What plastic is the Nikon Coolpix camera body made up of (why did glue melt it?)

Hi

You can buy CA glue which is safe to use on plastics - try a model aircraft hobby store.

Whether or not it is safe to use on your particular plastic is of course a matter for experiment - but it's probably worth trying.

Regards KGB

Jeanette Guire fired this volley in news:CtDQi.58491$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr12.news.prodigy.net:

They recommend against PE and PP plastics because epoxy just won't adhere to them -- both are _extremely_ resistant to solvents, and probably wouldn't soften in the presence of any chemical you could obtain at retail.

The CA "fogging" is because CA cements sublime at room temperatures, and recondense on adjacent surfaces -- where they ultimately cure in the form of a white film.

The only two plastics of which I'm aware that might be affected by the plasticizers in some epoxies would be polystyrene and perhaps acetate.

Most likely, the plastic is a styrene/polybutadiene copolymer, which is sensitive to acetone, xylene, toluene, naptha, and PVC plasticizers, and which is one of the two most common injection-moulding plastics in use.

The problem must be with the specific epoxy you used. I'm not familiar with which plasticizers are present in which brands, but would suggest you use one with different properties. For instance, if you used a clear

5-minute epoxy (which tends to the soft side when cured), try using a pigmented slow-cure type that cures hard, and try an entirely different brand, as well.

LLoyd

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" fired this volley in news:Xns99CA52959A408lloydspmindspringcom@216.168.3.70:

I should have mentioned this: If the plastic _remains_ soft, then the plasticizer is probably PVC or an adipate (organic oil). Dioctyl adipate is often used to soften rubbers and styrenes, and its effect is permanent. You won't get the plastic to re-harden after "drying" for a spell. IF the plasticizer was PVC, you can expect it to re-harden in a few weeks.

LLoyd

breaks

broken

paperclip

tripod

epoxy

themselves

Polystyrene garbage. A step from even rotten polycarbonate.

That must be what happened. The entire inside of the battery compartment turned a milky white and changed from a smooth surface to a slightly rougher surface. Even the yellow plastic sticker showing which way to put the batteries seemed to get fogged up. Wierd.

I thank you for your help because I have only one camera to fix but there are tens of thousands of others out there who will benefit from choosing the RIGHT glue to fix the engineering flaw in the Nikon Coolpix series of cameras.

This is good to know for the next person who does this repair

I used the Locktite 5-minute quick-set two ingredient epoxy as shown at

For the record, the next person who tries the Nikon Coolpix camera repair should use pigmented 30-minute expoxy.

Thanks for helping all of us!

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glue melt it?)

rec.crafts.metalworking:921346

The plastic seemed to only "melt" where the epoxy was liquid. I only fixed the Nikon Coolpix 3100 camera yesterday so I don't know if the plastic will re-harden but it seems OK now.

It was just anywhere there were drops of two-part epoxy, the body melted a bit so I was worried the whole body would collapse.

I wish Nikon actually made good cameras or that the reviewers would actually test the cameras ... if that were the case, this problem wouldn't exist for the hundreds of us who have this problem.

It wasn't a cheap camera either. I fault the reviewers at dpreview and Steve's DigiCam for very faulty reporting.

That begs the question of which is the best substance to glue a paperclip onto the camera body to fix the infamous Nikon Coolpix camera flaws?

(snipped because it's good for all mankind!)

Jeanette,

Just a SWAG, but it could be that the plastic seems to melt due to the reaction heat of the epoxy. ie: it DID melt.

Not that it's all that hot in the absolute sense, but the location is very concentrated.

Thin thermo forming plastic don't take much to deform.

If it has stabilized, it's going to be ok.

BTW, the paper clip latch (Metal work, guys!) was a stroke of pure genius.

I filed that one - just in case...

Richard

Even weirder, this "feature" is used in developing fingerprints in criminal investigations.

R

While we're at it, I have sunglasses with a broken frame, CA won't bond, any ideas? /thanks / mark

Hey, you know, this might be the answer! Thanks. It did seem to only happen in the beginning, while the epoxy mix was still wet. I think this is what happened. At least it makes sense. Thanks!

PVC? PVC is the plastic, not the plasticizer?

Wow!

Why in the world didn't you just send it back to Nikon. They would have probably chucked that one and sent you another. And another. And another.

Steve

At the risk of sounding a bit snotty, let's have a bit more info.

Frame material, specific adhesive, other relevant info?

plastic is clearly too weak for that loop.

I'd repair it with paperclip wire melted into place. zig zag the wire for better grip on the plastic, then glue. GC Bond (used in electronics repair) would be fine and doesn't hurt most plastics.

Richard J Kinch fired this volley in news:Xns99CA70A8F1174someconundrum@216.196.97.131:

PVC is often used as a plasticizer in other more brittle plastics. It's most of what's in plastic fishing worms, and what made them dissolve tackle boxes until the makers hit on using polypropylene instead of styrene.

LLoyd

Jeanette Guire fired this volley in news:hMKQi.10808$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr14.news.prodigy.net:

If it's styrene for sure, then ordinary Testor's Model Cement is the ideal fix.

LLoyd