#moldable plastic

Started off with me making some hearts out of Apoxie Sculpt

But it was hell on my arthritic hands. Decided to only focus on one heart, make it the best it could be, mold it, cast it, profit.

And then I found out that my molding putty is probably expired since it's not curing properly. After two attempts, this was the most solid of them.

I like resin but I hate how much I end up wasting. Then I remembered I had these moldable plastic pellets from Polly Plastics and decided to give it a try.

The reason I haven't really used this is because I have a fear of things melting. I live in a very hot area so it is a reasonable concern. Sure, air temperature doesn't reach +150°F/ 65°C, but what if I accidentally leave it in my car? In the summer? It's a legitimate warning from Polly Plastics themselves.

I read an article once that said it was only ever possible to have two out of the three of the holy grails of building works: Cost, quality, time.  I think the similar principals apply to children at halfterm…happy children, messy house, cost…only ever two at one time..but at least acknowledging these salient truths makes wading through the detritus of my present house so much easier.  Which is…

My first impressions using Thermomorph moldable plastic pellets.

I purchased an 18oz jar of this stuff a few months ago on Amazon and finally decided to use it when making covers for LED lights I was putting in a hat. It was pretty easy to work with. The only snag was that you’ll need a way to keep water hot. I ended up having to go upstairs every so often to reheat the water in the microwave. If you have one of those little tiny crock pots for dips or those electric hot pads that you set mugs on to keep your drinks warm, you’ll be good as gold.

First, get your water all hot, 160-200F should do. Spoon some of pellets into the water. You’ll notice right away that they’ll start turning clear. After about 2 minutes, they’ll start sticking together and form a clump. Now you can take the thermomorph out of the water, but be super careful! The water could still be hot. You can now mash the pellets together into a big lump and mold it like clay. I pushed it into a paint tray to make these little domes to cover some LEDs.

Once you take the plastic out of the water, you have to work fast. As it cools down, it starts to stiffen back up. You have about 3-5 minutes of decent playability time. If you need to make it maliable again, hold it in the hot water again for a few seconds and it will loosen back up.

As the plastic cools, it will turn back to white and reharden. Once it’s hardened up, it can be painted. If you need to sand it, do it by hand! I used a dremmel to smooth the surface and the friction generated so much heat that it actually burned the plastic. The cool thing about this stuff is that it’s reusable (if it’s unpainted). Just chuck it back into the water and try again.