denting trash can armor

has anyone tried denting trash can armor? i was thinking of heating it with a hair dryer and then hitting it with a hammer, or something else hard and round, until i get the shape i want. i don't want to dremel since the plastic isn't too thick to begin with. any suggestions?

use a hair blower or heat gun and heat the area you want to "dent"

have a bucket of cold water standing by....

using a hammer, rounded stick, or even handle of the screwdriver, deform the soft plastic.

once you get a shape you like, plunge it into the water...

it should setup pretty fast.

(be carefull you dont put the electric devices into the water )

I used the end of a round lightsaber hilt for the larger dents, and for the smaller dents I found some sort of thing in the living room that was on 3 balls for legs, I flipped it upside down and pressed the sintra down onto it.

You're using plastic though, it may be a little harder to dent than sintra.

thanks for the help. i'll let you know how it goes.

Yeah, that should work out just fine. If you have some scraps left over from your trash can, I would practice first though
D

i tried using the blow dryer method and that didn't work. the wife's dryer wouldn't get hot enough to heat the plastic to a 'denting' point. i did get my cod to bend a little on the bottom so it'll curve under my crotch better. i think for the time being i may skip the denting process on this set and start the painting process.

No no, don't ditch the denting. Boil up some water, use marbles, get the plastic soft and press the plastic onto the marble.

The key to denting is concentrating the heat on a small spot to keep from distorting the surrounding plastic. What I found is a heat gun almost touching the plastic for a couple of seconds concentrates the heat in that small area you are looking for. On my helmet, I resorted to a propane torch to concentrate the heat on the one small spot of the helmet. It worked great but you have to be careful not to burn through. Test on a scrap piece of trashcan first. I'm going to use the trashcan method also so I am curious how it turns out.

ok, i'm a sucker for peer pressure. i'll try the denting again. i don't have a heat gun though. are there other recommended methods i can try without having to buy something? i'll ask around the 'hood and see if i can find one. i'll retry the hair dryer in one spot. i was moving it around a bit, maybe that was the problem. if that doesn't work i'm thinking of turning the oven on and holding the portion of each piece to be dented up near the heating element. hopefully without melting it too far. any other suggestions?

Originally Posted by fanboy

ok, i'm a sucker for peer pressure. i'll try the denting again. i don't have a heat gun though. are there other recommended methods i can try without having to buy something?

i think a heat gun is second only to a dremel in the "must haves" category. i use it on almost every project i have. they are pretty inexpensive, and i think you will thank yourself for it

You could always try a Regan Smash!

I have a kerosene heater, with a cage around it. I cook my sintra pieces on top of the cage for a minute or so, then it shapes to however I want it.

the kerosene lamp gives me an idea, we have a small propane grill. i could probably place the pieces over that for a bit to heat up the necessary areas. if that doesn't work, i'll be making a trip to menard's for a heat gun i guess.

well, i gave it a shot. it went ok, not good, not bad, just ok. after practicing on some scrap pieces i ended up doing about half the dents. i was able to do the dents on the outer edges of the armor, but the ones inside of the armor i found very difficult and wasn't getting the results i wanted. the trash can plastic is rather tough to get to a soft enough point all the way through without getting wonky on the visible side. so, instead of ruining what i have, i just did the outside stuff, and will fake the rest with paint/weathering. i got the primer and base coat of aluminum down and will snap some pics tomorrow after work when it's totally dry. if you ask me, i would recommend trash can armor for jango, but maybe not boba. at least for a beginner like me.

Originally Posted by fanboy

the kerosene lamp gives me an idea, we have a small propane grill. i could probably place the pieces over that for a bit to heat up the necessary areas. if that doesn't work, i'll be making a trip to menard's for a heat gun i guess.

fire bad...

Originally Posted by fanboy

well, i gave it a shot. it went ok, not good, not bad, just ok. after practicing on some scrap pieces i ended up doing about half the dents. i was able to do the dents on the outer edges of the armor, but the ones inside of the armor i found very difficult and wasn't getting the results i wanted. the trash can plastic is rather tough to get to a soft enough point all the way through without getting wonky on the visible side. so, instead of ruining what i have, i just did the outside stuff, and will fake the rest with paint/weathering. i got the primer and base coat of aluminum down and will snap some pics tomorrow after work when it's totally dry. if you ask me, i would recommend trash can armor for jango, but maybe not boba. at least for a beginner like me.

Well it's good that you gave it a shot, my first set of armour wasn't dented at all, and I wasn't at all happy with that. I recently fished up my 2nd set with dents, but mine is made out of sintra where as yours is made out of trash can plastic, very different material. I'm glad that it worked out the best you could. What did you use to dent the armour with?

i broke down and bought a heat gun, and just used a tapered wooden table leg i found in my garage to mold the dents smoothly.

I found some sort of dish in my living room that has marble liked legs, they worked good for the large dent on the cod, I used the end of my Rubies Obi-Wan Lightsaber, haha.

for an update on this, here's my progress thread...
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f25/fanboys-first-armor-14582/

Can you post a picture of it?