Plastic Worms and Stickiness...

[Ace]

Hi all,

Working on a project with the kidsat school, we're trying to pour some plastic worms and grubs. We have Pitsco Plastic Worm Plastic, all the colorant, molds, etc. I did a trial run this afternoon for tomorrow's lessons and they turned out ok, but they are sticky. I think I'm cooking them long enough...The back of the bottle did mention something about an oil to put on them, curious if any of you experts out there no of such a thing or if you have your own homemade version. Thanks!!

[river rat316]

Ace, there could be a couple things going on there, your plastic might not have been mixed enough, I use a stirrer I made for a drill, and strir fo about 5 minutes, I have no experience with that brand of plastic, but most plastics seperate and the hardner falls to the bottom and you have to stir the beejesus out of it to get it mixed thouroghly. The other thing is plastics don't fully cure for 24 hours, and need to be above 65 degree room temp to cure, so check back after 24 hours and if they are still sticky it probably wasn't mixed up properly. Good luck with the project and make sure the kids don't play around it, hot plastic is like napalm it just keeps burining and you can't get it off!

[bassn1]

You need to shake or stir that bottle to get it mixed. Are you using the microwave to heat it? The plastic looks like milk before it's heated. Then it will turn into a clear jell, then a clear liquid.It needs to pour like thin pancake surup. The best temp is between 275-300. You can use a candy thermometer to get the temp.Stir every 30 seconds or so to keep it mixed while your heating it. You'll get some good pours before it starts to cool. Then just zap it in the micro for 20-30 seconds and start pouring again. Use a PYREX cup. Anything else will tend to explode in the micro or in your hand when you touch it.

[Ace]

Thanks for the tips guys. After curing over night they were much less sticky...Still experimenting with it, we did such a small batch that the thermometer was barely covered without touching the pot. We heated it on a hotplate in a small nonstick pot. The kids each got two good grubs out of it yesterday in class. They really thought it was cool, I think they're 'hooked':-)