How do I harden a rubberized resin body?

[aurfalien]

Hi,

Would any one have advise on how to harden a rubberized resin body that was stupidly soaked in an alcohol bath?

I'm stripping it in SuperClean which doesn't seem to be causing further damage.

Once cleaned of any paint etc... my plan was to freeze it for a few days and then slowly reinforce with strategically placed styrene while filling in any gaps, holes etc with Tamiya white putty.

After I feel that the body looks good, I was going to use a polyurethane based acrylic primer.

Is this a good plan?  Is there anything I am missing, should change or add?

The kit is my beloved Fisher 908 and rather then discard, I've decided to restore it out of respect to Paul Fisher, his work and his craftsmanship.  I'm still very sad over his loss of home and business during the Cali Paradise fires as I can relate going through the same thing in the Cali Woolsey fires.

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Edited May 16, 2020 by aurfalien

[Can-Con]

I've done that with small parts ,,wheels. 

They eventually hardened back up by themselves. Couldn't honestly say if a whole body would or not.

Wouldn't hurt to just let it alone for a while and see what happens.

[aurfalien]

19 hours ago, Can-Con said:

I've done that with small parts ,,wheels. 

They eventually hardened back up by themselves. Couldn't honestly say if a whole body would or not.

Wouldn't hurt to just let it alone for a while and see what happens.

Thanks Steve.

It's been sitting for about 2 years now.  However I am looking forward to problem solving the situation.

The car is still soaking as I tried to fix it before using resin and super glue which is coming off.  I'm hoping to strip is über clean before attempting a restore.

[Can-Con]

1 minute ago, aurfalien said:

Thanks Steve.

It's been sitting for about 2 years now.  However I am looking forward to problem solving the situation.

The car is still soaking as I tried to fix it before using resin and super glue which is coming off.  I'm hoping to strip is über clean before attempting a restore.

If it's been sitting for 2 years already and it's not hardened up again by itself, I'd guess it's not gonna. 

I don't know what else you could do. 

Have you tried contacting Paul Fisher and asking him about the problem?  He might have some ideas.

[aurfalien]

10 minutes ago, Can-Con said:

If it's been sitting for 2 years already and it's not hardened up again by itself, I'd guess it's not gonna. 

I don't know what else you could do. 

Have you tried contacting Paul Fisher and asking him about the problem?  He might have some ideas.

Well, I've only asked how he was doing after the fires and wishing him well.

I'm not comfortable asking him for any help as he's got bigger fish to fry etc... with every things that's going/gone on with his life.

[NOBLNG]

You could possibly try putting it in a food dehydrator?

[espo]

I had a similar thing happen only with a Resin '56 Chevrolet Bel Air two doorpost resin casting. The body just turned to mush and I tossed it. Lesson learned the expensive way and move on. 

[aurfalien]

I'll start a build thread soon however so it begins.

I've stripped it as much as comfort would allow.  I feared prolonged soaking in SuperClean would have destroyed it.  Still rubbery but the chassis is giving it some stability.

I feel like a surgeon piecing together a shattered hip.  Man alcohol ate it up like some one eating a breakfast burrito.

 

[Chariots of Fire]

Chalk it up to a bad day and move on.  If it's soft and rubbery there's not much that can salvage it.  Must have been a bad mix to start with.

[SfanGoch]

Like the others said, chalk it up as a loss. It's not that the urethane used was bad. There is no need to ever submerge resin parts in order to clean them, especially in solvents. IPA, and other solvents,  is absorbed and breaks down the resin when a resin object is submerged for a prolonged period of time. Brushing on alcohol on the surface, then scrubbing the parts with a nylon bristle brush followed by washing and rinsing in warm water is sufficient. I keep recommending Testors Easy Lift Off to strip paint from styrene and resin parts; but, it seems like I'm talking to myself. Just brush a coat (NEVER EVER submerge any plastic or resin in it. It isn't necessary.)  of ELO on the parts and, in about 20 minutes, the paint will start to wrinkle. The paint can be removed by scrubbing it off, followed by washing the parts in warm water and dishwashing detergent. If there is any remaining paint, repeat the procedure.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, SfanGoch said:

Like the others said, chalk it up as a loss. It's not that the urethane used was bad. There is no need to ever submerge resin parts in order to clean them, especially in solvents. IPA, and other solvents,  is absorbed and breaks down the resin when a resin object is submerged for a prolonged period of time. Brushing on alcohol on the surface, then scrubbing the parts with a nylon bristle brush followed by washing and rinsing in warm water is sufficient. I keep recommending Testors Easy Lift Off to strip paint from styrene and resin parts; but, it seems like I'm talking to myself. Just brush a coat (NEVER EVER submerge any plastic or resin in it. It isn't necessary.)  of ELO on the parts and, in about 20 minutes, the paint will start to wrinkle. The paint can be removed by scrubbing it off, followed by washing the parts in warm water and dishwashing detergent. If there is any remaining paint, repeat the procedure.

Good info, thanks! 

I just checked the SDS for ELO and the main ingredient seems to be "Dipropylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether," whatever that is. I've never seen ELO for sale anywhere near me. I wonder if Dipropylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether is available generically, or under some other product name, say at Home Depot or Lowes? 

ETA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEG_monobutyl_ether

ETA: https://cen.acs.org/articles/93/i3/Cleaning-Product-Makers-Bask-New.html

Edited May 19, 2020 by Snake45

[SfanGoch]

Dipropylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether isn't sold in retail sized amounts. It's sold in large containers for commercial/industrial use as an additive to cosmetics. soaps, etc.

Get Testors ELO from Active Powersports. Great price. Forget Wally World. It's priced over 100% more there. It really works better stripping paint than any of that cheenchy-meenchy purple pond/ultra awesome/oven cleaner BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH. No need to soak for days or weeks. Brush it on, wait twenty minutes and start scrubbing the lifted paint off.

[bobthehobbyguy]

On 5/17/2020 at 8:53 AM, aurfalien said:

Thanks Steve.

It's been sitting for about 2 years now.  However I am looking forward to problem solving the situation.

The car is still soaking as I tried to fix it before using resin and super glue which is coming off.  I'm hoping to strip is über clean before attempting a restore.

Personally I don't think that it is restoreable. The soaking has chemically changed the resin otherwise it would have happened. You could spend a lot of time rebuilding and have it degrade with time. I think the best advice is to chalk up to experience. And put the effort into another project.

[aurfalien]

20 minutes ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

Personally I don't think that it is restoreable. The soaking has chemically changed the resin otherwise it would have happened. You could spend a lot of time rebuilding and have it degrade with time. I think the best advice is to chalk up to experience. And put the effort into another project.

Give me some time, you may be surprised.  At that point we can decide if I'm just an assembler or if I am in fact a builder.

The gauntlet has been thrown down, the challenge has been accepted

 

Edited May 19, 2020 by aurfalien

[Painted Black]

I don't know anything about resin, but I would try casting a new body from what you have there and then try the repairing of it instead of the rubbery body. Don't know if that would work or not, just a thought....

[SfanGoch]

It's your model and you can do as you wish. It really will be an exercise in futility. There isn't anything which can be done to restore it.

[djflyer]

If you don't want to give up on it and aren't comfortable contacting Paul Fisher perhaps you could contact some of the other resin casters that use this site.  Greg Wahn comes to mind and I'm sure there are a few others.  Harold Bradford from HRM is another you might want to contact.

My other suggestion would be the Facebook group 'Terry Jessee's Resin Car Kits & Parts Review"   Someone there might have information to help save this one.

[aurfalien]

On 5/19/2020 at 11:00 AM, SfanGoch said:

Like the others said, chalk it up as a loss. It's not that the urethane used was bad. There is no need to ever submerge resin parts in order to clean them, especially in solvents. IPA, and other solvents,  is absorbed and breaks down the resin when a resin object is submerged for a prolonged period of time. Brushing on alcohol on the surface, then scrubbing the parts with a nylon bristle brush followed by washing and rinsing in warm water is sufficient. I keep recommending Testors Easy Lift Off to strip paint from styrene and resin parts; but, it seems like I'm talking to myself. Just brush a coat (NEVER EVER submerge any plastic or resin in it. It isn't necessary.)  of ELO on the parts and, in about 20 minutes, the paint will start to wrinkle. The paint can be removed by scrubbing it off, followed by washing the parts in warm water and dishwashing detergent. If there is any remaining paint, repeat the procedure.

I just got some however hope to never use it or any other stripper for that matter.  Still, seems a very nice addition to my warez.