Stories by Charles A. Breskin

A Wide Range of Consumer, Commercial, and Industrial Applications Lie Open to Polyvinylidene Chloride, a Plastics Material Whose Unusual Versatility Marks It for A Position of Ever-Increasing Importance

Rigid or Non-Rigid, Cellular Plastics Have High Strength-Weight Ratios and Many Possible Applications, Especially if Prices Can be Made More Competitive

Paints, Varnishes, and Similar Wood Surface Coatings With Synthetic Resin Bases Can Be Formulated To Meet Requirements of Specific Applications. The Resultant Coats Offer a High Degree of Protection, Beauty, and Durability

In a Great Many Instances, the Qualities of the Plastics Coating, Rather Than Those of the Base Material, Are Responsible for a Product's Serviceability

Present Suppliers of Coal-Derived Chemicals Cannot Keep Pace With the Combined Requirements of the Rapidly Expanding Plastics Industry and With Other Equally Fast-Growing Non-Plastics Markets. As A Result of This Fact, Are the Present Ambitious Plans for Plastics in the Coming Year Doomed to Only Partial Fulfillment?

A New Method of Producing Low-Pressure Thermoplastics Laminates, Plus Relatively Low Overall Costs, May Point the Way to Expanded Uses for these Colorful, Durable, and Easily Formed Materials

All But Unknown Twenty Years Ago, the Plastics-Bonded Plywoods Are Taking Their Place Along Side Conventional Structural Materials, Equalling or Surpassing Them in Strength, Durability, and Beauty

All-Plastics Automobile Bodies are Still Largely in the "Talk" Stage, but New Laminated Plastics Panels are now Being Produced Fast Enough to Keep Up with Operations on One Station-Wagon Assembly Line

Annealing Polystyrene Plastics Parts Requires a Simple but Specific Technique. Controlled-Cycle Water Baths and Fixed-Temperature Ovens are Practical if Results are Checked By the Kerosine Test

Standing On an Enviable 30-Year Record, The High-Pressure laminates Look Forward to Continued Large Markets and Even Wider Use. Durable, Laminates Combine Technical and Decorative Advantages

Possessing a Trio of Virtues--Beauty, Durability, and Easy Handling in Fabrication--Vinyl Covering Materials are Proving Themselves to Be Husky Competitors in the Upholstery and Protective-Covering Field

Not Always Made as Simply as Their Appearance and Applications Might Suggest, Plastics Products--Fountain Pens, for Example--Frequently Undergo a Number of Carefully Planned Fabrication Stages

Joining Two or More Pieces of Plastics Together is Something Beyond a Gluing Job and It Just Misses Being Welding. Consequently, Many of the Methods Used are Not Universally Known. With Proper Techniques for the Plastics Involved, Strong, Clear Joints are the Rule

Packaging, the last Step in Production, is Often the All-Important First Step in Merchandising. Whether Precision Parts Need Protection, Or Elegant Dainties Call for Plus-Feature Packages, Plastics are Available in More than 30 Basic Types and Many Colors to Aid the Sale

Known by Various Names, Impression Molding Removes Many of the Barriers that Have Stood in the Way of Producing Plastics Products in Large Sizes. It Also Eliminates the Need for Expensive Molds and Heavy Machinery. Production Processes Can Be Fast and Continuous

Ideally Suited for Diffusers, Shields, Fixtures, and Glowing Radiant Panels, Plastics can Join with the Light Source Itself to Provide a Harmonious Lighting System. Strength, Light Weight, and Low Thermal Expansion All Contribute to Plastics' Growing Importance in this Field

Advertising Specialties and Premiums are Big Business. Successful Use of these Mediums Means Meeting Unusual Requirements; Plastics are Often Naturals for the Job. Adaptable to Clever Designs, Permanent in Color, and Mass-Producable, Plastics have a Real Edge in this Field

Finding its Best Market in a Diversified Group of Other Industries, the Plastics Industry Looks Forward to a Busy Year. Production, Still Somewhat Limited by Materials and Equipment Shortages, is Expected to Smooth Out Soon. Will All-Plastics Cars be Forthcoming Eventually?

A Large Percentage of the Radio Receivers to be Made During the Coming Year will Use a Variety of Plastics in a Variety of Ways. Moldings, Extrusions, Castings, and Wire Insulations All Find Places in an Industry that Faces a Greatly Expanding Future

Welding, Bonding, and Molding of Plastics is Speeded by a New and Simple Process That Will Greatly Extend the Utility of these Materials in Many Applications. By Use of Friction, Plastics can be Permanently Bonded to Wood, Glass, Metals, Ceramics, and Other Non-Plastics

Combining Utility With beauty, Plastics Provide the Modern Small Home With Transparent and Radiant Walls, Giving the Illusion of Greater Size to Small Rooms. Plastics are Used for Curtain Rods, Colorful Door Knobs, Drawers, Trays, Tables, Chairs, and Bath Fixtures

Hydraulic Presses, Operating Around the Clock, Must Use the Correct Fluid for Continued Economical Operation. Heat Transfer, Rust Pre- vention, and Adequate Lubrication are Other Special Problems of the Plastics Industry that are Being Solved by Petroleum Products

Conventional Materials and Methods of Boat Building Are Yielding to the Newer Plastics. Advantages Offered in Boats Big and Small Include Resistance to Corrosion and Fungi, Easy Workability, and High Strengths. Paints, Plywoods, and Laminated Wood all Enter the Picture

Will "The Car of Tomorrow" have a Plastics Body? Probably Not, Until Many Technical Problems are Solved. However, Even Pre-War Cars Used Many Plastics Parts, Pointing the Way Toward Vast Increases in the Use of these Materials for Decorative and Functional Purposes