How to Use Recycled Plastic Bottles for Do-it-Yourself Molding
- 1). In a well-ventilated area, preheat your toaster oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If you find that the plastic does not melt, increase the temperature to 400 degrees.
- 2). Remove the caps or lids from the bottles. Caps melt easily, but they are a thicker plastic and so should be kept separate from the bottles. Cut the bottles into small, evenly-shaped pieces, and place the pieces in an oven-safe dish, making sure you leave at least one inch from the top of the container.
- 3). Separate pieces of different colors into multiple containers, if desired. If you want to pour the melted plastic into a mold, you should determine the color you want it to be before melting. Mixing colors will usually only create a swirl effect, not blend the plastics into another new color.
- 4). Remove the melted plastic with tongs or oven mitts. The plastic should melt in less than 10 minutes, but you should constantly monitor it.
- 5
Your plastic can either be opaque or transparent.plastic flower 4 image by dompach from Fotolia.com
Use a wooden paint stick to stir the plastic. Quickly pour the plastic into the mold and let it harden. If you run into a problem, such as not having enough plastic to fill the mold, or the mold did not turn out the way you wanted it to, you can re-melt the plastic and try again.
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