While I don't have an opinion as to the appropriateness of Styrene for the
job... I can share some knowlege about working with the material:
You can score lines in it with a razor-knife and straight edge... and it will
break at that line when bent... (practice with some waste)... this is cleaner
than a jigsaw... and very straight.
Such a cut can also be cleaned with a single-sided razor blade... by scraping
the cut edge... keeping the blade perpendicular to the thin edge being
scraped... it will clean off any burrs, etc.
You can purchase WELD-ON #3 or #4 from a hardware/plumbing store... it's a
clear liquid glue... best applied with a syringe-type bottle... (found in
hobby stores)... If you buy a pint of this material at the hardware store...
you'll pay less than the little bottle at hobby store!
This is the sort of glue that is also used to bond acrylic sheet... (to make
display boxes, etc.)
It simply melts the two faces together and then evaporates. Very effective...
Example, you would hold a corner together, run the syringe-bottle along the
seam, squirting just a little into the joint... capillary action will carry it
through the whole mating surface... and it will be joined in seconds... though
you should continue to hold, when necessary, for the few minutes it will take
to cure strong enough to hold itself. While a joint often remains the
weak-point of a bond... this stuff will weld the two together almost as if they
were one.
you can strengthen box constructions by cutting out small triangles... at using
the WELD-ON to put them in place...
If you don't have access to a band-saw... or a jig saw... or you grow tired of
the jigsaw cut getting fowled by melted styrene... you can also score curves,
and break those too... but it is tricky... and requires some skill/patience...
etc.
I have some good tricks for scoring circles, if you are interested.
You can also buy styrene in black... if you go to a plastics supply...
something easy to find in aerospace-land-Burbank-California... but, perhaps, in
your areas, you may only find the white stuff at your local hobby stores, etc.
Look in the yellow pages or a Business-to-Business directory.
Anyways... I'd be happy to field any questions about the use of these
materials... I use them a lot to make props, etc.. for TV/film... it is also
the same material that we most often use in the vacuum forming process.
--Justin
jonmac wrote:
> Hi, Ray
>
> You asked:
> >Does anyone have any ideas on making some new engine bay valances for >my
> 1980 Spit? As you all know the originals were a type of cardboard and
> >the set on my car have seen better days. I have checked the TRF, Vic
> >British and SpitBits catalogs but they do not show any replacements. So
> if >anyone has a good idea for a material I could use to fabricate a new
> pair, I >would be grateful for the input.
>
> I've done the following on my GT6 and Spitfire. Took about a day from start
> to finish per car but I was well pleased with the result and IMHO it looks
> a whole lot better than the original cardboard rubbish we used to fit in
> production.
> Don't know whether you're a model railway enthusiast (like me) but styrene
> sheet is just the job. Us real steam guys find it the ideal thing for
> making buildings etc!!! Stuff I used was about 3-4mm say 1/8th inch thick
> or a wee bit thicker. Being softish plastic, you can cut it with a fret or
> jigsaw and if you get awkward corners the saw won't go round, use a hot
> soldering iron. I used my original cardboard rubbish as a template and with
> the advantage of these modern impact adhesives was able to cut the upper
> verticals and lower angled pieces. Then I roughed up both sides with some
> 300 grit paint flatting paper to provide a 'key', painted both sides with
> semi-matt black paint and finished off with two or three coats of matt
> marine varnish. Finally, I prettied up the two top edges on either side of
> the engines with some neat plastic trim I found in a kitchen furniture
> store. Any other form of extruded finishing strip would do - depends how
> nice you want it to look.
> BTW, while you're in the model shop, get yourself a sheet or two of chewed
> cork. It's just the job for making new gaskets to go on SU float chamber
> tops!
>
> John Macartney
>
> "Life at Triumph" in print - unique pictures and lots more. See info at
> http://www.toolbox.ndirect.co.uk/triumphbook
> ORDER LINE STAYS OPEN UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30, 1998.
> You can order your book through:
>
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> UK THE AUTHOR: jonmac@ndirect.co.uk
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