Different Color Plastics = Different Properties?

[HGM22]

I've heard that the different color polymers used in guns/magazines have different properties, namely strength. Is this true, and if so, what more do we know? Are certain colors stronger, while others are more elastic i.e. less rigid? Which colors have what properties? Are these differences negligible, or something more akin to 5-10%? Is this an across-the-board trend for all/most companies?

 

[badkarmamib]

The way I understand it, the chemicals used to achieve different colors react to the base material differently. Thus, some colors will strengthen the base, others make it more elastic, others more brittle, etc. If Joe Public was concerned with function above color matching, I am sure there is a perfect color that would give all of the desirable properties

 

[Caliper_Mi]

I'm pretty sure there is more than just color. While the color additives probably do affect the material properties, the base makeup of the polymer is going to have a bigger effect. Just look at all the different properties of various black polymer pieces. Different strength levels, different amounts of flexibility.

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[Jim Watson]

For outdoor use, you need some pigment - commonly carbon black if you are not going for style - to protect the polymer from sunlight UV.

Powder coating of bullets is said to work better with some colors than others. Are there other differences in the plastic powder than color? I don't know.

 

[alexander45]

Only difference I know of is with clear polymer being weaker do to the harding agents used to keep it clear

 

[FROGO207]

Just don't get anything that is purple. It will be all wishy-washy and weak like Barney is.

Just Kidding.

My understanding is the actual pigment does not have that much influence on a particular plastic and it's properties. There are many different compositions of "plastic". Think PEX, Nylon, polypropylene, and HDPE for some common examples. Some have strength, or flexibility, or UV/ozone stability, or temperature stability to name a few of the many important features mixed in when made. A lot of the times a plastic's color is just the sum of the natural colors of the many ingredients own pigments. Add a dark pigment to keep light from showing through or to ID it for a special use/identification.

 

[Bigdog57]

For firearms I don't know. But aving been building plastic scale models for decades, I do know certain colors of Styrene plastic are different. Clear tends to be hard and fragile, easily cracked or broken. White tends to be soft.
But some companies do have differing hardness in the same colors. Also, some blends take paint more easily than others. Some have an almost oily feel.
Firearm plastics are usually more robust though, using ABS and other stronger types, as they need to survive in a harsher environment, of recoil, rough handling, weather, etc.
Kydex is popular too, and I haven't seen any difference in how different colors behave.

 

[MIL-DOT]

FWIW, I've read several times that the black Mag-pul magazines were more resilient than the OD and FDE versions. I can't tell a difference, but I haven't put them to any test, or owned them for many years, so who knows.

 

[lysanderxiii]

The way I understand it, the chemicals used to achieve different colors react to the base material differently. Thus, some colors will strengthen the base, others make it more elastic, others more brittle, etc. If Joe Public was concerned with function above color matching, I am sure there is a perfect color that would give all of the desirable properties

In many cases colors are used to identify plastics.

It's not so much that the color causes the plastic to be different, but because it is different, it is a different color.

And different base polymers take dyes differently, so shading is dfferent...