I thought I would post this here, and see if others do the same thing. I have gone through a lot of trial and error to perfect a process to repair o-matter frames, and this is where I have landed. Please leave feedback, add your suggestions, or tips and tricks.
It is not uncommon to get your hands on an o-matter frame that is broken. in fact, you can get some down right steals of a deal by doing it. But you got to put in the time, effort, and patience to bring them back to life.
I will use this pair of Canteens that I bought and have repaired.
First thing I do is super glue them together, and let it dry overnight. This is simply to hold them together for the next steps, and helps ensure the pieces line up across the break accurately.
Once that is done, i use my dremel and cut a groove across the break with a small spinning saw blade bit. In a later step i am going insert a pin into the groove I cut, so you want the groove to be deep enough to provide stability, and wide enough to fit the pin, but not be loose.
I cut my pins from small paperclips. I have tried many other things... braided steel cable, sewing pins, fishing line, all kinds of things. These small paperclips are small enough to fit easily with the groove created by the saw bit, rigid enough to provide stability, and flexible enough to let the frames bend naturally. It is not uncommon to have frames that have broken around the lens, so you want it to be strong and flexible. You may need to bend the pins a bit beforehand, so they follow the contour of the frame.
Once the pins are cut, i mix up a batch of JB Weld Cold Weld Steel Reinforced Epoxy. It has one of the highest tensile strengths of any glue on the market. I have tried other epoxies, plastic weld glues, cyanos, even cyanos with baking soda (great video on youtube about this). JB Weld is the strongest i have used.
Next I lay some JB Weld in the groove, push the pin into the groove nice and tight, and lay some more JB Weld over the top. Not too much, as you are going to have to sand it down later. Let it dry for 24 hours before trying to do anything with it.
After the 24 hours have past, sand it smooth. I start with a 300 grit to get the big lumps down, but be careful of the frames as you don't want to gouge into them. Next i start in with the 600 grit to get it smooth. To remove the scuff marks i finish off with 1200 grit.
Then the Bravery test. Test your work. Go ahead... test it. Twist it, turn it, pull at it. It will be just about as strong as the original o-matter. It will stretch and flex to put in some tight lenses in, and be strong enough for everyday wear.
I have tried this on Gascans, Fuel Cells, Batwolfs, Straight Jackets, Monster Dogs, Canteens, M Frames, you name it. It works for orbitals, temples, nose bridges, ear stems, everywhere i have tried so far.
Once they hold up to the bravery test, your frames are ready for painting.
Enjoy!
It is not uncommon to get your hands on an o-matter frame that is broken. in fact, you can get some down right steals of a deal by doing it. But you got to put in the time, effort, and patience to bring them back to life.
I will use this pair of Canteens that I bought and have repaired.
First thing I do is super glue them together, and let it dry overnight. This is simply to hold them together for the next steps, and helps ensure the pieces line up across the break accurately.
Once that is done, i use my dremel and cut a groove across the break with a small spinning saw blade bit. In a later step i am going insert a pin into the groove I cut, so you want the groove to be deep enough to provide stability, and wide enough to fit the pin, but not be loose.
I cut my pins from small paperclips. I have tried many other things... braided steel cable, sewing pins, fishing line, all kinds of things. These small paperclips are small enough to fit easily with the groove created by the saw bit, rigid enough to provide stability, and flexible enough to let the frames bend naturally. It is not uncommon to have frames that have broken around the lens, so you want it to be strong and flexible. You may need to bend the pins a bit beforehand, so they follow the contour of the frame.
Once the pins are cut, i mix up a batch of JB Weld Cold Weld Steel Reinforced Epoxy. It has one of the highest tensile strengths of any glue on the market. I have tried other epoxies, plastic weld glues, cyanos, even cyanos with baking soda (great video on youtube about this). JB Weld is the strongest i have used.
Next I lay some JB Weld in the groove, push the pin into the groove nice and tight, and lay some more JB Weld over the top. Not too much, as you are going to have to sand it down later. Let it dry for 24 hours before trying to do anything with it.
After the 24 hours have past, sand it smooth. I start with a 300 grit to get the big lumps down, but be careful of the frames as you don't want to gouge into them. Next i start in with the 600 grit to get it smooth. To remove the scuff marks i finish off with 1200 grit.
Then the Bravery test. Test your work. Go ahead... test it. Twist it, turn it, pull at it. It will be just about as strong as the original o-matter. It will stretch and flex to put in some tight lenses in, and be strong enough for everyday wear.
I have tried this on Gascans, Fuel Cells, Batwolfs, Straight Jackets, Monster Dogs, Canteens, M Frames, you name it. It works for orbitals, temples, nose bridges, ear stems, everywhere i have tried so far.
Once they hold up to the bravery test, your frames are ready for painting.
Enjoy!
