# Saving Lexan Bodies



## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

So, my sister got this thing for Christmas that puts old LP albums on CD or file format.
She asked me if I still had any of the old stuff we listened to when we were kids.
Sure, I dug a box out of storage and took it over to her house.
We started flipping through the albums and, wait, what is this in an old walmart bag?
I knew it, I knew it!!! I knew I didn't just throw these away, but, dang, should I???
They got squashed pretty good in this box with the albums. Don't know how they got in there.










This 55 Chevy was detailed so nice for a lexan body. Now it's toast.









Most of these are the Chevy Laguna bodies. We were gonna do a 76 Nascar class, but I lost these.










They look pretty good when painted. They are standard wheelbase.










I haven't been able to find any more of these bodies. I think they were discontinued?










Anyways, it got me thinking....
Is there any tricks to restoring bent lexan bodies?


----------



## cwbam (Feb 8, 2010)

*red & creme please*

test 1 with a little heat? (hair dryer?)


----------



## slotking (May 27, 2008)

try warm to hot tap water


----------



## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

The T.O.P. Bodies were made by my buddy Tom O'Reily. They are PETG and not Lexan so they may respond differently when trying heat or other methods to "uncrease". Tom made some cool stuff and was an extremely talented vac-body designer and a fine racer too. 

-Paul


----------



## slotking (May 27, 2008)

that's why the warm/hot water 
will not get hot enough like a hair dryer if you get to close with it.

Took a lexan painting class and they demo'ed the hair dyer thing


----------



## old blue (May 4, 2007)

I know nothing about Lexan, but I wondered if you put the Lexan body over an original AFX or AW body when heating it, would that help retain the shape?


----------



## vaBcHRog (Feb 19, 2003)

pshoe64 said:


> The T.O.P. Bodies were made by my buddy Tom O'Reily. They are PETG and not Lexan so they may respond differently when trying heat or other methods to "uncrease". Tom made some cool stuff and was an extremely talented vac-body designer and a fine racer too.
> 
> -Paul


Tom sure is missed he went way too soon.

Roger Corrie


----------



## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

vaBcHRog said:


> Tom sure is missed he went way too soon.
> 
> Roger Corrie


Very missed. Tom was my mentor when it came to sculpting HO cars. Brilliant modeler too. He had some tremendous skills.

-Paul


----------



## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

I have a bunch of Tom's HO bodies. He was a great guy- met him a couple of times at Indy Slots.


----------



## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

gonna try the hot water trick. I seem to be in plenty of it lately...


----------



## slotking (May 27, 2008)

lol


----------



## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

*Ironing out the details...*

Okay, so I'm giving this hot water thing a try.

I'm gonna start with the worst body of the bunch, the smashed 55 Chevy.

















Even though the water was too hot to hold, it wasn't hot enough to undo these dents.









Next step is the hair dryer...

















It was hot enough to pull the corners up. I noticed the body was harder after it cooled.
I guess it may have shrunk a little. Some of the detail did smooth out.
I almost got out the heat gun, but, nah.... 
Even after all this hard work and reshaping, it's still just a 55 Chevy.


----------



## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

I was gonna say heat gun... but thought better of it.  That would likely result in a '55 Puddle.

Maybe a small solder iron or wood burning kit tool and a host of implements such as popsicle sticks and asstd other smoothing items?? Hold the heating tool "near" but not "on" a section for a "period" of time and then use the asstd impliments to work out the wrinkles?

OR... if all else fails shoot for this look...










The fella that did this one said it was so easy a caveman could do it.


----------



## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

I think that the duration of time the bodies spent crushed certainly has play in the permanence of the creases and short of the buck that they were originally pulled over, no amount of heat is going to take the creases out without altering the body in other ways.
was that really one run on sentence?
honda would be so proud of me.
heck, I'm proud of myself!


----------



## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

You were pretty darn close Al. The period at the end ruined it though!! :lol:


----------



## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

Maybe should have tried the boiling water, followed a quick slip-over a diecast 55 body(Buck) like from an Hot Wheels etc...?


----------



## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

I tried it again and this did help alot. Thanks for the suggestions guys.


----------



## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
It's all in how you stretch your dollars!

-Paul


----------

