work on polyurethane plastic. You have to get the correct plastic rods for your application. See Link to Plastic Types. The kit comes with a metal stand to protect your surface; it comes with a steal mesh screen that you can embedded into the plastic, and a metal brush to clean off the tip. The green LED light comes on when it is plugged in, letting you know it’s heating up.

Here is a video of the welder in action

After a few minutes you’re ready to start welding plastics. After using the welder for a while, I would recommend using it sparingly and to give it time to cool down between long repairs. I have read, that some people have complained that the 3 screws fall off because the plastic handle that keeps the metal heating element together over heats and melts. I have not had that problem; then again my repairs have taken less the 20 to 30 minutes.

All in all it’s a cheap fix for various items that if not repaired would cost you much more to replace

The Tool Review Guy Recomendation of Buy