Board Thread:General Nerf discussion/@comment-26431461-20200630141820/@comment-27306930-20200702003936

I didn't say it out loud, but my original idea was to fill it 80% with light weigh wood filler, then put a final layer of epoxy putty. That would keep the weight down and provide a strong base, plus wood filler is comparatively cheap and I've got a ton of it lying around.

But yes, there are a couple of different thermoplastic materials that could be used to cover it. KYDEX sheeting is really popular and comes in thicknesses between 0.028 and ¼ inch. You don't really "bake" it, but you need a proper heat gun to work with it and get it to take shape. Regular hair dryers don't get hot enough.

Plus, the glass transition temperature (aka melting point) of ABS is just above 220°, whereas thermoplastics like KYDEX have a ductile temperature around 320° and a melting point of 390°. So if you tried to bake it, you'd probably wind up with a puddle of blaster goo and a bunch of unbent thermoplastic sheeting 😉