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Resin Correction

moon puppy

moon puppy

Administrator
Staff member
Or... DH88 Restoration.
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Black Magic was one of the last build I finished at the old house. Seen here with G-ACSS The Orphan
So when we packed up and moved I had to put the models in storage for a spell. I suspect that the heat got to the resin and warped.
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Black Magic suffered worse and since I've played with some painting stuff on it. It's too far gone to restore I think.

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The Orphan wasn't as damaged but that's a huge bend. this photo was literally a year ago from this posting. dated Aug 16 2022


The other day I looked at The Orphan again and notice that the wing had recovered slightly.
check it

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You tell me, hasn't that wing restored a bit?

I remember reading here on our forum about hot water and resin so I figure give it a go. I text @Rhino to confirm rather boiling water should be used or what. He told me hot tap water. I tried running hot water over the surface, then I let it sit in a hot water bath. Pulled it out and this is the result.
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Hard for me to tell, better?
What can I do to get instant gratification!
If I can save this I probably will strip it and paint it in the original red Grosvenor House scheme for my MacRobertson Air Race takeoff day scene I want to do.
 
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I try to bend resin back to shape when it is still warm/hot, then put it under cold water . Usually takes more than one pass. That wing doesn't look too bad. I've also found that not all resin has the same effect from heat, some really shrinks and is hopeless. This doesn't look too bad in the photos.
 
John is right about heat causing things to shrink. I can take a 20oz Mtn Dew bottle and hit it with our steam cleaner at work and turn it into a 12oz bottle.
Also, back when I was working on my 1/350 K'tinga and it had such horribly warped parts, I was VERY careful about the water temps I used. I used a thermometer and kept it to a max of 190F. That worked but it took a fair amount of work and fitting. Another part on that kit is a flat molded part that wraps around the front of the head. Someone online took that part and put it in boiling water and it shrank up a lot. I used the less than 190F temps and made it curve and it fit perfectly with no shrinkage.
Resin might respond to less heat than that so I would start with 160F or so. Don't Force it, but flex it to see how it flexes. Also don't heat it for a long period of time. Start with quick immersions and then add heat and time in steps until you see some response.
One last thing is that you might need to flex it slightly past where you want it to end up as the resin will tend to rebound a little.
 
Resin sometimes has a small amount of "memory". The Smooth-On 322 liquid polyethylene I use responds well to hot tap water, 125 degrees or so. Depending on how much patience you possess, you may yet save The Orphan! Go easy, Baby. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
 
Thanks James, I think I'm going to strip this one and include it in my MacRobertson Air Race line up, this will be Grosvenor House, the Red one. Actually this is the same aircraft just in a different paint scheme. it'll be the Red one, the Green one and Black Magic along with Jackie Cochran's Gee Bee.
 
Glad you were able to get it aligned Bob. I know that you must be feeling really good about the results and should be quite pleased. Straightening any warped plane back to "looking good" is not for the faint of heart.
 
Thanks Gary, That Black Magic has turned into a bit of a paint mule for another project. I got two unbuilt DH88s that will be built soon.
 
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