Sealing (hobby) iron Does "PAM" work?

[gazmosis[501st]]

I have found that a sealing/hobby iron is an invaluable tool to recreate returns, match halves, and fabricate parts to a certain extent. However, I have also fond that the iron will stick to the plastic if kept in the same place too long. I tried a "sock" for the iron's surface, but now I get left with an imprint of the fabric melted into the plastic.

Will spraying a non-stick cooking spray like "pam" onto the surface help the iron not stick to the plastic?

[dashrazor]

i have never used a electric sealing iron as i dont own one personally.. i have used a soldering iron and propane torch heated knife to form plastic. keeping you iron moving at all times should (in theory) prevent sticking.. it just takes longer. i am sure somebody with experience with this tool will chime in as well... i wouldn't use Pam or any chemical lubricant myself as the surface of the plastic will literally boil and likely cause discoloring.

 

keep the iron moving at all times and apply minimal pressure.. JMHO

[SCTrooper[TK]]

when using the hobby iron, I found that you dont want to keep the iron in constant contact with the surface or it will melt really fast. I just use padding motion and go back and forth alittle at a time, it worked well for me.

[iconoclasta_88[501st]]

Yeah, just move it back and forth and not keep it in the same place for more than a fraction of a second. It is slower, but will prevent the plastic to melt and stick to the iron.

 

Saludos.

[matt black]

I used a heat sealing iron on my build and found that melting is pretty unavoidable. At least to the degree that you can see some sort of re-shaping has been done. Any damage or melting is pretty easy to fix by wet sanding and polishing.

[gazmosis[501st]]

I also may have the temp too high... I will try a couple different approaches on some scrap. Thanks to all who chimed in!!!

[gazmosis[501st]]

Update.....I dialed down the iron from a 2 3/4 setting to a 2 1/4 setting plus I removed the "sock" and that seemed to be the ticket. It bent the plastic without leaving any marks!!! Thanks again to all!!!

[xaoslord]

Good info Steve! This will be handy on my build.

[89Batman[TK]]

I know that Billy (Billhag) swears by the use of talcum powder on the sock when he's modifying armour with a modelling iron.

Seems to work pretty good when you see the fantastic results he gets.

[gazmosis[501st]]

I just thought I would post a pic of what I did after the re-adjustment of the temp. I needed to re-align the top of the bicep joint line.Before

After

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

I just thought I would post a pic of what I did after the re-adjustment of the temp. I needed to re-align the top of the bicep joint line.Before

After

 

That's a pretty snazzy looking redo

 

-Eric

[NastyNoah[TK]]

Most impressive !