The "How To" Question on Shrink Wrap

[Sunroof]

okay, I am all thumbs on this stuff. My 73 has a lot of brittle wire and I thought I would apply some shrink wrap on a few near the fuse box, AC compressor power line, to name a few places. Neat stuff I thought, and never having done this, I figured a lighter would be best, making sure of course I did not light the fuel hoses!!! The stuff shrank alright but I burned (blackened) the heck out of the stuff too!

This must be an art form and one would have to have a hot poker fresh from the fire place to make this stuff work and not leave scares on it.

Help...........I need a good tutorial on the fine art of shrink wrap!

Thanks
Bob
73.5 T

[john walker's workshop]

a heat gun for sure. a hot hair dryer, maybe.

[dad911]

Use a Heat Gun. Available from Hobby store (also used for model airplane coverings) or a good hardware store. They cost $20-$30 and are typically more powerful than a hair dryer. For that matter, you may want to try the hair dryer first........

[Early_S_Man]

Bob,

Old hair dryer + formed deflector nozzle = heat shrink gun

To make the 'custom nozzle' ... you cut off a regular 'spreader nozzle about 1.5" - 2" out past where it slips on, and pop-rivet a 2" - 2.5" wide piece of aluminum that goes out and curls around ... with an open 'gap at the top, kind of like a 'skeletonized' pipe 'Tee' ...

The wire or cable to be shrunk is laid or you maneuvered into the open-top 'tee' perpendicular to the heat gun direction of exit airflow ... and the curled aluminum piece circulates the hot air around the tubing to be shrunk ...

[Eric Coffey]

Plus, just as there are varying sizes of shrink tubing, there are also varying degrees of quality/type. The best stuff I have found is less shiny, and has a more soft feel. It think it has a higher butyl/rubber (or something) content. Anyway, the stuff shrinks perfectly and evenly and creates a more flexible wrap that won't get brittle over time.

[Doug Zielke]

Good point on the quality issue, Eric.
In my racket, we use heat shrink tubing all the time. In smaller sizes, 3M is a good choice. Definitely avoid the hard, shiny stuff.

[RoninLB]

I use marine quality, does cost more than routine auto wrap but is worth it. Buy in bulk avoids the "Tiffany" prices in marine supply stores. Noticable difference just looking at it.

[rob911]

Agree with "Early_S_Man", make a nozzle for the heatgun. IMHO a hairdryer will not do a proper job on decent heatshrink, you may end up baking the insulation on the car wiring trying to get things hot enough. Also avoids heating everything within 3 feet of the cables .

Also look out for the dull black heatshrink with 'glue' on the inside, great for preventing moisture (fuel, oil, washer fluid ..etc) attcking wiring, esp damaged/ageing cables. The glue activates when heated so no problem fitting it, removal though..............

For more delicate areas where flexiblitiy is needed try "spiro-wrap" - if you have never seen it imagine a 5 mil wide strip of thin plastic wound into a helix (spiral) shape - this stuff is perfect for hard to reach places and when it is not possible to disconnect either end of the cable to fit heatshrink. Just flip the open end of the "spiro-wrap" over the cable ond rotate it on

Months spent in that cable bay in the Air Force finally show their worth

[Sunroof]

Thanks Guys. I will save the matches for another day!
Good stuff.

Regards
Bob