What kind of plastic is used on a 2001 Elite?

[bryanska]

I need to mend body panels on my Elite, but don't know the type of plastic.

There seems to be two types:

The painted plastic seems to be a type of ABS, but I can't get my ABS welder rods to stick.

The tough foot panels and bumpers - are these LDPE?

There are no markings on any of them to specify plastic types. I am a materials scientist, so these things matter to me

[Clivester]

The painted plastic seems to be a type of ABS, but I can't get my ABS welder rods to stick.

The tough foot panels and bumpers - are these LDPE?

That's always been my assumption, but hard to confirm without proper analysis. I think aging and UV hardens to ABS surface over time on these older scooters.

Do you have a scrap panel from a spree. You could scrape off the paint and cut thin strips off to make you own rods. It may work better than the bought rods. Another possibility - dab some acetone over the area to be welded and allow a little to soak in. It should soften up the ABS surface a bit and make it more accepting of a weld.

Clive