Official Sintra thread

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I used a band saw. It made the cleanest, quickest cuts. Of course, a dremel or cutter is better for very curved pieces.
 
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Got Maul wrote:

its called overkill. Secondly, sintra is known to emit toxic gas when heated...so when dremeling or cutting with something that causes a lot of friction and smoke = bad idea. Secondly, sintra is the BEST stuff in the world to cut with a box cutter. its better than ABS in my opinion and grabs so much better than styrene.

yes to got maul you listen!
 
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Believe it or not, I used an X-acto to cut out the shapes. I'd go over the shape lightly at first to create a path (for straight edges, move the X-acto along the edge of a ruler). I'd then go over it again several times, pressing a little harder each time. This way, there's no dust, no fumes, and less shaping with sandpaper is necessary. :D

I hate using the Dremel because all that dust it creates. You'll have to wear a respirator for sure. That dust also gets sucked into the Dremel, reducing its life span. Also, the cutting wheels tend to break up fairly easily, sending shrapnel flying in all directions. You'd best be wearing eye protection! 8)
 
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Also, the cutting wheels tend to break up fairly easily, sending shrapnel flying in all directions. You'd best be wearing eye protection! 8)

Always!!

;)
 
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Rammage wrote:

Believe it or not, I used an X-acto to cut out the shapes. I'd go over the shape lightly at first to create a path (for straight edges, move the X-acto along the edge of a ruler). I'd then go over it again several times, pressing a little harder each time. This way, there's no dust, no fumes, and less shaping with sandpaper is necessary. :D

I guess we aren't the only ones then. :D
Yeah, we used an exacto knife, and followed pretty much the same steps Rammage followed.
Also, we don't have a dremel so we just cut it with the x-acto. Didn't turn out too bad. Plus as Rammage said, not much cleanup. :D
 
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I personally would recommend the olfa L1 cutting tool. It is very sharp, has snap off segmented blades, its strong, and will last you a lifetime. The snap off blades a re razor sharp
and when the cutting tip becomes dull you just snap off the 1/4 blade section and its sharp again.
http://www.olfa.com/products.asp?C=2
Cheers,
ST
 
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Bondo is only a Brand name, it is also called "auto body filler" or "body filler" or "plastic body filler" if made by another manufacturer or labled under a different name brand....

Lynn
 
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I think that some places call Sintra "expanding PVC signboard" but I'm not sure.
 
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hi all:)........I'm in the U.K.and for all those over this side of the pond ,i think /suspect that SINTRA is the same as FOAMEX ,this is stuff a friend of mine in the graphics and sign industry here uses ,it is the white [any colour you want]back board he applies vinyl cut lettering to........i've mucked around with the stuff and it seems the same as people are talking about here ,can be heat bent easily etc........also BONDO over here is just epoxy [2 part]car body filler ,...in england there are various brands /types P 38 from halfords ...P40 is a resin/fiberglass paste ...there are cheaper makes too ...
an often overlooked material that is light ,needs no catalyst ,bonds incredibly to styrene is PLASTIC WOOD ,a cellulouse based wood filler that will not crack off when dry ,can be sanded or used as a base for a finishing filler like p38 or other modelling/plumbing putty ....use all of these fillers in ventillated spaces........or 3 years from now you'll wake up one day and find youre living with a battledroid ....like i did :p
 
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Appolo_50 wrote:

I think that some places call Sintra "expanding PVC signboard" but I'm not sure.

I work at a sign shop and we use SINTRA all the time.
When we say SINTRA to a customer they just stare at us
blankly, so we tell them it is "Expanded PVC Sign Board"
and they usually understand what it is we are telling them.

darksidedesign
 
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I purchased a set of armor plates off ebay that are pristine (no battle damage) I've read that dremmeling sintra is bad for it, but to rather heat it like you would be shaping it to add the dents.

I'm wondering if any of you awesome prop builders have any suggestions as to what is the best thing to use for this. I was thinking about getting various sizes of ball bearings or marbles, I'm also thinking maybe RPG dice. With the dice I'm afraid that the sintra might stick or melt the die. Ball bearings I think might give too perfect of a dent (ie too symetrical).

Any thoughts on this?
 
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All we did was we took a heatgun, heated the back of the piece of armor (be sure it's the back because it gives it a weird texture to the sintra). We just went around and found various sized metal objects and pressed them lightly in the armor and pushed until we got the desired affect.
Hope this helps. :)
 
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I dremmelled my old sintra armour and it seemed OK. Creates a load of dust, though, so you'll need a mask and goggles.

And old clothes.

And a shower when you've finished!

What I did notice was that the revealed area seems more porous than the finished area, and soaked up quite a bit of primer before it looked even.

Try a little spot on the back somewhere and see how you get on.

Si
 
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yeah the dremel with a round ball bit works good for the dents, and you can use a bit with a flat edge for any sratches.
 
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When I needed to create any round dents I took a lighter and heated the sintra until it started to droop a little. Then I took a marble and pushed it to the desired depth. Make sure you let it cool for a second (run it under cold water) otherwise if you pull it out to quick it will fold over itself because it will still be too warm.
And WA-LAH, perfect blaster bolted dents.
 
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Try searching for PVC FOAMBOARD. That is how I found it here in Iceland. No one knew what sintra was.
 
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The blurb on that page...

"Its characteristics include: foamed PVC sheet material that is approx half the weight of solid PVC; durable and hard wearing under many adverse conditions and resists most chemicals and water, with its porous interior and hard smooth surface"


Makes it sound like "Gatorboard" (Sintra/foam/Sintra sandwiched together) instead of "solid" Sintra (which is Sintra all the way through the board).

Has anyone ordered Sintra using this link, and if so, what type did you receive?

I'm in need of more Sintra, but my local supplier will no longer supply me with the small (and odd-sized) quantities my prop building requires, so I have to find a new place. :facepalm
 
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