Shrinkable plastic for a form?
 

I've had no luck finding a source for a fairly heavy duty shrinkable plastic sheet. My intention is to heat shrink a sheet over an aluminum intake manifold (trim the edges) to use as a mask similar to what what was used at Tonawanda before painting an engine.
Plain overspray is not correct. A distinct edge can be seen in some places due to the mask used originally. Here's an example. Can anyone help with a source for the product I need?
Thanks
Verne [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]
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Re: Shrinkable plastic for a form?
 

my boss has some kind that they use to cover equipment...it is heated with a propane tank style rose bud torch..it shrinks so much, i used it to cover my AMX when i moved cross country...it took form of the corner of the cars and didnt need much to hold it in place more than just the shrink

i will ask him monday what the product is..its like the stuff they ship boats covered with but is blue...go by a bass pro....see if they know what it is

Re: Shrinkable plastic for a form?
 

Thanks Mark, but I need something that will remain firm after shrinking. I want to be able to lift it off and reuse it on another engine.
Now if it remained soft, perhaps I could shrink one each time I need one. I hadn't thought about that approach.

Verne [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/flag.gif[/img]

Re: Shrinkable plastic for a form?
 

Verne the material used to produce thermo-vacuum formed 1/8 scale RC bodies...

http://www.widgetworksunlimited.com/...heets_s/36.htm

Re: Shrinkable plastic for a form?
 

Hey, thanks a lot. I might try that PETG stuff. I just tried working with a plexiglass sheet I got at Home Depot and it cracked when I drilled holes in it to nest it using the carb studs.

Verne

Re: Shrinkable plastic for a form?
 

Easier to heat a small piece of tubing and melt the hole through... drilling plex creates too many tiny fractures unless Fully supported the drill is going fast (RPM) with a slow feed rate. Works best with a drill fixture or two pieces of wood clamped and then drill through the wood and plex at same time s there are fewer external forces on the hole perimeter. The drill grabbing and pulling the sheet up is what probably fractured it.

Re: Shrinkable plastic for a form?
 

I've used a poly tray about the size of the intake heat the intake and tray inverted over the intake in the oven on lowest heat setting the heavier sides will pull the edges over the intake edge... I tried to do it with intake and valve covers and didn't have a large enough oven.

You can make a vacuum table using pegboard and a few shop vacs build a box with the pegboard as one side drill holes for the vacuum ports and use a piece of plastic the size of the table heat in the oven with the intake on the vacuum table pull sheet out drop over and pull the vacuum... viola'
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Re: Shrinkable plastic for a form?
 

Sounds like more work than I want to get into. I'll see how I do with my trusty heat gun first.

Verne [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]