can u mellt sheet styren in boiling water or something else and mold it and then let it harden. ive heard of a plastic that is like that and im not sure if it is sheet styrene or something else. can some one answer my question.

 

thanks

Most plastics can be heated and shaped, and will generally hold their new form. Boiling water might be a little too hot (a blow dryer will suffice for thin/flexible plastics).

Okay, I've been checking out this sight for awhile now, so I finally registered. This is my first post ever, so feel free to make fun of me. But I happen to know a little about sheet styrene so here goes.

 

You can heat styrene to mold it, but it's much easier to use thinner sheets and layer them. Use styrene rods or cross bars to make the basic shape, then mold the thinner sheets around it.

 

I hope this helps.

 

The Newb.

hey welcome to the boards Cyrax2112. thanks for all the info guys

One thing I forgot to mention... You're using Styrene Cement and not Testors glue, right?

Like Cyrx said, use Styrene cement for gluing the pieces together, if that's what you are doing. I'm slowly making a trailer for my 20th Optimus Prime and I'm using Styrene to make it. I'm using Ambroid Safe Weld Plastic Welder, for Styrene. It does just what it says, it welds the Styrene pieces together.

sheet styrene will only curl up in boiling water, not really melt. If you're trying to mold it, the best thing to do is either byt a cheap vacu-forming machine (they have them really cheap in fine sclae modeler), or try the smash-molding method:

 

1) make a form for what you are trying to mold. (CONVEX only. nothing concave.)

 

2) warm the styrene slowly in the oven, until it is almost ready to melt.

 

3) with a pair of oven gloves, grab the styrese, bring it QUICKLY over to the form, and pull it down OVER the form.

 

5) let cool, the cut out the shape.

 

That's about the best I know. But for better modelling tips, go to:

 

http://www.starshipmodeler.com

 

look in tips and tricks to find what you need. Good luck!