Is heat bending armour viable?

[chiefbonan]

Is using a heat gun carefully a viable way to fit armor parts? thanks

[wook1138[TK]]

31 minutes ago, WawusTheWalrus said:

Is using a heat gun carefully a viable way to fit armor parts? thanks

You can do it.  In some cases it is the best bet, but in others you will want to use a hot water bath.  Larger or more gentle re-shaping is tough to do with the heat gun as it is very easy to overheat one spot on the armour (and then you will have trouble).  For most reshaping I recommend putting the plastic in boiling hot water for a minute or so, taking it out and bend into shape, and then run the plastic under cold water.  

[T-Jay[TK]]

Not saying Greg is wrong here, but be careful with using hot water: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/30078-warning-to-anyone-assembling-rs-props-pvc-armor/

 

In my opinion, both methods (hot water and heat gun) can be good to solve the problem. It all depends on the situation and armor part(s) you are working on.

Maybe you can also use a simple belt to wrap around the part and leave it for a few days to get into the desired shape...

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I use a heat gun but after A LOT of practice, ABS plastic is a very strange animal to heat and because it's under stress as it has been heated and pulled it can easily let go and revert back to it's former shape. A lol of people use hot water bath's which is a little kinder but still you have to be careful especially with pieces that are curved and under stress.

 

Practice with scrap pieced of ABS plastic is a must for the uninitiated 

[ABS80]

11 hours ago, WawusTheWalrus said:

Is using a heat gun carefully a viable way to fit armor parts? thanks

BE VERY CAREFUL!!!!  theres a point of no return, as soon you heat too much plastic will warp beyond repair, especialy if its ABS theres alot of rubber content and will shrink/warp

 

Mark (AP)

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Hi, as @gmrhodes13 pointed, It would be a geat start:  Practice with scrap pieced of ABS plastic is a must for the uninitiated  

 

 

Good Luck mate  

[joby619[TK]]

I had good luck using the hot water method on my Anovos ANH build.  Here is my build thread:

 

 

https://imgur.com/VLfUU7r
 

 

[Darth Lars[501st]]

ABS (or HiPS or styrene) must be bent very gently. I have learned to do it in iterations:

Heat it while counting how many seconds that you apply heat.  Then bend the part with your hands more than the shape that you have intended, and hold it there while it cools. When you let go, it should bounce back a bit.

If the shape when you have let go is not the one you want, then do it again but heating it a little longer than before.

 

Be very careful that if you heat a spot too much, it will turn soft and warp from its own weight. It will turn from merely pliable to soft in an instant.

Edited February 2, 2021 by Darth Lars

[Lord_Potato[TK]]

Is using a heat gun carefully a viable way to fit armor parts? thanks

Heat gun is possible but I find using hot water and a small iron be more controlling. Here is an example of a WTF left bicep before hot water reshaping and after hot water reshaping:


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[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

Hot water is GTG, heat gun + novice = bad idea. I warped my ANOVOS bicep and had to purchase an ATA for replacement. Expensive lesson.

[Lord_Potato[TK]]

Heat bending is tricky. Make sure after you reshape a part in hot water to hold it in place for several seconds and also run it under water while holding the desired shape. When the plastic is cooling it will naturally want to go back to its original shape.