Basics of Styrene: Part Two


Curving Styrene Plastic:

Using the piece I cut earlier, I prepare to give it a curve by finding a tube shaped item (dolly) that resembles the amount of bend I'll need:




I tape the styrene piece to the rounded object and grab my heat gun:




Apply the heat evenly from side to side. Do not overheat the plastic or it will stretch (you'll see it turning brown if it's too hot):




You'll notice the project piece begin to warp slightly. This is what you're looking for:




Using a rag or cloth, you'll need to manually roll the styrene over the dolly:




As you can see, the part is not perfect . . . . yet:




Remove the project from the dolly . . . . :




. . . . use your heat gun to warm the edges of the plastic again, Then use your rag or cloth to "iron out" any warps by using a slight amount of finger pressure and run evenly across the entire edge:




Once complete, it'll be near perfect so we take it to the next stage:




Using the same tube that the piece was bent around, wrap a piece of sandpaper of your choice around it:




Sand the full length of the project and move around a lot. You don't want to dig any grooves into the piece:




Finish the piece with 320 and it's off to primer: