But why would you post this website? Aren't you afraid they won't sell to you anymore? Nope. When they decided to "offer" me another (badly designed/manufactured) rack for $50, that is when I decided that this company isn't getting another penny from me. I went out and bought a LOT of metal epoxy, and was determined to repair the rack myself. I've already done the research on the best epoxys to use, and just to be safe I bought three different kinds. Here are the amazon links in order from most epoxy used to least epoxy used to repair the rack:Protective Coating 87770 PC-7 Multi-Purpose Paste Epoxy, 1/2-Pound, Charcoal Gray J-B Weld 8280 Original - Professional Size Steel Reinforced Epoxy - 10 oz Permatex 84209 PermaPoxy 4 Minute Multi-Metal Epoxy, Two 1 oz. Tubes The steps I took were as follows - Don't skip the following step, it's important: Before I applied the epoxy, i took a blade from my hacksaw and scratched up the surface of both the top and bottom part of the racks as much as I could, basically anywhere the epoxy went, I scratched the surface HARD, when I was done it looked like someone was angry at the bottom of my rack and decided to key it for 30 minutes. After I scratched it up, I vacuumed the scratch flakes away, then I used painter's tape and stuck it and pulled it away from the scratched surface repeatedly, this is to pick up any stray or stuck scratch flakes off the surface. - I laid out the epoxy on the top part of the rack (the part that grips the battery) then i lowered the rest of the rack on top of it and let it dry a little. - After letting it dry a little bit, I added more epoxy to the sides, as you can see I applied an "overkill" amount. To be honest this is my first time using epoxy so I'm not sure how strong it will hold, but I wanted to be DAMN SURE it wasn't going to break again. I figured better overkill now than be sorry later. Here is a side image, you can see the consistency of the three separate epoxies. Here is a more angled look, you can see that I even covered the "holes" that were in the side of the rack, this is because I wanted more surface area for the epoxy to "grip" the bottom of the rack. Another top view, looks ugly right? Don't worry, we'll fix that in a little bit with some mat flat black paint. Here is the last shot before I hit it with some paint, notice how I was careful not to get too much epoxy on the screws/nuts, just in case. Here is how it looked after I hit it with some mat flat black paint. It was purchased for $2 at the store. It looks shiny and reflective but this is because I took the picture right after I painted it. Its much less noticeable now. Here is a top-down view of the fully repaired and painted rack. I waited 5 or 6 days before riding the bike just to give the epoxy some time to fully cure. |