Introduction: Fixing My Vacuum Cleaner With Sugru
The night before Northackton's Sugru build night, I snapped rather than pulled the nozzle out of my Dyson. It came apart in two pieces where it should not normally :-( Bother.
It sort of went back together, but one of the plastic holes that a catch goes into was cracked. Sugru seemed like the ideal reinforcement
Step 1: Mixing the Right Colour
Newer packets of Sugru (I had a really old pack before the build night) come with a mixing chart. So, being as we had plenty I thought I'd try to match the colour. I didn't worry too much about quantities but the lightest grey specified on the packet was 40% black, 60% white.
I started using a small piece of black (5-10%) and mixed it with a chunk of white. After initial marbling* a bit of kneading speads the colour evenly. I added a bit more black until I got the right colour. In the end I guess I used perhaps about 20% black, the remainder white to match my Dyson's grey exterior.
* I'm sure there's a use for marbled Sugru, but I wonder how well it will bond to itself unmixed?
With nothing else planned, I tried wrapping the remaining Sugru in cling film to see how well it survived overnight in the fridge once opened and resealed. Results inconculsive. One piece hardened, one piece was still usable.
Step 2: Applying Sugru
The plastic parts went back together with a click. This sounded promising but I didn't think the crack was going to stand much time without reinforcement. I dolloped a bunch of Sugru across the crack but this resulted in somewhat of a mess. As this hose of the vacuum cleaner slots into the handle I didn't want too much extra Sugru bulging out.
To clean up my repair I used a piece of the foil packet I'd cut off when opening the Sugru to cover the bit I did want to keep while using my fingers to remove the excess. This worked surprisingly well and only needed a small touch up after removal to make the Sugru underneath look nice and smooth again.
Step 3: Leave to Harden
I carefully put the vacuum cleaner back together without anything touching the Sugru repair and left it overnight...and the next day (Any excuse for not tidying up after myself.... honest, I couldn't use the vacuum cleaner until it had fully hardened).
Eventually, I remembered I should check the results and found a good hard repair. Have now tidied up and it seems to work. Jobs a good-en.
Thanks Sugru - Sugru probably wouldn't have come to mind without the hack day being imminent.
Participated in the
Fix & Repair Contest