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Automobile air conditioning housingb made of polyester premix and containing 55% asbestos - Rosato9, Houston Reinforced Plastics Co. (C) 2013 InspectApediaAsbestos Plastic Components & Ingredients
Manufacture of Asbestos Containing Plastics & Molded Materials

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Basic components used in asbestos based formed or molding products: this article series about asbestos plastics & molded materials describes the history, manufacturing process & uses of asbestos plastics and molded materials such as asbestos reinforced handles, the Vanguard rocked nose cone, automobile parts & housings, electronic equipment (radar scanner), asbestos-filled Teflon, rocket motor parts, plastic drop tanks for the Hawker Sea Hawk, and hundreds of other products.

This articles series about the manufacture & use of asbestos-containing products includes detailed information on the production methods, asbestos content, and the identity and use of asbestos-containing materials.

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Asbestos Plastic Components & Makeup

Automobile air conditioning housingb made of polyester premix and containing 55% asbestos - Rosato9, Houston Reinforced Plastics Co. (C) 2013 InspectApediaHow Asbestos Fabrics & Fillers Were Combined with Phenolics to Form Molded Plastic Products

By the use of asbestos fillers, phenolics can be made into many standard forms to meet the design requirements of high-impact strength, tensile strength, electrical insulating qualities, heat resistance, chemical resistance, moisture resistance, and wear resistance.

Figure 9.3. Automobile air-conditioning housing made of polyester premix compound containing 55 per cent asbestos. - Courtesy Houston Reinforced Plastics Co. [Click to enlarge any image]

For laminated or molded items, asbestos fabrics, papers, felts, mats, loose fibers and yarns are used.

The fabrics used are generally of heavy construction and low cost which meet National Electrical Manufacturing Association (NEMA) requirements.

The asbestos papers used for combination with phenolics include low-cost, low-strength paper products as well as such specialty paper products as Quinterra* and Novabestos.**

* Johns-Manville Corp.
** Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc.

The specialty grade papers, which are also more expensive, have been developed specifically for rigid electrical requirements. Table 9.2 provides for general information concerning asbestos felts.

TABLE 9.2. Properties of Standard Asbestos Felts
  Asbestos Felt
Style A
Asbestos Felt
Style U
Thickness (based on height of 10 plies), in. ± 10 %
0.010 0.010
Weight per 100 sq ft, lb, ± 5%
2.0 1.8
ASTM Grade ( D375-52)
AAAA Underwriters
Asbestos fiber contained in the felt, % min
99 80
Organic content, % max
1 20

Notes to the table above

Significant data for modern readers is that the asbestos content in these felt product ranges from 80% t0 99%! - Ed.

In molding compounds, short asbestos fibers such as "shorts and floats" can produce attractive surface finishes and satisfactory molding properties. Long asbestos fibers tend not to produce highly attractive surface finishes and have inferior flowing characteristics. To remedy these problems, shorter asbestos fibers are generally mixed with the long fibers.

Increasing filler content increases the viscosity of the resin systems. For example an unfilled polyester resin system with a viscosity of 2,500 centipoises at 75°F would increase to 60,000 centipoises with 20 per cent asbestos filler. Actually thick and stiff putties or pastes can be made with a high percentage of asbestos fillers in the various resin systems.

In many of the past applications, asbestos reinforced or filled plastics were not evaluated as basically structural materials. However, in the past decade there have been tremendous strides with regard to reporting and developing high strength and high modulus asbestos base plastics by industry. These types of plastics are gradually entering into such diversified fields as automotive parts, electronic parts, chemical equipment, aircraft, and missiles.

Note: significant data for modern readers is that the asbestos content in these felt product ranges from 80% t0 99%! - Ed.

See also VULCANIZED RUBBER & ASBESTOS PRODUCTS

Question: was asbestos used in the plastic coating on bicycle baskets?

Plastic coating on bicycle basekt - does this contain asbestos? (C) InspectApedia.com Thor

My mother refurbished this weekend an old bicycle basket (age unknown). It was made of steel coated with relatively thick, plastic-like material (perhaps about 1-2 mm thick, and a good deal of visible rust through the coating). She scraped off this "plastic" with a metal scraper, and then painted the basket (picture of freshly painted basket attached).

I don't know which year the basket was manufactured. I came to think that such coating might contain mixed-in asbestos. Is that probable?

The scrap is now under the terrace tables at our cabin. The children use to play on the terrace in the summer. It was hard to get to under the terrace, but we have collected some of the scrap pieces, see attached picture.

- Anonymous by private email 1 July 2019

Plastic coating on bicycle basekt - does this contain asbestos? (C) InspectApedia.com Thor

Reply: research on use of asbestos and asbestos waste as filler in plastics and plastic coatings

Use of asbestos in the plastic used to coat wires such as bicycle baket is not an application that I've come across, but asbestos was used in some plastic coatings - probably for more demanding and more critical applications. The primary use of a bicycle basket plastic coating is to resist rust and corrosion.

A Google Scholar search for that application of asbestos did not produce any findings.

However a patent search does find applications in which plastic was modified by adding asbestos. Take particular note of Aldo 1954 and Greider 1944.


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