Can My Plastic Sign Be Fixed?

[markba633csi]

Agree with Boswell plus I would wear leather gloves and do the pressing with my fingers. The human hand is a great tool, especially when doing a procedure "on the fly"
mark

 

[westsailpat]

You need one of these babies .

 

[Aaron_W]

I would start off by visiting Tap Plastics. They make a lot of custom plastic stuff for both consumer and commercial use.

I have never been to the San Francisco store, but in every Tap Plastics I've been to the staff has been very friendly and helpful to hobbyists.

 

[Eddyde]

I agree with the hair dryer approach over a form, which doesn't need to be elaborate, a piece of plywood cut to size ought to do.
Or leave it as is, 1988 was a long time ago, its bound to have some stories to tell...

 

[Susan_in_SF]

I would start off by visiting Tap Plastics. They make a lot of custom plastic stuff for both consumer and commercial use.

I have never been to the San Francisco store, but in every Tap Plastics I've been to the staff has been very friendly and helpful to hobbyists.

Thanks. There actually is a Tap Plastics about 30 minutes away.

 

[Susan_in_SF]

Yay! I was worried I was going to get flamed for my silly post and pics . I really like the light heat over wood while using gloved fingers to re-form the plastic, and it's good to know I could go to Tap Plastics for help. I actually got a whole bunch of free, good acrylic from them when I bought a welding helmet from them off craigslist. I saw 3 huge bins of acrylic, and asked the owner/boss guy if I could take some. He told me to take as much as I liked. These were theit production rejects. Some sheets where perfectly fine and only had 1 or 2 drilled holes it it. I thought I could use this free acrylic to make protective shields for my machines. So, I really recommend checking out these plastic places for free plexiglass or acrylic since that stuff is often expensive (at least to me).

 

[mksj]

Do not use acrylic for any type of shield, it shatters very easily. Any type of stress and it will crack. Use polycarbonate/Lexan if you want to make a shield. It is sold in smaller sheets at most big box hardware stores. I would use a minimum of 1/4". Similar to what others have said about reforming plastic, I use gentle heat over a mold or form, there is often a very narrow temperature range between plasticity and a little hotter the plastic will sag/flow/bubble. Nice looking sign, worth trying to restore it, let us know how it turns out.

 

[Susan_in_SF]

Do not use acrylic for any type of shield, it shatters very easily. Any type of stress and it will crack. Use polycarbonate/Lexan if you want to make a shield. It is sold in smaller sheets at most big box hardware stores. I would use a minimum of 1/4". Similar to what others have said about reforming plastic, I use gentle heat over a mold or form, there is often a very narrow temperature range between plasticity and a little hotter the plastic will sag/flow/bubble. Nice looking sign, worth trying to restore it, let us know how it turns out.

Thank you, mksj.
I really appreciate you correcting my misinformation about acrylic. In a previous post, I shared a link to an ebay posting for super affordable, surplus/reject cut Lexan Margard. Supposedly, this Margard coating protects the Lexan from marks that would normally scratch up Lexan. I bought 1 sheet, but am seriously considering buying more while since the price is so affordable. Anyways, thanks again for your valued info.

 

[NortonDommi]

Lexan is pretty scratch resistant compared to a lot of other clear plastics. I know Lexan face shields for my motorcycle helmet are a lot more expensive than a plain Acrylic one and worth every cent. Polish with Meguiars Headlight Polish and it becomes near invisible.

 

[Susan_in_SF]

Lexan is pretty scratch resistant compared to a lot of other clear plastics. I know Lexan face shields for my motorcycle helmet are a lot more expensive than a plain Acrylic one and worth every cent. Polish with Meguiars Headlight Polish and it becomes near invisible.

Yeah, I now understand that acrylic and Lexan are 2 different animals, lol