I read about a technique in Shep Paine's book on building armor for denting plastic. He said to thin the plastic with a rotary tool and gently push on the plastic you want to dent. I have some 1/35 scale oil cans I'd like to try this on. Is this the favored way to put dents in plastic? I'm afraid I'll punch a hole in it instead.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
TIA...Kevin

The method you use would depend on the size of the dents you wish to make. For large dents, I would think that Payne's method would be just about the only way. For small dents, you can simply gouge the plastic with a knife or motor tool and then smooth the edges of the gouge and it'll look pretty good. It won't work for deep dents, more like dings I guess.

Shep's way is for dents on bigger areas.....for an oil can I would do as Grifter suggests.....use a knife to gouge and smooth it out with sandpaper......I usually just use a file to dent up my cans.
Good luck

Grifter,
This is going to sound stupid but how exactly do you use the file for this purpose?
Thanks

Hi there, I tried a candle once, to soften-up the plastic. When its soft enough, gently push in the dent with the back of a paint brush. Needless to say, this technique needs some practice!

All the best, John.

Instead of a candle you could use a soldering iron, it is a little bit better to handle