Bob wrote:
Hi,

Have a "patching" job, and not sure what to use.
Would be most grateful for any suggestions.

Had to take apart a kids toy, plastic housing, to fix the motor
inside.
They glued the housing, no screws, so the case is now fairly
"butchered," with some cracks, etc., as a result of my taking it
apart.
I can use epoxy on the cracks just fine, but the case now also has
some approx., 1 inch (some 1.5 inch) holes and cutouts.

Epoxy doesn't seem correct for this, as I think it's too big a space
to cover.

I can put a piece of wood behind the hole when I'm patching it
to give some grab to the patching compound, and minimize the depth of
the hole.

What should I use other than epoxy for these "holes" ?
Again, it's a plastic case.

Would want it to "set-up" Hard (like epoxy would)

Any other thoughts on doing the patching would be most appreciated.

Assuming epoxy sticks to it, just use that but thicken it so it doesn't run.
A good thickener is fumed silica (trade name Cab-o-sil or Aerosil). It is a
very, very fine white powder, turns more or less clear after mixed in; add
it to some uncatalyzed epoxy, stir til well mixed, add more of it or epoxy
as needed to get a spreadable material (about like vaseline or peanut
butter), then catalyze and mix well. You can add some mechanical strength by
tapering the hole edges at an angle on both sides with a file.

If you use wood to back it up you won't get the wood off after the epoxy
sets up; if you want to be able to remove the wood, put a piece of clear
packaging tape on the epoxy side, and all will peel off easily.