How to figure out what type of plastic you're dealing with?

MadMike

Well-Known Member
Basically the title.
The story behind that is I found a big roll of plastic in our garage, but there was no packaging or something that could tell what kind of plastic it is, so we just don't know.
Is there any way, any tests or so you can do to figure out what exactly it is?

Thanks in advance
 
Different plastics react differently to solvents. To test if something is ABS/styrene or something else, I sometimes dip a q-tip in acetone and rub it against an unimportant spot. If it leaves a mark, it is likely a compound with styrene in it. If the acetone just evaporates then it is something else.
However, I don't know what results there would be with any soft plastics.
 
Plastics tend to have a certain smell when cut (with saw or dremel).
A friend of mine could tell by the taste (weird I know)
 
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