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Posted: 2/11/2021 9:35:14 AM EDT
[#1]
it sure wood.
I'd place a rag around the area to be reformed to keep the heat awa, then heat the area slowly until it just starts to get soft . Then form it by hand and with a stick, and wait for it to cool |
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Posted: 2/11/2021 11:38:22 AM EDT
[#2]
And be careful with the heat gun as it will heat the kydex pretty darn quickly. And you may want to find a thin piece of dense foam for the shaping as it will likely be too hot for your bare hand...thin yoga mat.
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Posted: 2/11/2021 12:17:41 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted: And be careful with the heat gun as it will heat the kydex pretty darn quickly. And you may want to find a thin piece of dense foam for the shaping as it will likely be too hot for your bare hand...thin yoga mat. Leather work gloves is what we used when vacuum forming car trim pieces. |
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Posted: 2/12/2021 12:43:28 AM EDT
[#4]
The best way that I have found to reshape a small portion is to submerge the area that needs fixing into boiling water. It concentrates the heat to only where you need it. This method also ensures that you don't overheat the plastic.
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Posted: 2/13/2021 12:18:38 AM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted: The best way that I have found to reshape a small portion is to submerge the area that needs fixing into boiling water. It concentrates the heat to only where you need it. This method also ensures that you don't overheat the plastic. How long do you hold it in the water? @Bravo_Six |
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Posted: 2/13/2021 10:23:39 AM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted: How long do you hold it in the water? @Bravo_Six Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: The best way that I have found to reshape a small portion is to submerge the area that needs fixing into boiling water. It concentrates the heat to only where you need it. This method also ensures that you don't overheat the plastic. How long do you hold it in the water? @Bravo_Six @CPT_CAVEMAN I'm not sure. Maybe 30 to 60 seconds. Its kind of a trial an error thing. Dip for a while. Try to reform it. Dip a little longer. Try bending some more. It is a "low impact" or "safe side" approach to doing it. I can say that I've never screwed up a holster by using hot water. |
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Posted: 2/14/2021 11:42:00 AM EDT
[#7]
I have always used a hair dryer, never melted the kydex
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Posted: 2/14/2021 5:29:02 PM EDT
[#8]
I just hit it with the heat gun and jame the gun in there.
Done. |
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Posted: 2/14/2021 5:56:02 PM EDT
[#9]
Wear a pair of heavy cotton jersey gloves.
I identify the area on the holster where the light will occupy. Heat that area with the heat gun by taking your time. Heat pull away...Heat pull away...Heat pull away... on both sides. Watch closely for the kydex to rise slightly in the desired location. Insert gun and use your gloved fingers to press and mold around the area to get the desired results in retention and aesthetics while blowing on it to cool. If you find the retention is too much (after it cools completely) You can go back and slightly hit the spots with heat that ar hanging it up. The trick is to take your time so you don't end up with a puddle of melted kydex where your holster used to be.  @CPT_CAVEMAN |
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Posted: 2/17/2021 5:16:47 PM EDT
[#10]
I've done this a few times with a heat gun amd welding gloves. Even made a custom optocs hood out of kydec from am old holster shell. Works great for making small adjustments or forming areas that aren't responsible for the retention.
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Posted: 2/18/2021 6:54:40 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Wear a pair of heavy cotton jersey gloves. I identify the area on the holster where the light will occupy. Heat that area with the heat gun by taking your time. Heat pull away...Heat pull away...Heat pull away... on both sides. Watch closely for the kydex to rise slightly in the desired location. Insert gun and use your gloved fingers to press and mold around the area to get the desired results in retention and aesthetics while blowing on it to cool. If you find the retention is too much (after it cools completely) You can go back and slightly hit the spots with heat that ar hanging it up. The trick is to take your time so you don't end up with a puddle of melted kydex where your holster used to be. @CPT_CAVEMAN Since it was my first time I did the boiling water thing so I wouldn't wind up with a blob of plastic. It worked OK, did what I needed it to do but didn't form around it like the rest of the holster. A heat gun might work better if I knew what I was doing. Maybe next time 
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Posted: 2/18/2021 11:42:23 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Since it was my first time I did the boiling water thing so I wouldn't wind up with a blob of plastic. It worked OK, did what I needed it to do but didn't form around it like the rest of the holster. A heat gun might work better if I knew what I was doing. Maybe next time |
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Posted: 2/18/2021 11:56:58 PM EDT
[#13]
Hold over a hot stove with tongs.
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