Melting Plastic

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basstender10.6

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I am not the brightest person but I decided to melt some old plastics and re pour them in my plaster molds. I cut the old plastic into small pieces and put it in a pyrex dish. This stuff wouldnt melt. it would melt on the bottom and the top would be gooey. Not to mention I broke 2 YES 2 pryex dishes.
What am I doing wrong :?:
 
You're almost there. I just started pouring plastics recently. Depending on what you start with it could be different. I recommend getting pyrex cups and throwing it in the microwave for 30 second cycles until its fully melted. Careful not to burn it.

also, i recommend safety equipment.. gloves, eye protection, and a mask and make sure you have plenty of ventilation.. those fumes can be deadly (no joke), they can wreak havoc on the your respiratory system.
 
What "old" plastic are you melting? What brands?

You may have two different types of plastics together?

I am a complete idiot and have smoked (cooked plastics too long) old re-melts but never broke a Pyrex glass ever! DO NOT BURN the plastics - it is an awful mess
 
I like reading these posts even though I probably will not have time to mess with anything like this personally until after I retire. (10-15 years from now) But I think about it all the time.
 
Captain Ahab said:
What "old" plastic are you melting? What brands?

You may have two different types of plastics together?
I have about 3 brands together (is that bad?) They are zoom, berkley, and some unknown brand of grubs. Was this a mistake?
 
basstender10.6 said:
Captain Ahab said:
What "old" plastic are you melting? What brands?

You may have two different types of plastics together?
I have about 3 brands together (is that bad?) They are zoom, berkley, and some unknown brand of grubs. Was this a mistake?



The Berkley! Not like the others and does not usually melt and mix.


Try again without the Berkley and i bet you will be fine.

If any one of the "old" plastics you are dealing with feels different then the others you should usually avoid mixing.

Berkley uses some other type of plastic to make their baits as does Strike King (those super stretch plastics anyway)
 
BTW - Real Pyrex is rated up to 500 degrees - if you are breaking it heating plastics it is either scratched or you are on fire!
 
basstender10.6 said:
BassAddict said:
first off how long are you running each heat cycle for?
I was running it for about 30-40 seconds, then i would take it out and stir it, then put it back in.

30-40 second bursts shouldnt of caused it, what could of caused it was either a chipped cup to start with, the glitter in your plastic didnt aggree with your microwave or your taking your cup out of the microwave and putting it on a cold metal/stone surface. Im thinking it was the later of the three............... Also just to eliminate any other unforseen problems id melt the individual brands with each other.


Edit: Also Im hoping your using a plastics only microwave!! You dont want to be using the same microwave that you normally use for food.
 
BassAddict said:
basstender10.6 said:
BassAddict said:
first off how long are you running each heat cycle for?
I was running it for about 30-40 seconds, then i would take it out and stir it, then put it back in.

30-40 second bursts shouldnt of caused it, what could of caused it was either a chipped cup to start with, the glitter in your plastic didnt aggree with your microwave or your taking your cup out of the microwave and putting it on a cold metal/stone surface. Im thinking it was the later of the three............... Also just to eliminate any other unforseen problems id melt the individual brands with each other.


Edit: Also Im hoping your using a plastics only microwave!! You dont want to be using the same microwave that you normally use for food.

Thank you very much. And yes i was using a old microwave in my basement (bad idea.... needs to be done outside if you dont want to choke)
 
Thank you very much. And yes i was using a old microwave in my basement (bad idea.... needs to be done outside if you dont want to choke)

Honey....what is that smell coming from your mancave? :shock:
 
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