How durable is mylar tape?
How durable is mylar tape?
I like the idea of taping my sca sword with gleaming silver tape, but i do not want to have to replace it every fight. Will mylar tape just tear in one fight or is it stronger then that?
Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
-
InsaneIrish
- SQUEEE!
- Posts: 18252
- Joined: Thu Aug 10, 2000 1:01 am
- Location: Jefferson City Mo. USA
I have heard mixed reviews. I have heard that it doesn't hold up to heat well at all. YMMV
Insane Irish
Quote: "Nissan Maxima"
(on Pennsic) I know that movie. It is the 13th warrior. A bunch of guys in armour that doesn't match itself or anybody elses, go on a trip and argue and get drunk and get laid and then fight Tuchux.
Quote: "Nissan Maxima"
(on Pennsic) I know that movie. It is the 13th warrior. A bunch of guys in armour that doesn't match itself or anybody elses, go on a trip and argue and get drunk and get laid and then fight Tuchux.
InsaneIrish wrote:I have heard mixed reviews. I have heard that it doesn't hold up to heat well at all. YMMV
Really? They use mylar tape for heatsheilding on like hot water pipes and such...
Maybe that is a different type though.
Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
-
Hew
- Archive Member
- Posts: 2871
- Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 5:02 pm
- Location: Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
- Contact:
I'm bored at work, so here goes...
Mylar (in various forms) is cool stuff. My experience with it is mostly in the graphic arts. It's the Dupont trade name for polester film. Polyester in general is strong (eg. the rope of choice for torsion bundles in onagers and ballistas is 1/4" diamond-braided polyester).
It is used for many things that acetate file was used for - drafting film, animation cels, and the substrate for video and audio tapes.
Mylar film is "dimensionally stable" - it does not readily shrink or warp under pressure or tension (such as in a printing press, or in use as a recording tape). Images on multiple overlays will stay aligned. If it does stretch a bit, it will snap back to it's original size.
It will survive passing through a laser printer or photocopier, which acetate film does not. Acetate can melt when the printer tries to heat-fuse the toner, so reserve acetate film for inkjet printers, or for hand-drawn overhead transparencies. I think you'd have to hit Mylar with a flame or something like a stove element before it starts to deform.
Polyethylene film (eg bread bags) is not so stable, and will easily stretch or melt.
Mylar can be cleaned with a variety of aggressive solvents such as xylene, benzine, acetone, toluene, turpentine, Varsol, alcohol etc. without curling up or fogging over.
It has an extremely high dielectric constant, (will not easily conduct electricity, and takes a high voltage before it will "punch through") and so makes a good insulator in non-flexing applications, such as in capacitors.
The mirror-like version of Mylar (eg. "space blanket") has been coated with a thin film of aluminum, so it could rub or scratch off. I'm not sure what they use for the gold-colour metallized Mylar. Looks really cool when you stretch a few square yards of it over a frame.
As for metallized Mylar tape, I've not had a good look at any of it, but I suspect they anodize the aluminum onto it and then coat the metallized side with adhesive.
Since Mylar is dimensionally stable and does not stretch, I'd guess that it does not go over lumpy surfaces well without wrinkling.
The drafting film version (something like 0.5 mm?) is not easy to tear by hand so it should be fairly durable unless you're hitting sharp edges with it.
Mylar (in various forms) is cool stuff. My experience with it is mostly in the graphic arts. It's the Dupont trade name for polester film. Polyester in general is strong (eg. the rope of choice for torsion bundles in onagers and ballistas is 1/4" diamond-braided polyester).
It is used for many things that acetate file was used for - drafting film, animation cels, and the substrate for video and audio tapes.
Mylar film is "dimensionally stable" - it does not readily shrink or warp under pressure or tension (such as in a printing press, or in use as a recording tape). Images on multiple overlays will stay aligned. If it does stretch a bit, it will snap back to it's original size.
It will survive passing through a laser printer or photocopier, which acetate film does not. Acetate can melt when the printer tries to heat-fuse the toner, so reserve acetate film for inkjet printers, or for hand-drawn overhead transparencies. I think you'd have to hit Mylar with a flame or something like a stove element before it starts to deform.
Polyethylene film (eg bread bags) is not so stable, and will easily stretch or melt.
Mylar can be cleaned with a variety of aggressive solvents such as xylene, benzine, acetone, toluene, turpentine, Varsol, alcohol etc. without curling up or fogging over.
It has an extremely high dielectric constant, (will not easily conduct electricity, and takes a high voltage before it will "punch through") and so makes a good insulator in non-flexing applications, such as in capacitors.
The mirror-like version of Mylar (eg. "space blanket") has been coated with a thin film of aluminum, so it could rub or scratch off. I'm not sure what they use for the gold-colour metallized Mylar. Looks really cool when you stretch a few square yards of it over a frame.
As for metallized Mylar tape, I've not had a good look at any of it, but I suspect they anodize the aluminum onto it and then coat the metallized side with adhesive.
Since Mylar is dimensionally stable and does not stretch, I'd guess that it does not go over lumpy surfaces well without wrinkling.
The drafting film version (something like 0.5 mm?) is not easy to tear by hand so it should be fairly durable unless you're hitting sharp edges with it.
"It is a primitive form of thought that things exist or do not exist." - Sir Arthur Eddington
-
Vitus von Atzinger
- Archive Member
- Posts: 14039
- Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2000 1:01 am
- Location: Louisville, Ky. USA