Recycling HDPE-2 plastic for model building.
- Thread starter SCUDMAN
- Start date
SCUDMAN
Sr Member
I cut the top off of a soda can and put the plastic clippings into the can.
I baked the clippings in the oven at 350 degrees. Here is how it turned out.
I must say that while the plastic was melting it had no odor whatsoever. However, there was a slight hint of the perfume of the detergent. More to come soon.
Thank you for looking.
I baked the clippings in the oven at 350 degrees. Here is how it turned out.
I must say that while the plastic was melting it had no odor whatsoever. However, there was a slight hint of the perfume of the detergent. More to come soon.
Thank you for looking.
Did you wash the bottle before melting the plastic? If it's not pure plastic, it might be less homogeneous and might even influence it's durability.
RKS.
The Piranha
Member
Fascinating. How is the consistency at 350 degrees? Is it pour-able or is it just slop?
SCUDMAN
Sr Member
Hello everyone; thank you for your interest in my little experiment.
RKS; I washed the plastic thoroughly before it went into the oven. However, nevertheless it still had a nice soapy smell anyway.
The Piranha; the hot plastic when it came out of the oven is not pourable. It's a hot lump that is flexible and pliable but it is not a liquid.
x197; I used an old toaster oven, which I use for hobby purposes. If anyone else tries this I recommend the same.
RKS; I washed the plastic thoroughly before it went into the oven. However, nevertheless it still had a nice soapy smell anyway.
The Piranha; the hot plastic when it came out of the oven is not pourable. It's a hot lump that is flexible and pliable but it is not a liquid.
x197; I used an old toaster oven, which I use for hobby purposes. If anyone else tries this I recommend the same.
SCUDMAN
Sr Member
The plastic shrinks quite a bit after it has cooled off over night. You can see this by the gap between the plastic and the can. The fact that it shrinks so much as it cools is something to to take into consideration whe doing this
The lump of plastic slides right out of the can.
Thank you for looking.
The lump of plastic slides right out of the can.
Thank you for looking.
xl97
Master Member
Perfect! Dont want you (or anyone) to end up dead form any out gassing or other nasty stuff!
I use a toaster oven as well (but to re-flow my PCB projects..etc)
My assumption is that it would be similar to painting any other plastic - that is, there are many different types of plastic but they all tend to require some kind of prep in order to paint them.
I haven't gotten around to trying this myself yet, but I've looked at other examples on the web. Some people will use something to compress the plastic while it is still molten so that there are no gaps or voids once it has cooled down. Some people cast it in cylinder shapes which they can turn on a lathe, which I think is pretty cool... if only I had a lathe
The Piranha
Member
Does anyone know if regular polystyrene will melt down like this? We may have finally found a use for all those wasted model kit sprues.
SCUDMAN
Sr Member
Hello everyone; thank you very much for your feedback....
blakeh1; I am going to do a paint and glue test to see how they work on this kind of plastic.
x197; Thank you for you're concern about my health. Often times the products and materials we model makers use can be very toxic.
The Piranha; Trying this with styrene may be next on my list of things of things to do.
joberg; That Is good advice. I used a clamp to compress the plastic when it was hot.
ZeroSum; I am going to machine this lump of plastic into a few useful parts.
blakeh1; I am going to do a paint and glue test to see how they work on this kind of plastic.
x197; Thank you for you're concern about my health. Often times the products and materials we model makers use can be very toxic.
The Piranha; Trying this with styrene may be next on my list of things of things to do.
joberg; That Is good advice. I used a clamp to compress the plastic when it was hot.
ZeroSum; I am going to machine this lump of plastic into a few useful parts.
SCUDMAN
Sr Member
Hi Dem Bones; You are right about the coloration and pattern, it's very pretty. I thought about parting off a few slices and using them as coasters.....
I started to turning down a profile. I hit a few voids but was able to work around them by machining down past the void.
Thank you for looking.
I started to turning down a profile. I hit a few voids but was able to work around them by machining down past the void.
Thank you for looking.
spacebob
Sr Member
This is very interesting. blakeh1 is talking about a known resistance that hdpe has to paint and glue due to its waxy nature but I saw a vid where a guy uses a blowtorch to carefully sweat out the problem chemicals from the surface of an auto bumper. Maybe the heat that you have already subjected this to is be doing the same already.
We could have a useful cheap material.
I do a bit of turning for my projects (1:1 scale droids and blasters) and this sounds like a really, really good idea indeed. Cant wait to see how it paints
We could have a useful cheap material.
I do a bit of turning for my projects (1:1 scale droids and blasters) and this sounds like a really, really good idea indeed. Cant wait to see how it paints
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All of these industrial plastics are LOADED with mold release agents. In the case of polypropolene , washing alone will not suffice. You MUST beat treat the plastic with a blue flame from a gas torch to draw release agent and other impurities out. Then degrease, wash, and set sand. Sorry for auto correct....beat-heat, set-wet.
