Information about working with plastics

[Mike.Powell]

The TAP Plastics website is an excellent source of information about plastics and working with plastics including solid acrylic, mold making materials, casting materials, and epoxies. The site hosts instructional videos, product data sheets, product bulletins, and so on. The presentation level ranges from simple hobby (Let's build a birdhouse...) to professional (MSDSs). A good website entry point is: http://www.tapplastics.com/info/index.php?

[PaulEMB]

Mike,

I am toying seriously with the idea of using plastics to renovate the interiortrim panels of the ERJ145 - any ideas on a plastic equivalent of 3mm MDF/Ply 8x4 sheets that can be bent using a heat gun? Making molds for fiberglass is out due to the one off production runs ( unless I satisfy the needs of other budding 145 buikders on the planet!)

I´m looking for something like the heat shrink you use for cabling - heat and bend, and it remembers its shape on cooling.

[Mike.Powell]

Paul,

I believe there are sheet plastic materials used by model makers that are similar to what you're looking for. I haven't used them and don't remember the product names, unfortunately. I also don't know if they would be durable enough for large trim pieces.

A larger scale modelling approach is to sculpt urethane foam then fiber glass over it. In some cases it's possible to do the fiber glass layup in place. The foam is placed where the trim piece is to be installed, cut and sanded to shape slightly undersized, then the fiber glass is applied. Once cured, the fiber glass is trimmed and finished, and the foam is removed. It's a very messy approach, but molds aren't needed. There are special urethane foams made for this. A cheap, more readily available substitute is floral foam, though you'll need to check for compatibility between the resin and foam.

[Shawn]

I used Sintra board to build a simple glareshield. I bought a 4 X 8 sheet at a local sign shop. The cut edges did not clean up perfectly but bending the materail around a jig with a heat gun was rather easy.

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[Westozy]

Plain old PVC sheeting becomes very pliable when heated up, really easy to bend!

Gwyn

[PaulEMB]

Thanks,

Mike,Shawn and Glyn - sintra sounds like its worth a try - I also remember reading somewhere of using heavy duty textile over a mould, and coating with resin to achieve a fiber glass like product.

I have had some success making a backlit throttle base using Perspex bent using a heat gun, and will make some new experiments once the weather warms up a bit.

I am specifically trying to improve the quality of the side window surrounds, front upper roof panels (3D curve) as well as replacing the FD inner skin from the MIP back.

I´ll post results as they are obtained.