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  1. #1
    FEP Senior Member
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    Default Dash hull plastic type

    Does anyone know what type of plastic the dash hull is made of. I am looking to try to anneal and old one to see if it can be softened up so not to be brittle. Two methods to try would be a oven with heating elements and a tank large enough to boil it in water, with water heater elements. The idea is to bring the part up to @ half the melting point of the plastic. This would anneal the plastic. It's a common practice with plastic parts after molding. It relieves stresses in the parts. So that's the reason for the question.
    Any thoughts about this welcome.
    Don

  2. #2
    FEP Senior Member
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    So I did some digging, and to answer my own question, it appears that they are ABS. Annealing temps should be @200 degrees F.
    So if anyone else was interested, there you have it. I will try this out myself some time in the near future on a sample piece to see how it works.

  3. #3
    FEP Power Member vintageracer's Avatar
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    Do you have access to a large enough oven in which to heat a complete dash hull?
    Mike
    Remember, "Drive Fast, Turn Heads, Break Hearts!"

    1995 Ford Powerstroke F350 "Centurion" STRETCHED Crew Cab Dually

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  4. #4
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    I would make one. It doesn't have to be anything special. Just a wooden box and some insulation. Oven heating elements with controls. A circulation fan to keep air moving. I have a few projects to use it on.

  5. #5
    FEP Power Member 85stanggt's Avatar
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    I assume you're thinking of annealing a crack of some type?

    When you get to that temperature, what prevents other things from changing, such as the hull from warping or the texture of the plastic from fading? Just thinking out loud.

    I glued the cracks in mine before they got really bad using some acrylic on the back side of the hull. I was able to approximate the plastic so that the crack was barely visible. But the reason I asked about the hull warping is because as I was gluing the hull, the dash size and shape itself is so bulky and hard to support in such a way that you don't induce stresses in other parts of the hull.

    Very interested to see how things go, though.
    1985 Mustang GT Convertible
    Stock and original @ 213k, except for dynomax ultraflos.

  6. #6
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    Sorry, I missed the last post. In annealing plastic, it only gets heated to @ half the melting point. So it shouldn't deform. My dash is crumbling, most of the top side has broken pieces off. I'm hoping to find a better one to replace it. I will used the old one to test out my idea on.

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