Plastic Cutting

Hello

I have a few items I am considering installing. Recessed lights. etc... Looking for a hot knife to cut the plastic/vinyl bumper cleanly. Been looking around, finding a few items They all say maybe on thicker plastic. Usually they are for foam, fabric. Anyone know of one?

 

I don’t know much about a hot knife. But a rotary dremel or body saw will also work.

 

Can’t hot knife modern plastics like you used to be able too. They typically have a lower melting point and the plastic gets highly viscous quickly. So you wind up losing control of the cut and burning the paint on the edges in the process. It’s easier with a Dremel cutting attachment designed for plastics and cleaning it up by sanding after.

 

agreed. a dremel with a cut wheel works great if you 2 hand it, go slow and de-burr at the end.

 

Gotcha. I have one of those! Thanks for the plastic tips.

 

My previous truck was a Nissan Frontier. I ordered a ShrockWorks off-road front winch bumper. The install of the new bumper meant that I had to cut my previous bumper covering in half. I measured about 20 times, laid out some painters tape and made the cut with a jig saw that had a plastic cutting blade installed. It worked like a charm, cut was long and straight. No regrets.