Heat moldable plastic?

[Jake]

Is there such a thing? I'm not happy with the CAI systems that have come out and am interested in making my own. Does anyone know if there is a thin rubber or plastic that can be heated (heat gun) and formed, and retain its shape once cooled?

[ND4SPD]

Use fiberglass

[Jake]

Originally Posted by ND4SPD Use fiberglass

I do not have a mold or anything to lay the fiberglass over. I would like to have a product that I can shape as I go (i.e. thin metal).

[luvtolean]

I dunno about the plastic.

BUT, if you can make something out of cardboard, you just made a mold for fiberglass. Put layers on both sides, sand fill and paint and it'll look perfect. We made CAI scoops for my friend's mustang like that and though it sounds ghetto, it works great!

[G-Force Junkie]

Kydex. Thats probaly a trade name, I'm not exactaly if its a polyproplyne or UHMW or what.

[Keith1K]

Originally Posted by Jake Is there such a thing? I'm not happy with the CAI systems that have come out and am interested in making my own. Does anyone know if there is a thin rubber or plastic that can be heated (heat gun) and formed, and retain its shape once cooled?

You can use ABS Plastic it comes in sheets and can be heated with a heat gun and moulded to any shape you want. You can find it at ant custom stereo installer, they use it for making radio trim and tweeter pods or what ever. I once made a boost gauge pod out of it, it work out well. I do recommend getting a good pair of gloves if your going to be hand forming.

[Jake]

Thanks for the replies. It'll take awhile, but if I do end up with something, I will take pics and let everyone know.

[BillAce]

ABS has been mentioned and is a good material. I use a plastic product called "Sintra" often. It's heat formable, very smooth, paintable and very flexible. I've also used a product called "Wonder Foam". Its a foam block that you can cut, sand etc. and then fiberglass over once you have the desired shape. The fiberglass resin won't melt or change the shape of it. I also use "rigid wrap" a lot. It's the plaster cloth found in hobby stores used in model train landscapes. That is my favorite molding tool. It's water soluable, can be dried in the microwave (if small enough) and doesn't have an odor (real important inside a car) I would use that to get the shape of the fairing, put a good mold release first,PAM cooking spray works well, lay the rigid wrap on, pop it off when it dries and use that as a fiberglass mold for half of it. There are many ways to skin a cat, all of them need time and patience. I would use fiberglass personally, get ggod gloves and some throw away lasagna or pie tins for mixing.

Good luck

Bill

[Jake]

Thanks Bill!