Working with Tastic Plastic
The Tastic base panel can substitute for lumber, wood, but way lighter and easy to cut with snips.
The base is easy to drill. When you pass a zip-tie through the hole, the edge of the hole deforms under pressure creating its own reinforcing collar.
Tastic cover stock can be cut with sturdy scissors. You can also push a utility knife through it, somewhat.
You can score Tastic cover stock with a utility knife and a straight edge, then crease it and tear it off fairly cleanly.
Clean up rough edges (if cosmetics matter) with sandpaper, a sureform plane, or shave it smooth with a utility knife.
You can cut Tastic with a power saw. Most any saw blade will do as Tastic resists chipping. Some saws may kick out plastic dust, which usually falls straight down, but if it gets airborne, don’t breathe it.
Tastic glues great with regular PVC cement (don’t use “heavy duty”). Don’t use that ugly purple PVC prep. Just clean both surfaces with alcohol, coat both surfaces lightly with cement, and clamp for a few minutes.
Hot melt glue works if you heat it enough so that it incorporates well.
To turn cover stock into a container, fold up the ends. Use a heat gun or hair dryer. Gloves are recommended. The hotter it gets, the easier it bends. Hold it in place as it cools
To turn the container into a cover, cut tabs into the folded wings and bend the tabs inward.
These tabs snap over the curved edge of the base holding it snug.
All types of tape seem to stick well.
We’ve used Flextape to make waterproof corners, to make troughs for wetting wallpaper.
We’ve used thin double-stick carpet tape to adhere Tastic flat on the wall.
Nanotape sticks with surprising holding power. Best to let an edge of the nanotape stick out to facilitate removal by grabbing that edge with long nose pliers and pulling to stretch it. Otherwise just prying it off will likely take out chunks of wallboard.
The hotter you make Tastic, the softer it gets. To get wet noodle limp it will be too hot to hold without gloves.
You can also heat Tastic for bending by putting it in scalding hot water.
The base can be bent, but takes more heat than the cover stock requires. Be careful not to leave scorch marks, if cosmetics count.
Hold Tastic in the shape you want as it cools and it will stay.
Tastic is thin but has surprising holding power for screws. Screws with a point or a self-tapping tip will easily drive into Tastic and hold well. The penetration bunches the Tastic, actually reinforcing it.
Tastic takes paint great, all kinds of paint. It works with regular spray paint and with the type that is labelled as “for plastic”. It works with latex house paint, interior, exterior, all types.
When you bend a corner, there will likely be some distortion, bulging, and maybe one of the overlapping edges will stick up too high. Just add more heat to the bulge and massage it into place, and trim off the overlaps.
Working with Tastic can be iterative. You can always heat it up again and try over. Drill new holes for new zip-ties. Refine a design and repurpose old pieces.
Caution: Do not cut Tastic on a laser CNC machine. Laser vapors are poisonous and corrosive.
Our PVC does not require California Prop 65 warnings as only safe levels of safe ingredients are used.
