gazmosis[501st] Posted February 17, 2012 Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dashrazor Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCTrooper[TK] Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconoclasta_88[TK] Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt black Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazmosis[501st] Posted February 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 I also may have the temp too high... I will try a couple different approaches on some scrap. Thanks to all who chimed in!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazmosis[501st] Posted February 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 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!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xaoslord Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Good info Steve! This will be handy on my build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Batman[TK] Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazmosis[501st] Posted February 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Aloha[Admin] Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NastyNoah[TK] Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Most impressive ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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