Glock Boiling???

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coolluke01
Glock Boiling???
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The guy wasn't pulling your leg, at least not intentionally. He was probably referring to the water absorption properties of Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 along with their moisture regain properties. HOWEVER, it highly unlikely that boiling a magazine for 10 minutes will remould it to to its original shape since the melting point of Nylon 6,6 is 509 F.

Try tossing a polymer mag in the oven and baking it for a few hours at 275. Let me know the result. :)
 
I just spent 40 mins talking to the very informative President of Pearce Grips. Lane Pearce. He is the one who I talked to the other day. He again mentioned that rehydration of Hygroscopic Polymer is a real thing. He asked me to try it again for a longer period and see if that would fix my issue. If not it may be a different problem.

The purpose is not to change the shape or reform the mag as much as to rehydrate the polymer and bring it back to spec.

He said he would send me a few links to this polymer rehydration process.

Here is the video I took of boiling my glock mag. I was just trying to have fun with it.

http://youtu.be/FwuKCXe-D1M
 
If you were "re-hydrating" the plastic why would you need to boil the water? Why not just put it in water? I can see how you can boil plastic to change it's shape (boiled the end of my glock frames to get rid of pigs nose) but that was to soften the plastic enough to bend it, not to re-hydrate.
 
Hmmm...

From Webster's Ninth Collegiate;
hydrate... to cause to take up or combine with water or the elements of water...
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There are a couple of other definitions but all along the same lines. There is no water in the polymer compounds that Glocks are made of. They were not hydrated in the first place. This means that they cannot be re-hydrated.

There are hygroscopic resins and polymers though. They are designed to take up moisture through capillary action. I do not think that the Glock is made of such however.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygroscopy

http://www.museumstuff.com/learn/topics/hygroscopic::sub::Polymers

http://www.ptonline.com/kc/articles/Plastics-Drying/drying-parameters

This topic has come up before with poly guns...

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144725

Raul
 
If you were "re-hydrating" the plastic why would you need to boil the water?
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Cuz at room temp, you might have to leave your Glock in there for 10 years to achieve the same result. Temperature can make a huge difference in the speed of such things. I'm not saying this works or doesn't, but the "boiling" part doesn't make this hogwash.
 
Actually the fellas not talking about rehydrating the Glock, just the Pearce mag extensions. This because the cheap plastic compound they make them out of became loose and sloppy over time. Could be there is some hygroscopic material used in them.

The man, on advice from Pearce, boiled them. They did not do like Levi's and "Shrink to Fit" instead they remained loose and sloppy. More advice from Pearce-"Boil longer". At this point I'd double the boiling time and look to the results.

What do you have to lose? Not much. Boiling water is neither hard nor expensive. Look to science and experiment. Follow Pearce's advice and boil away. Post the results here. It will either work or after 2-3 hours in the pot call it a day and buy someone else's extension.

tipoc
 
According the Pearce Glock polymers are made with hydroscopic resins. He told me the company that makes their material but I forgot what it was.
He didn't think the Pearce mag plate was the only thing that needed hydration. The mag tube was what he thought could benefit from the hydration. I followed his advise and boiled the mag for 25 mins. Still no change. I may try longer.
It is right that the boiling process is only to speed up the process.

He did mention that this polymer was very much like superglue. It requires moisture. He said that in very very dry climates superglue won't always work and it will turn to dust.

I was planning on adding some salt when I cooked it on the video but I forgot.
 
According the Pearce Glock polymers are made with hydroscopic [SIC] resins
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First, it's hygroscopic. Secondly, it refers to water absorbing on a molecular level-not something rigid plastics do. Rigid polymers that take up water do so through capillary attraction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygroscopy

He did mention that this polymer was very much like superglue. It requires moisture. He said that in very very dry climates superglue won't always work and it will turn to dust.
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These folks are either very diluded or having great fun yanking your chain. Do you really think a Glock cares if it's in the jungle or the desert? Likewise, do you really believe super glue needs humidity to work? Ever try gluing wet materials together? Doesn't work so well……….
 
As a former design engineer I must add that nylon (a polymer) DOES absorb water, up to about 11% of its weight. Boiling is not necessary, but would speed up the process. I DON'T know which polymer Glocks are made of. If it is nylon, or similar, it would absorb water. All that is NOT to say that a Glock must be "rehydrated", or anything. One needs more info to give this "rehydrating" idea any more credence. In the meantime, don't boil your handguns!
 
I'm confused. We are making this sound like the poly frame nylon or whatever may need water to somehow restore it. I agree that some polymer compounds may indeed soak up water, but how does this do anything for the durability of the polymer? I have family that lives in a desert and they have several poly frame autos and they aren't cracking like drying out tires left in the sun. They are just fine. I think some here are acting like this is similar to leather or cellulose somehow. Such does not seem to be the case. :confused:
 
Ever try gluing wet materials together? Doesn't work so well
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Gorilla glue requires water!

Jungle or desert isn't the whole issue. They do seem to function fine in extreme circumstances. I did notice that the polymer was a little softer after the treatment. The frames do flex and torque quite a bit when fired. I wonder if in really dry environments a dryer/stiffer frame could be an issue.
As a former design engineer I must add that nylon (a polymer) DOES absorb water, up to about 11% of its weight.
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He did compare it to nylon several times. According to him Glocks polymer is very similar.

I'm glad everyones enjoying this thread. I was very skeptical as well.

Hygroscopic. That could be right. I might have misheard him on the phone.
 
Nylon 66 in raw form can absorb up to 11% of its weight in water... HOWEVER, Nylon 66 +30% glass fiber will absorb very little if any, moisture and will remain dimensionally stable.

This is why Glock (presumably) uses Nylon 66 + 30% GF. This is commonly known by injection molding manufacturers and is no trade secret.

BTW, even if nylon absorbs water while boiling, it will expel the water as it cools down.
 
they aren't cracking like drying out tires left in the sun.
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Don't confuse "drying out" with damage from UV. Sunlight will destroy nearly anything, given enough time. Polymer, urethane, petroleum/organic rubber, etc. are particularly susceptible.
 
Hot water isn't really good for the Glock frame material.

Do a search with the terms:

glock hydrolytically attacked nylon

I wouldn't boil a Glock frame, nor would I put it in a dishwasher with a heated dry cycle.
OK.....I've owned glocks for almost 20 years....what's "pig nose"??
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Some folks apparently don't like the fact that the dustcover of a Glock sometimes angles up and makes contact with the underside of the slide at the muzzle. They call it a "pig nose" and some will even go to great lengths to try to eliminate the situation.
 
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