Is a hot staple gun good enough for interior switch repair?

Question

The indicator stalk on my '88 Accord snapped at the base.

For the life of me I cannot find a RHD replacement.

I've tried all sorts of different glues and adhesives to try and fix it but since the crack is a leverage point it always ends up breaking again.

Yesterday I stumbled across hot staple guns.

Would these be suitable for fixing something like this where there is (seems to be) a high strain point?

EDIT Added picture. Unfortunately the only one I had was after an attempted repair with glue. The metal part you see is a thin piece of steel I sunk into the plastic in an attempt to strengthen it.

Answer 1

Based on my previous exposure to this type of repair system and confirmed for your convenience in a YouTube video, the hot staple gun is aimed at repairing and strengthening flat surfaces of some thickness. If the stalk has snapped close to the column, you may not be able to get the tool in a suitable position for securing the insert. Additionally, it would be optimal to secure at least four inserts spaced around the perimeter of the stalk.

A photo would be useful to better identify the problem area but an image search using terms "1988 honda accord turn signal stalk" presents a reasonable collection of images of the mechanism. One such image is from an expired eBay posting, which means this image is attributed to the search, not to the original creator:

As I believe this tool isn't particularly well suited, consider to sleeve the stalk. This would require a reasonably substantial length of open area on both sides of the split. It should be a minimum of 1.5 times the diameter, but aeronautical engineering specifications don't necessarily apply here. An aluminum tube of the correct inside diameter placed over the pieces, liberally slathered with epoxy, would provide increased strength in comparison to simple surface adhesive.

If possible also consider to internally sleeve the stalk. Use a smaller diameter tube (obviously) and cut a slit if needed to pass wiring through. Using the same 1.5 times diameter reference, the length provides support. Using both inside and outside sleeves will give you best results.

Answer 2

If you need something truly strong, you can use the JB Weld epoxy tape (FiberWeld). It works well on applications like this. The caveat - it isn't very pretty. But it will hold. I would probably quick-set epoxy the broken ends with a small amount, so you know it is lined up properly, and when that sets, wrap it with the FiberWeld tape.

Also eBay for a replacement part!