how hot is too hot to boil a polymer handgun

[Krull]

Going to try something this week and wanted some input..  Going to use the rit dye method to dye a polymer handgun black ...

 

Now my question is i see advice from 150-190 degrees to boil the polymer in a pan for a few hours --- how hot is too hot to make sure I dont screw the polymer up?

 

I would think 190 wouldnt even come close to messing up say a glock but just wanted to check and see if there any "experts" here to chime in?

 

 

Thanks again

 

 

 

of course the "lower" so to speak will be stripped free of all metals

Edited April 23, 2013 by Krull

[dralarms]

Well, I baked my m&p frame the other day at 200 degrees.

[Krull]

Well, I baked my m&p frame the other day at 200 degrees.

And I take it everything turned out fine ?

[dralarms]

Well, its on my hip. :D

[GlockSpock]

I don't know anything about boiling guns, but I have baked a firearm or two :squint:

 

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=429878

 

Seriously though, that is me, and I did do that to my first 1911.

 

If you're in for a good laugh :rofl:  :rofl:  :rofl:

 

Disclaimer:That was a long time ago, possibly even in a galaxy far far away.

[glock55]

My Betty Crocker cookbook says 284' starts to deform polymer.

[Guest Keal G Seo]

It depends on the polymer. If you let me know what type of gun, it may take a little while but I can try to find out the polymer mix and let you know. For example, Glock uses Nylon 6 which has a melting point of 428 F. You might start to see degradation around 250-300 F.

[Oh Shoot]

I don't know anything about boiling guns..

 

Me either, but I know water won't boil at 150-190 degrees.

 

- OS

[TMF]

You can't boil water hotter than the temp that water boils at. It will just become vapor. So, once water is boiling, that's as hot as it gets.... somewhere around 212 degrees depending on where you live. Don't know if that's what you meant.

[Oh Shoot]

Me either, but I know water won't boil at 150-190 degrees.

You can't boil water hotter than the temp that water boils at. It will just become vapor. So, once water is boiling, that's as hot as it gets.... somewhere around 212 degrees depending on where you live. Don't know if that's what you meant.

 
No I meant that OP said "i see advice from 150-190 degrees to boil the polymer".
 
- OS Edited April 24, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[mikegideon]

You can't boil water hotter than the temp that water boils at. It will just become vapor. So, once water is boiling, that's as hot as it gets.... somewhere around 212 degrees depending on where you live. Don't know if that's what you meant.

 

Yep. Anything above that and it's steam. Takes extra energy to turn it into steam to, so it regulates at 212. The boiling point will probably change a little because of the dye.

[mikegideon]

 
No I meant that OP said "i see advice from 150-190 degrees to boil the polymer".
 
- OS

 

I was gonna say something when I first saw the thread, but saved it for you (really) :)

[Oh Shoot]

I was gonna say something when I first saw the thread, but saved it for you (really) :)

 

You're all heart, Mikey. ;)

[mikegideon]

You're all heart, Mikey. ;)

 

East TN is your jurisdiction :)

[GlockSpock]

You can't boil water hotter than the temp that water boils at. It will just become vapor. So, once water is boiling, that's as hot as it gets.... somewhere around 212 degrees depending on where you live. Don't know if that's what you meant.

 

Unless you add salt to it.

[TMF]

No I meant that OP said "i see advice from 150-190 degrees to boil the polymer".

- OS

Yeah I was responding to the OP. I wouldn't dream of correcting you unless I had a combination of Wikipedia, google, a dictionary and a thesaurus open all at the same time.

[peejman]

It depends on the polymer. If you let me know what type of gun, it may take a little while but I can try to find out the polymer mix and let you know. For example, Glock uses Nylon 6 which has a melting point of 428 F. You might start to see degradation around 250-300 F.

 

 

This.

 

"Polymer" is a generic term that includes thousands of different kinds of plastics and their temperature characteristics can vary widely.  I believe most gun frames are "fiber reinforced" polymers which means they've usually got some sort of fiberglass mixed in with the plastic to make it stronger and more dimensionally stable. 

 

 

As for the OP's statement about boiling the polymer at 150-190 deg...  it's entirely possibly (even likely) that there's polymers out there that boil at a lower temperature than water.  ;)   Though I doubt they're used for making gun parts.

Edited April 24, 2013 by peejman

[Krull]

It depends on the polymer. If you let me know what type of gun, it may take a little while but I can try to find out the polymer mix and let you know. For example, Glock uses Nylon 6 which has a melting point of 428 F. You might start to see degradation around 250-300 F.

 

 

HK USP .45 frame

[Krull]

Unless you add salt to it.

 

You can't boil water hotter than the temp that water boils at. It will just become vapor. So, once water is boiling, that's as hot as it gets.... somewhere around 212 degrees depending on where you live. Don't know if that's what you meant.

 

 

 

i guess the question is better asked with the heat of the pan to "melt" any of the frame if it touches it -- i know boiling wont melt it -- i should have rephrased the question

[Guest Keal G Seo]

Ok so waiting on a response from H&K. Can't find the polymer type with a few Google searches. If anyone knows what kind it is feel free to chime in before they respond. But as I have seen here is a good point, the metal on the bottom of the pot will be hotter than the water so suspend it somehow.

Another option I have seen for stippling is some type of soldering iron. There are a lot of YouTube videos on this method. Some use a sharp point for better looking detail while others use, what I would call, wood burning tips for depth and random patterning.