# Advise on styrene



## sbendall (Mar 20, 2013)

Hi All,

Am looking at making some outdoor models (buildings) for my G scale garden railway. I have reviewed online about styrene which seems it may do the task, and the possibilities with it seem endless.

However when it comes to selecting the basic type (white) sheet, there seems to be many thickness available. Could some one help advise on what type of thickness styrene should be obtained to build outdoor structures

Thank you in advance

Simon


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi Simon, 

If the buildings are to stay outside I would suggest Sintra board with styrene for detail; I use the materials as does Ray Dunakin ( he is an MLS member and has his 'new building post running at the moment) with his new building he is making at the moment. 

I use 5 and 3mm boards - I am in England , and 40, 60, and 80 thou styrene (the latter for roof boards. 

Styrene must be painted as that will stop UV getting to it - which makes it brittle. The same applies to Sintra or Foamboard 










All the buildings are Sintra board with styrene; the board will not be cheap but it can also be used to make freight cars as well. 3mm should be easy to find, the thicker 5mm less so I prefer the latter; if finished off with paint & a coat of UV varnish my buildings stay out all winter, and get almost covered in snow.

The white building has the roof made from 2mm or 80 thou styrene and has a standing seam roof added to the sheet then painted and varnished.

Yours Peter.


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## Russell Miller (Jan 3, 2008)

Use 1/8" for the main structure and 1/16" sheet for the details. Larger buildings will need reinforcements inside to reduce the chance of bowing. I'm a big fan of using Acrylic for outside structures as that material is clear and UV stable. Remember that Styrene is not UV Stable and needs to be painted well if you want the structure to last outdoors. 

Russ Miller 
Manager, TAP Plastics


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Listen to Mr. Miller, kids. Peter, nice looking project you've got going. Or did I miss something--like it's already completed. 

Russ, et all, speaking of bowing, I work with 1/8 styrene and I have to tell you, after you laminate the base material with/to Precision Scale sheet (brick, clapboard, etc), once everything dries and sets up, my walls bow like crazy. I've been gusseting the heck out of them, which helps marginally. On my last (completed) project, my small cabin, I had to use long, woodworking clamps to stick the whole thing together. And, as I joked, I still have visions of the building exploding some night when the solvent cement lets go.


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## dms1 (May 27, 2010)

I was interested to know where is the best place to order Sintra board and styrene? The local hobby shop here in town carries neither.

Thanks


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## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

Ditto on Dave's question. I tried to get some Sintra at the local Lowe's, and all I got was a blank look and a "huh?". 

JackM


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi, 


First I live in England and a while ago now I was told that the USA version is called Sintra board. 






I call it PVC solid foam board, another name for it is 'foam board' - its is NOT the artist's foam board, which has a paper sheet on both sides of it. 






The use for it is exhibition signs, or estate agent (realty in USA) signs - it is a solid sheet not plastic corrugated sheet (which can also be used, though the 'planks are a bit narrow) - that turns up in political signs, and possibly estate agents signs. There are different densities, and softnesses, some has one side gloss, one side matt, that is best avoided - its difficult to cut and work, compared to both sides matt or semi-matt.






Thus the place to look for it is sign makers or writers; it is in large sheets possibly 8ft x 4 ft, which they supplier can cut to 4 x 4 ; PVC (etc) is not cheap I use 5mm thick, but 3mm with extra bracing can be used and that is being used much more and its cheaper.






It is not cheap, but as it is strong and totally inert does the job very well. For the 3mm thick stuff I would suggest bracing with solid PVC angle strip on the inside. 






Sintra's website may help - here is a link to it http://sintrapvc.com/ they mention Gatorfoam which is possibly another name, though the 'medium life' produces a query on that.










Another link is at http://www.solarbotics.net/starting/200207_sintra/200207_sintra.html 






Yours Peter


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

hi Joe, 






I think your bowing is possibly due to just having two layers, three being an odd number is said to be better. Think of plywood - it always has odd numbered plies.






What(I think) is happening is that the Precision board needs another board on the other side of the Sintra board to counteract the pull of the PB's adhesive? 






You say you use Styrene - that is why I looked (a long time a go) for something better, for large buildings - the results were corrugated plastic ch sheet, and Vekaplan SF both in the UK, with a thickness of 5mm, to eleminiate bowing, and the cross pieces are 'belt and braces' tactics. Your stuff ( in USA, Sintra?) is not cheap, but .120" (= 1/8") stryene won't be cheap either. 






Styrene by itself when used in construction is either 1.5, or 2mm thick so it won't bend, 1mm is used for detail. I would still add internal cross pieces to make sure though.






I do not have any bowing at all, I have cross pieces between walls; possibly you are using the softer (that is it bends/bows easier) density board?






Just thoughts, I can understand your aggravation.






Yours Peter.


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## iaviksfan (Dec 27, 2007)

I made some buildings and a tunnel portal face, from the artists board. I thought sealing it, it would have been ok, but no, the paper separated from the foam and curled up. Thanks for the information, as i will need to be re-building these a little stronger. 
Greg R.


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## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

For large 4'x8' sheets of styrene look up plastic suppliers in your telephone book. Most communities have some sort of plastic supplier. Some have better prices, and selection than others. 
When I picked up 2 4'x8' sheets of 1/8" and 1 1/16" thick, I asked the company how thin they went down to. They told me that they sold down to .010" in a 4'x8' sheet. 

This structure is a combination of 1/8" and 1/16" thick styrene. 









Craig


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## Russell Miller (Jan 3, 2008)

Foamed PVC goes by many names in the US with Sintra being the most common. Other names for the material include Celtec and Trovicel. I really don't recommend using it for large outdoor structures that are subject to any sort of heat as I've seen even 12mm (1/2") thick material warp. Once again, gluing in ribbing will help reduce the a=warping. I'm talking about a minimum 3" wide strip glued perpendicular to the wall going the full length of the wall, or better still, glue in flooring. 

Joe, if you flood the joint completely with the solvent cement, MEK works great when using Styrene or ABS, the solvent welded joint will never let go. There is no glue there to fail. The solvent melts the plastic, the melted plastic sides mix together and the solvent evaporates causing the joint to harden. When done right, the two pieces are now one piece. 

Russ Miller


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks, Russ. Actually, my cabin walls were "stuck together" with Weld-On 16. Same difference, right? For my next project (Shhh, don't tell my wife!) I am tempted to try Precision Board from the Pipers, because the building, a repair garage that dates back to 1930 and is still a working business today, is brick. And the Pipers do brick, pre-scribed (without a doctor's prescription?) on both sides if you want. Cost wise, it's a bit more than if I glued brick sheet to my handy-dandy stock of styrene sheet, but figuring the time not spent "gluing," I figure the cost will be a wash. Plus I love the grain in the ??? 16-pound ??? density PB. It looks very bricky. When I visited the Pipers, Ross gave me a scrap of the stuff and I carved a couple of courses of brick into it--just for fun. Looks great. BTW, Ray Dunakin and Peter are using Sintra (or a Sintra-like substance), which, according to Ray, has no texture and isn't what I'm looking for. Anyway, I'm just day-dreaming right now. I went out and shot a whole bunch of shots of my future building project last Sunday morning and was waiting for the local constabulary to show up and ask me why I was taking pictures of windows, doors, brickwork, etc, but thankfully no one hassled me. That or the locals who like to call the cops when someone passes gas, must have been in church.


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