Heating armor in oven

[Guest jedislayer5000]

some of the pieces on my kit, mainly the shins so far, really dont want to fit together lol, when i hold the fronts, the backs open about 8 inches, and same if i hold the backs the front opens, i heard an idea from someone about using an oven, or a heat gun to make the armor mold to fit... what i had as an idea is to tape up the armor tightly to exactly the shape i want it when the strips are glued on, and then put it in the oven at 350 for a few mins while taped, take it out and let it fully cool with the tape still on... now am i mistaken or would that not work perfectly for making the armor conform to that shape? what i would worry about is obviousley the armor melting or forming but in a bad way like some of the pieces such as the shoulder bells did in the originals and collapse lol... but i think if i had it resting on something soft like maybe a cold, wet towel (so it doesnt burn too lol) and only for a few mins if that would work? any input or ideas would be greatly appreciated thx!

[Amish Trooper]

I would use a scrap piece to see how long it takes to get pliable. But I don't know this seems risky.

[Guest jedislayer5000]

On 11/19/2010 at 1:29 PM, Amish Trooper said:

I would use a scrap piece to see how long it takes to get pliable. But I don't know this seems risky.

 

ya that would definitley be a good idea lol, but canadian tire has a heat gun ---- that i was thinking of getting, would have more control... i could test on a scrap piece to see how long it takes, then just tape up the legs and slowly go up and down the legs on low heat to meld it myself... only thing im afraid of is over heating and warping same as the oven,,, but its worth a shot

Edited December 5, 2020 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

[Guest jedislayer5000]

also i could use the heat gun for shaping the chest, cod, back and kidney pieces... they all stick out from my body about 4 inches on each side so unless i heavily pad them lol they will need to be shaped... ill need to pad the inside of the biceps and bracers also since i have toons of room left when i put them on

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Heat gun will work, but keep it on low and moving the whole time.

 

Don't use the oven, thats a disaster waiting happen.

[Guest jedislayer5000]

Heat gun will work, but keep it on low and moving the whole time.

 

Don't use the oven, thats a disaster waiting happen.

 

ok cool, i will read up on some tutorials first from other people, and ya i think ill take your advice on the oven lol

[Guest jedislayer5000]

oh another question about the heat gun i had is.. will it work on my already glued pieces? the glue is fully cured, 24 hours for the bracers and 48 hours for the biceps... so will it melt the glue or can the glue stand up to it? and if i do melt the glue a bit will it re-dry?

[john danter]

Dude what armour are you sticking together and is it possible you've stuck them together wrong?

Eg left legs right half onto right legs right half? That kind of thing

If it's accurate armour you may have done this?

 

Hair drier is always best as it won't ever get hot enough to mark your armour

Other types of heat will. Oven, heat gun etc

 

When it starts to bend, leave it be as it holds heat for a few seconds an doesn't need anymore until it goes stiff again

 

Maybe get elastic webbing to hold the shape you want, use the hairdryer to soften the plastic and when your happy use cold water asap to 'freeze' the shape

[john danter]

Depends what glue you used

Hot glue will melt but ABS glue won't as its fused the parts together

[Guest jedislayer5000]

Dude what armour are you sticking together and is it possible you've stuck them together wrong?

Eg left legs right half onto right legs right half? That kind of thing

If it's accurate armour you may have done this?

 

Hair drier is always best as it won't ever get hot enough to mark your armour

Other types of heat will. Oven, heat gun etc

 

When it starts to bend, leave it be as it holds heat for a few seconds an doesn't need anymore until it goes stiff again

 

Maybe get elastic webbing to hold the shape you want, use the hairdryer to soften the plastic and when your happy use cold water asap to 'freeze' the shape

 

no they go together fine, theyre definitley the right pieces i triple checked lol, its just some spots are tight and the edges dont quite butt unless forced to, i just dont want it popping apart from the pressure in the future is all... and i used e-6000 glue, my suit is hips not abs

[john danter]

Ok, well thats cool then.

Odd thats its not lining up ok though?

 

I don't know if E6000 responds to heat. Give it a go on a test piece. I think it might as it's not really a solvent, it's an adhesive

 

A heat gun would be ok if it's a variable one and you take your time. I'm just worried you'll blister the HIPS and possibly get orange peel from it getting too hot.

Watch out if its HIPS too as HIPS is less elastic than ABS and might crack under the strain you put on it.

 

Try a hairdryer / heat gun evenly over the area you want to bend otherwise you might get creases

[Guest jedislayer5000]

ok thx for the input, im going to give a hairdryer a go and i will glue a test piece to see if the glue will melt or not

[Obievon[501st]]

When it starts to bend, leave it be as it holds heat for a few seconds an doesn't need anymore until it goes stiff again

 

 

 

John is right on the money here.

 

When it gets hot enough to bend (which doesn't take much) it holds the heat and will get out of hand if you keep the heat on. You defiantly want to keep the gun moving and not on one spot. Wear leather gloves, and remember when your heating it up there is nothing to support it or what I mean is there is nothing to give it shape.

 

In the vacuum forming process that made your armor there is a mold that gives the piece its shape. So the plastic shrinks or molds to that shape. When you heat it back up with nothing to support it, it no longer has anything to give it shape. It will just melt and make a dent and get out of shape fast.

 

Okay, what I do, and in your case, if your trying to get the pieces to come together better is tape them together. Then slowly with the heat gun on low heat the whole area keeping the gun moving. Let it cool. Take the tape off. See if it has remained in shape. If not repeat the process.

This takes time and you will have to be patient. It will slowly keep the shape you need. I also, using leather gloves and move my hand on the inside and make sure that it has not sagged or lost its shape while heating.

This is a long and very tricky process if your pieces don't want to line up. I know, I just finished my TD armor which was made by VT. The armor is nice ABS armor but it did require a lot of messaging to get it into shape.

 

There is another way, I have heard of using hot water. I have not tried this technique but I have read about others doing it to get the armor to shape.

I'm sure someone around here has done or has more information on that technique.

Good luck and remember don't rush it.

[Guest jedislayer5000]

When it starts to bend, leave it be as it holds heat for a few seconds an doesn't need anymore until it goes stiff again

 

 

 

John is right on the money here.

 

When it gets hot enough to bend (which doesn't take much) it holds the heat and will get out of hand if you keep the heat on. You defiantly want to keep the gun moving and not on one spot. Wear leather gloves, and remember when your heating it up there is nothing to support it or what I mean is there is nothing to give it shape.

 

In the vacuum forming process that made your armor there is a mold that gives the piece its shape. So the plastic shrinks or molds to that shape. When you heat it back up with nothing to support it, it no longer has anything to give it shape. It will just melt and make a dent and get out of shape fast.

 

Okay, what I do, and in your case, if your trying to get the pieces to come together better is tape them together. Then slowly with the heat gun on low heat the whole area keeping the gun moving. Let it cool. Take the tape off. See if it has remained in shape. If not repeat the process.

This takes time and you will have to be patient. It will slowly keep the shape you need. I also, using leather gloves and move my hand on the inside and make sure that it has not sagged or lost its shape while heating.

This is a long and very tricky process if your pieces don't want to line up. I know, I just finished my TD armor which was made by VT. The armor is nice ABS armor but it did require a lot of messaging to get it into shape.

 

There is another way, I have heard of using hot water. I have not tried this technique but I have read about others doing it to get the armor to shape.

I'm sure someone around here has done or has more information on that technique.

Good luck and remember don't rush it.

 

great, thx for the info.. hot water, interesting... i tried dipping a piece of cover strip in boiling water for like a minute and it had no flexability whatsoever lol

[Locitus[Admin]]

When I attached my TD end caps to my pipe I had them for a few minutes in boiling water, and then (with dish gloves on) pushed them onto the pipe end. Worked like a charm and now they are pretty much impossible to remove without a LOT of force. But I'd be careful doing this to any other part of the armour.

[Quebectrooper]

I successfully bent many parts of my armors on top of my oven (the round parts where you boil things not in the oven). If you do it wrong you'll melt or burn the plastic. There's no difference with a heat gun. If you don't practice you'll damage it!

[Guest jedislayer5000]

I successfully bent many parts of my armors on top of my oven (the round parts where you boil things not in the oven). If you do it wrong you'll melt or burn the plastic. There's no difference with a heat gun. If you don't practice you'll damage it!

 

thats a good idea too, i think ill try the hot water method since so many people like that one ant it would be much harder to damage the armor.... another question i had if anyone can point me in the right direction is about closing the shin backs, i mean once the front is glued and dried, how will i open the back? wont it break off the cover strip in the front it i do? or should i not permanently glue my shins at all, just glue cover strips to one side on the front and one side on the back and then velcro the remaining side on front and back? any pics or diagrams of what people have done would be great

[pandatrooper[TK]]

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Edited December 5, 2020 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

[Guest jedislayer5000]

On 11/20/2010 at 3:19 AM, pandatrooper said:

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great terry, exactly what i was looking for

[Guest jedislayer5000]

there was some interesting glue i saw at the hobby shop the other day that i thought may come in handy for the cover strips... i forget the name right now but it is supposedly good for filling gaps, and it is sort of like a super glue which dries in seconds... im thinking of using this for the sides of the cover strips where its lifted up a little bit due to the shape of the armor... its still glued there just that the glue is visible a little because of lifting, i could inject this glue on the sides and just paint over it so it looks seamless, ill attach a pic of what i mean by the gap

[seantrooper[TK]]

i wouldn't go seamless as the originals weren't, they looked dodgy as

[Guest jedislayer5000]

i wouldn't go seamless as the originals weren't, they looked dodgy as

 

thats true, but its also a question of durability... im going for an ANH look as in the armor is the exact same shape etc but a fresh off the assemble line look

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

don't worry about it...

 

paint will fill.

[Guest jedislayer5000]

don't worry about it...

 

paint will fill.

 

thats good to hear lol, it is alot of layers so i thought it might.. wonder if i should still glue or if paint will re inforce it a little too?