Cutting PVC for a PVC figure

TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan · Wed Jul 15, 2015 11:01 pm

Hi,
I'm having good results working on the Devil Hunter Yohko soft vinyl figure I am currently working on (you can follow the build in the Figures section). Soaking the parts in warm water allows me to cut the parts very easily with an X-Acto blade.

I recently scored a Galaxy Fraulein Yuna PVC figure kit on YAJ and while it too is vinyl, it is not soft vinyl. My only prior experience with cutting PVC is with a hacksaw cutting piping, like when I installed a misting system on my back patio back in Arizona. This figure is a bit more delicate than that. Would warming the pieces in hot water do the trick?

seam-filler · Post by **seam-filler** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 2:51 am

Yes, hot water (as hot as you can handle) will work, especially if you soak the part for a while. This lets the heat get right into the vinyl. I keep a mug of really hot water by the side and occasionally dip the blade in it to keep the temperature up.

As soon as it starts to get hard to cut, stop and re-soak. Do not struggle as it ends up in broken blades, sliced fingers and damaged models.

You could use a hair drier, but the vinyl doesn't stay hot for long and is a bit more awkward to use IMO.

TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan · Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:02 pm

Thanks! I will do that. Here in Japan, we have these insulated "magic pots" in which you can fill with boiling water in the morning and it's ready to make hot tea all day long. I was using that a lot when I was cutting up my soft vinyl figure.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 1:13 am

Putting the parts on top of a heater (especially water-filled ones) for a while also works., with the added bonus that the parts won't slip out of your fingers since they're not wet.