Scrapes, gouges, and burrs

[FredV]

Occasionally my discs will hit a rock, fence, or metal sign. That causes a deep scrape or gouge in the disc. Sanding does too little for the indentations, and it does too much to the frayed edges and burrs that occur. I'd rather not turn my disc into plastic dust. Another thread here mentioned filing as an alternative to sanding; but, that seems to be no more than a quicker way to loose plastic. Another way to treat these disc injuries is to soften the high spots of the scrape or gouge with a fine tip soldering gun and move that plastic into the recess. That would result in a disc that is more like was. A disc that is still dented and bumpy, but lighter, is not a happy disc.
The rules concerning disc modifications present a number of problems which understandably have resulted in widespread disregard for their expressed terms. The question I have here is more interested in players' thinking about reasonable alternatives to sanding than it is about how the rules might be strictly or loosely applied.

 

[Horsman]

The sodering gun trick I believe would make the disc illegal while sanding it down is perfectly fine. I know the rule book says that sanding a rough disc is ok but I dont think u can melt it back into place.

 

[FredV]

The sodering gun trick I believe would make the disc illegal while sanding it down is perfectly fine. I know the rule book says that sanding a rough disc is ok but I dont think u can melt it back into place.

Again, I am seeking the opinions of others concerning the reasonableness of the melting treatment not the legality of alternatives to light/moderate sanding. Some have advised that strict compliance with disc modification rules is a futile proposition. I can debate the defects and loopholes and wisdom of the current rules later. Would you find the soldering gun approach to disc healing a better way to preserve the surface conditions of your plastic?

 

[Horsman]

I have done it before, Ive melted another disc into a disc that got a hole in it. Worked fine but no matter the ammount of sanding done to the area after the melting was done it was just never the same and never felt right.

 

[FredV]

My smoothing techniques are quite controlled, where the surface is much closer to original than can be achieved by sanding. It looks like you have an experimental streak also. Would you use a hot tip instrument if you could achieve better results than sanding? I have not worked on holes, but I have contemplated the use of a hot tip instrument to do a repair. I 'll mention it when I try it.

 

[markmcc]

I have a temperature controlled soldering station that works magic on cuts, gouges, etc. It is great when you get a cut edge because you can remelt and smooth the plastic into place without losing any weight.

 

[FredV]

I have a temperature controlled soldering station that works magic on cuts, gouges, etc. It is great when you get a cut edge because you can remelt and smooth the plastic into place without losing any weight.

A temperature controlled soldering station sounds good to me. My hot-tip instrument has one temp which I can only vary by switching to a different amp DC converter. Look for my next thread that deals with temperature and pressure treatments of discs distorted due to high impacts during play.