Official Sintra thread

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Boba Freekk wrote:

i dont have a pot large enough to fit the armor peices in.if a heat gun wont work how am i supposed to bend these peices?...my kitchen oven perhaps:confused

I used a large lobster pot and turkey basting
pan w/covers filled with boiling water. They were
more than big enough to fit most of the armor.
The backplate was a little tricky, though...I had
to dip a quarter of it in the pasting pan at a time.
 
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You can buy those large disposable metal pans at the store, then, depending on your stove, you can put the pan over two burners at once. Just be very careful.
 
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I used a heatgun for my sintra. I tried first with a hair dryer but that would take all day. Very fast and easy with the heatgun but don't breath from it. I did mine outdoors. Wear gloves! Like Lodril said heat from the backside so you won't blemish the goodside. Also, Sintra gets freaking wierd when you just realized that you just "cooked"it. It swells up then starts shrinking/curling around the edges like a styrofoam egg carton would do if you heated it up too.
Most likely and for safety sakes would be to boil it. Especially if you live in an apartment or have no access to fresh ventilation. Just my 2 cents worth.
 
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Gracias senores y senoritas,
The basic question was answered, not a whole lot of detail will be picked up. Everything else was very helpful and I suppose it'll wind up like usual, me and my dremel.... I'm just getting to that point in my life when it's no longer fun picking scrap plastic out of the corner of my with a fingertip or coughing it up later in the afternoon while I'm trying to eat.
I suppose I should get goggles of some sort, but don't eyepatches turn women on?

Thanks again everyone,

Geoff
 
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Sintra is the brand name for PVC sold in sheet form. PVC does not have the characteristics to make it pick up fine details. I made every piece of my armor myself using 2mm and 3mm Sintra and a Wagner paint stripper heat gun ($22 at Walmart). I heated it, formed it, then dunked it under cold water when I got it the shape I wanted it. The "boiling water" method is messy and dangerous, and I just couldn't go that route. If you want something that will pick up details, go with .060" Styrene. It's thinner that the standard .080" Styrene that trooper armor is usually made out of, but it's cheaper, picks up details better, and won't hurt you as bad in the pocketbook if a piece breaks during filming. :)
 
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Well Im getting this deal on Styrene from this guy I know, and I was wondering is it good to make armor out, and if it is stronger/weaker than sintra? I had heard of Styrene being used in vaccuforming, but can I shape it like sintra ( ala heat gun, hot water). Your help is much appreciated.
 
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Thats a heck of a question.
Someon with some knowledge wana chime in on this?
 
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i tried bending 1/16" styrene with boiling water and it was really tough.i made all my armor from sintra and it was a peice of cake to bend using boiling water.i would go with the sintra.i was amazed as to how easy it was to work with.
 
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Styrene is quite a bit more flimsy than Sintra.
The only plus with Styrene is a smoother surface.

1/8" Sintra is the stuff you want, trust me.

BTW, I work with both materials on a regular basis
with my job and have tried just about everything with
both and prefer Sintra over Styrene in just about
every case.

darksidedesign
 
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My current chest armor is hand formed styrene that I used a heat gun on. Its too thin though. I've recently acquired a set of vacu-formed styrene armor that's a billion times better. I've tried my hand at sintra hand formed and just didn't like it. I liked the thickness but it was such a pain to sand with all the dust it creates. Its REALLY messy.
 
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webchief wrote:

My current chest armor is hand formed styrene that I used a heat gun on. Its too thin though. I've recently acquired a set of vacu-formed styrene armor that's a billion times better. I've tried my hand at sintra hand formed and just didn't like it. I liked the thickness but it was such a pain to sand with all the dust it creates. Its REALLY messy.

ill agree with you there.i really hate cutting sintra, dust gets on my clothes, my face the floor my hair...but dammit it shapes so easy :D
 
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is it okay to cut sintra with a band saw? or is a dremal better? does it wear down the cutters fast? i hope to be able to get my sintra tomarrow and start on it sat morn.! i cant wait!:)
 
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i used a box cutter to score it then it just breaks right off. thats one way to do it.
 
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I used a dremel and a box cutter. But i only used the box cutter for small areas like when i cut out the rectangle from the center diamond.
 
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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.
 
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A Dremel doesn't *cut* Sintra, it *melts* it. At least the fiberglass-reinforced cut-off wheels do...

On large pieces, I use the band saw attachment on my Shop Smith Mark V, and it does beautifully. Leaves lots of dust, just like when cutting PVC pipe (hmmm... wonder WHY...?) ;)

If it's something small, I use a "utility knife" (aka "carpet knife"). Be careful if you go that route. You don't want to end up looking like Seeker! ;)
 
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