Plastic putty or filler to fix the edge of a laptop? Best material?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I got a good deal on a used laptop (Lenovo X270). It works fine, has FHD screen, 8GB RAM, etc., and I already have one I use daily. The newer one is sort of a back-up in case I have problems with my main one.

But…it has a large chip out of the side between the SD card slot and the network jack. It’s on the upper edge and is probably 1/2" to 3/4" in length. This is not a crack, but a missing section. I’d like to fill it in, if only for cosmetic reasons.

What would you suggest to use as a filler? Would JB Weld be a good choice? I’d like to be able to apply a piece and then smooth it down to create the a right-angle edge. I could then sand it to a sharp edge. If I could smooth it down enough WITHOUT sanding, then I could probably even apply a slight texture to match the rest of the plastic befor it hardens. It would also be nice if I could come close to the graphite color of the plastic, either by using a gray filler or tinting the filler.

I’m open to ideas. IRL, I probably won’t use this laptop much. If my main laptop dies, I could even probably swap the motherboard from this newer one to my other one so the chipped area isn’t even a concern.

TL;DR: Looking for a suitable filler to repair a 1/2" chipped area on the edge of a graphite-colored laptop.

2

After reading only the subject line, JB Weld was the first thing I thought of. Probably because I recently used it to repair a microwave oven door handle that became detached from the door.

3

I will nominate Sugru. You can get it in grey.

4

I had never heard of Sugru. Not sure exactly what my laptop is made of (ABS?), so not sure if this would stick. Maybe somebody smarter than me knows?

OTOH, there would be virtually no strength required of the repair. It would be 95% cosmetic.

5

From out in left field:
You could go on Facebook, Craigslist, eBay, what have you and find a Lenovo x270 being sold dirt cheap for parts and swap out the offending casing. I’m not familiar with laptops so I may be spitting in the wind. You’ll know whether you could accomplish this type of fix.

6

Id go with JBWeld, it’s dark grey, tough, easily smoothed.

The other alternative is crushed up ramen and krazy glue. You can fix anything with it.

7

This is EXACTLY why I bought this particular laptop…as a spare/parts unit for my good one. It cost 1/4 what my other one did. I just figured that I could go ahead and try to repair the case. Who knows? It might be the case of my good one that I end up breaking.

I might add that the X270 has an interesting set of features that has made it my favorite “sitting right there by the couch laptop” of all time.

8

Another vote for JB Weld, or get a repair kit like what you’d use on auto body, such as Bondo.

9

Sugru is basically silicone and would certainly stick to the hard plastic well. It’s great for some applications, but it’s somewhat flexible after curing.

JB Weld would be best, I think. The putty in a tube turns dark gray after mixing/kneading and is rock hard after curing.