Styrofoam head and long term display warning!

[BOLO]

I just took a helmet off my shelf that has only been on display less than two months and the styrofoam head was stuck to the tan vinyl headband! it caused a reaction of the two materials in contact and left traces of melted styrofoam on the headband

 

Im glad I checked it sooner or it may have caused more damage, I was able to rub the white styrofoam off with my fingers

 

maybe I should have put something inbetween the foam head and the liner to prevent the bonding of the materials?

[TRR]

I would suspect heat to have caused the styrofoam to break down. A knit cap is an idea that would keep them from getting stuck together.

[MPage]

I'm still in the process of finding some styrofoam heads, but when I do I think I will cover them with nylon stockings (as with a stocking mask).

[RustyCanteen]

This seems to be more of an issue with vinyl and synthetic sweatbands than leather, although I won't store leather sweatbands on styrofoam heads either.

[Bluehawk]

Bolo, when you rubbed the styrofoam off, did you notice any kind of other residue? Anything sticky, or of a different color than white or the color of the vinyl?

[Jeeper704]

Use an old t-shirt (or part of it) to cover the styrofoam head.

 

Erwin

[BOLO]

Bolo, when you rubbed the styrofoam off, did you notice any kind of other residue? Anything sticky, or of a different color than white or the color of the vinyl?

 

no, the vinyl didnt disolve or show signs of damage, it was mostly a sticky residue from the styrofoam head

[Bluehawk]

 

no, the vinyl didnt disolve or show signs of damage, it was mostly a sticky residue from the styrofoam head

Thank you for describing.

 

What this may be evidence of is something that has, actually, been of concern to me in recent years. Namely, that although styrofoam is supposed to be inert, how can anyone these days be sure of the chemicals/processes used in manufacture?

 

It would not take much of a variation in formula to create something that would not function as designed.

[RustyCanteen]

I would suspect that it's something in the vinyl.

 

I had the same occur years ago to a vinyl sweatband, but at the same time had a leather sweatband suffer no ill affects. Fortunately, the vinyl was not harmed.

[suwanneetrader]

You also have to watch medals in the plastic display box with thin sheet of foam behind them. I recently got a Navy shooting medal that had been in the original box for about 15 years (true that it have have been in a storage unit exposed to alot of Florida heat) but the foam was hard and cracked and the metal (brass ?) Pin hanger for the ribbon was covered with green deposit. Richard

[joefriday22]

I'm still in the process of finding some styrofoam heads, but when I do I think I will cover them with nylon stockings (as with a stocking mask).

 

 

Inexpensive and fast shipping..

 

http://www.displayimporter.com/products/MN-409.html#sthash.jsyl4Rvl.dpbs

[MPage]

Inexpensive and fast shipping..

 

http://www.displayim...h.jsyl4Rvl.dpbs

 

Good deal...I'm going to order from them. Thanks for that!

[Trooper B.A.R]

I would suspect that it's something in the vinyl.

 

I had the same occur years ago to a vinyl sweatband, but at the same time had a leather sweatband suffer no ill affects. Fortunately, the vinyl was not harmed.

I would have to agree with "something in the vinyl". Styrofoam is made from polystyrene pellets. Polystyrene is used in medical items, etc. with no ill effects for decades. Styrofoam is made using pellets, and depending on manufacturer and their patents, using a gas, propane, butane, etc. Heated, under preasure, etc. (not going into complete procedure, boring). And is basically inert. Vinyl is another plastic, some cheaply made, and some don't react well with other plastics, especially if heat, or sunlight is available, and start to deteriate. Some may remember the disasters during the 80s were baseball cards were taking off, and collectors bought vinyl plastic card holders, many breaking down and ruining whole collections.

I was an Engineer for a major oil company and worked in these operations.

[Lee Ragan]

I have used styrofoam heads for years with solf headgear (including visored caps), and the only real problems I have had is the sweatbands on some European visor caps will stick to the styrofoam. I've never head this problem with any American made headgear. Of course, most headgear is a little too large for the heads, so there isn't much contact with the sweatband. When I do have the problem with the foreign caps, I can just wipe the sweatband off with a soft cloth and there seems to be no more problem for awhile. I do check the mounted hadgear from time to time to wipe dust off the visors and brush the cloth parts. Living in a dry climate like West Texas may help when it comes to problems that are otherwise caued by high humidity.

[kies99]

Just as an aside to this conversation, Hobby Lobby has a deal running through July 6 in which shipping is only $0.04. Using the 40% off coupon code I was able to order a head shipped to me for $6.03 (just placed the order a few minutes ago). If you need more than one, you'll have to place separate orders to use the 40% off though. I only needed one so it worked for me. Going to wrap the head in some OD cotton fabric I have laying around before putting a cap on.

[Bob Hudson]

The culprit is the PVC. The plasticizers leaching out it attack the styrofoam. Remember "new car" smell in those big old Detroit cars of yesteryear? That was the smell of the nasty chemicals in the seat covers, etc. outgassing into the air. If you leave electronics gear in the original foam packing for a long time, you may find that the PVC power cord has foam attached to it from the same leaching process.

 

Leather would not do the same thing to styrofoam.

 

There is a different problem with the kind of soft, usually grey, foam used in some small plastic medals cases (it's also used in earphone pads, flight helmet pads, etc). That stuff breaks down over the years and gets hard and crumbles to dust if you touch it.

[Bob Hudson]

I have used styrofoam heads for years with solf headgear (including visored caps), and the only real problems I have had is the sweatbands on some European visor caps will stick to the styrofoam. I've never head this problem with any American made headgear.

 

Maybe our large US cattle industry made it more affordable for the US to use leather sweatbands in such caps, instead of vinyl.

[Bob Hudson]

By the way, this polystyrene/PVC interaction is not just a problem from militaria collectors. In some cases it can be downright dangerous. Here's one such example involving foam insulation and AC power cables:

 

"Polystyrene is commonly used in loft and wall insulation, just the places that cables are run. The plasticisers used to make the PVC insulation on the cables flexible reacts with the polystyrene resulting in the polystyrene appearing to 'melt' and the plasticiser migrates out of the cable making it brittle and causing the insulating properties to break down. The cable will eventually fail, especially if disturbed and this is both a fire and electrocution risk."

[case42so]

I use glass heads. They come in different sizes. You might still find them at places that sell wigs.

[Alonzo]

I have been using Styrofoam heads in my display cases and covered them with cotton/polyester blend. They are secured with zip-ties around the neck and trimmed to improve the appearance.

Have never had a problem with them in any way and they have been in the case for about 9 years. I check them periodically and all is well.

Check my thread in the Displays topic, titled "My Mini Museum". If I recall there was question posed by someone about these heads.

[jmar]

I used styrofoam heads in the past and fortunately had no issues, but I'm sure it can happen especially since "recipes" for the foam material can vary from maker to maker. I agree with case42so on glass heads. For the more rare items I have I too use glass heads. They are much more expensive, but if you have a big investment setting on it is seems well worth the cost.

 

They are readily available at Pier 1, one of which is about 15 minutes from where I live, see link below

 

http://www.pier1.com/Recycled-Glass-Head/2188209,default,pd.html#q=glass-head&start=1

 

When I do use foam heads I make a small papertowel "liner" by pulling off a length of towel and folding it into a strip about the width of the leather/vinyl liner. It goes in between the head and the sweatband or helmet liner. That way the foam doesn't come into contact with your hat/helmet.

[Mitter2k1]

I use an unbleached white cotton muslin bandanna I made. I just adjust the sweatband to fit over it and it doesn't touch the Styrofoam. Doesn't always work for garrison caps, but helmets it works fine.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk