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by nkurz 1278 days ago
I'm dubious about the GP's suggestion to use epoxy and fiberglass on this. Epoxy usually doesn't bond well to polyethylene or polypropylene, especially if it's flexing: https://support.jamestowndistributors.com/hc/en-us/articles/.... Are these laundry hampers made from something else?

Answering your actual question, if you are on the US West Coast, TAP Plastics might be a good source if they are near you: https://www.tapplastics.com/departments/fiberglass. If you are elsewhere in the US, either TAP or https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/product/fiberglass-and... online would be good places to start. If you are non-US, you'll need to provide more info and hopefully someone else can advise.

2 comments

Yes, fiberglass won't stick well to polypropilene.

It is however possible to do this kind of repair with fiberglass if you drill a few holes just over and under the crack.

The resin will get into the holes and keep the inner and outer fiberglass layers together, besides acting as a sort of nails transmitting the forces applied to the basket to the outer fiberglass layers.

But unless you are familiar with fiberglass and have the materials from another project, it makes little sense, you can have the same result (with the same technique of drilling a few holes) using metal epoxy putty, the kind that you cut a piece from a stick and knead/mix in your hands.

Nothing sticks really well to polypropylene, unfortunately. But the fiberglass cloth lets you spread the adhesive out across a wider area. You can use whatever epoxy might work (somewhat) better with polypropylene with the same cloth.