How To: Repair Cracked Washer Fluid Bottle

[Mark D]

Now it's bugging me to know what kind of plastic the bottle is made out of. I searched and found this simple chemistry class experiment.

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_...tification.pdf

Apparently PP is less dense than HDPE and will float on vegetable oil, but HDPE will sink.

If someone wants to cut a small chunk of plastic off of their tank and see if it floats in oil that would be one way to confirm what it's made of.

[stevedmc]

Bill Robertson has two windshield washer tanks in good condition he is not using. Unfortunately Bill has been permabanned from this forum so no one can send him a PM about buying them.

[Dangermouse]

Somewhat related to my As-Seen on TV suggestion, I came across this on another forum: PlastiDip



http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

Brush or spray on plastic coating: $6 a can at Home Depot. Maybe worth a try

[Spittybug]

I may give that one last try.... I'm just not sure that any exterior coating is going to work. Ultimately hydraulic pressure wins (look at the Grand Canyon).

[stevedmc]

Whats wrong with wrapping it in fiberglass? Surely layers of fiberglass would hold much better than some silly little as seen on TV product. Fiberglass kits are only $10 at Walmart.

[Dangermouse]

The first one was As-Seen-On-TV. The second is As-Seen-On-The-Internet which is obviously much better.

I think to be successful, the whole bottle would have to be coated. Just patching wouldn't work. It may just end up being an outer balloon.

If it is unsuccessful, the stuff just peels right off.

[stevedmc]

Too bad Bill has been permabanned. It definitely would be a lot easier and probably would be a lot cheaper just to buy one of his surplus bottles.

[Spittybug]

Steven Rice, it is not "too bad" that Bill Robertson has been banned for life. While I have had no problems with Bill in the limited one-on-one communications I have had with him, and in fact he has been quite helpful, it was his actions/attitude/behavior/demeanor/idiocy/belligerence on this board that ultimately resulted in his ban. Such is life. Move on. He does not need you keeping his "memory" alive at every opportunity.

I appreciate your bringing to my attention the fact that he has bottles and if I desire to make him an offer for such, I will. There are others with bottles that have privately offered to sell them. Rest assured I'm not losing sleep. Sometimes solving the problem is more fun than simply eliminating it.

Your martyrdom in the name of Bill Robertson is a mighty small ambition in life. I challenge you to give it up and become your own person.

Thanks for your concern.

[stevedmc]

I challenge you to give it up and become your own person.

It would be foolish to say that traveling to 27 countries, 6 continents, and 49 states has not made me my own person. I've tried to get others to visit North Korea with me, but for some reason people don’t want to go there.

If it were my bottle I would just wrap it in fiberglass.

About 6 months ago my Geo Metro fuel tank had a leak. I spent $10 on a fiberglass kit, sanded the tank, wrapped it, and problem was solved.

Personally, I wouldn’t bother buying one of Bill's washer fluid tanks when you can fix your existing tank for $10.

[Mark D]

I was at the auto parts store yesterday and came across a kit from Permatex for repairing plastic washer bottles. It comes with a small section of fiberglass material and some black goopy resin that apparently is designed to bond to the washer bottle plastic.

Website here:
http://www.permatexrepair.com/product/plastic

Instructions here:
http://www.permatexrepair.com/docs/PlasticTank.pdf

Can purchase at any auto zone, advance auto, napa, O'Reilly, etc for under 10 bucks. It might be worth a shot to try if all other options have failed.