How to "make" plastic

I have always searched for a quick and simple way to make plastic. I have tried many but the one in this instructable the best I have found. It uses materials that you probably already have in your house,
it is fun to do and can be completed within minutes. I hope you will enjoy doing this instructable and will be able to learn something at the same time.

Step 1 Materials

acetone
Acetone is commonly used as a paint thiner and can be found at your local hardware shop or at amazon.com.

glass container
This can be an empty pot of jam or a beaker.

expanded polystyrene (styrofoam)
You can buy styrofoam cups or use any other piece of styrofoam you have.

safety goglesYou might consider using these because acetone can cause permanent eye damage.

Comments

[Nagarok]

Looking at the science behind it, you theoretically don't need to use acetone to make this react.

You just need a non-polar solvent that could be potentially less dangerous, but they may not be as readily available as acetone.

[squiggy2]

I had this thought myself, but acetone is good because it evaporates quickly. I Made a test batch of this stuff about - 10-15 millilitres - using turpentine. It dissolved well enough, but 2 weeks later it's still squishy.

[knoxarama]

Yeah, I was too lazy to find acetone so I just used gasoline

[nerd12]

i made some of this stuff recently and filled a short length of PVC pipe with it as a mold. the next day i pick up the pvc to find that the plastic had not dried and also the PVC was going soft! i think that acetone is a solvent for PVC but won't dissolve it. i will experiment more and let you guys know.

PS. the pipe was standard 20mm plumbing PVC pipe

[smoak]

Acetone breaks down and reconstitutes almost all plastics. You could also use Acetone and Legos. Acetone and any ABS plastics will cause the plastics to melt essentially. That's why the PVC was going "soft". If you had more acetone there it would have melted it and could have caused a very large mess. I wouldn't recommend this type of "plastic" for injection molding.

[nerd12]

it went only a little soft. i actually tried to shove this stuff(acetone + thermocol) into a paper mold but even though i had painted it with resin it tore. any suggestions as to mold it? also i want to make a look alike spartan spear for a costume out of 3/4 in CPVC piping but i do not know how to shape the blade into one. any ideas for molding this?
please respond.

[paqrat]

Could you line your paper mold with aluminum foil?

[nerd12]

the mold tore, so i don't think it would make a big difference. this would work though if it was just sticking.

[Landon Sullivan]

Congratulations, you now have a napalm-esque substitute.

[nerd12]

i tried to take a blob of hardened plastic(this stuff) and melt it to pour into my mold. i still can't get the smell out of my lab and the stuff didn't work out. took ages to even get gooey.

[nerd12]

i tried to force this stuff into a mold made from cardboard made with the help of pepakura. the paper completely tore. any one have any ideas on how i can make similar molds and perhaps inject the plastic into it?

[de.das.dude]

how is this for moulding PC case parts for mods? is this stuff hard to paint? my thoughts are solvent based paints should work.

[Slon]

Polystyrene solution in acetone. Poli doughy mass. Then. Add gradually, stirring with turpentine. Get a totally transparent thick liquid. How do I use? Think for yourself.

[Slon]

Polystyrene solution in acetone. Poli doughy mass. Then. Add gradually, stirring with turpentine. Get a totally transparent thick liquid.

[jmbudka]

I want to try using this to create cheap custom plastic toys. Has anyone had luck pouring this material into a plastic mold? Obviously it is constantly getting harder as the acetone evaporates. But is the initial viscosity of the material light enough to be poured as a liquid? Or is it more like say: vaseline, or peanut butter or clay?

[wolfkeeper]

You could try using polyester from fiberglass kits. It's quite brittle, but adding any fibers to it strengthen it enormously (paper or glass fiber) even in comparatively small quantities. It works out at about a penny a gram, plus the cost of the fibers.

[useraaaaa]

try hot gun glue...

[jpoopdog]

none, its like thick silly putty. polystyrene requires massive amounts of solvent to completely dissolve , but just as bread becomes soggy with a few tablespoons of water, so does the polytyrene.

however, if layed intop of a mould, and in contact still with some solvent (gasoline or acetone), it should eventually seep intot he mould so long as the air can escape the mould as the polystyrene come in.

[survivletroop]

it is like a clay but it can be put into a mold and takes the same prosses

[gunnk]

I want to do the same. I've tried this technique, but so far I've found that I continue to have dissolved air trying to come out of the resulting styrene for days. It leaves the resulting styrene filled with bubbles. Looks like others here are having some success, so I need to try again.

[nerd12]

I tried this out and it is solid but it is filled with bubbles produced by effervescence by the Styrofoam coming in contact with the acetone.
any one know how to prevent this?

[im3733]

you could try kneading out the air like one might while working with clay?

[nerd12]

i doubt that even if i put it into a noodles press (like a cylinder with a plunger) that i could get the air out. also it stick to every thing including my hands and so i can't. if i were to touch the stuff for a few seconds the acetone freezes my finger too.

[stu2theMax]

You do know this is how u make napalm right?

[nerd12]

???
you make napalm by adding aluminum soaps to petrol (gasoline)!
this would be flammable due to the acetone and the drying plastic would be like napalm (sticks 'n' burns) but not when dry. where did you get that idea from?

[im3733]

I won't make military-grade napalm, it may not even make "true" (aka, dictionary definition) napalm, but it will certainly be something that acts and looks similar in use. Maybe not the real thing, but a cheap and simple substitute for sure (and with most "cheap" things, quality and/or effectiveness are probably the first things to suffer)

[stu2theMax]

I was just experimenting when I realized the common ingredients. There is an easier way to produce napalm tho. I believe someone even made an instructable how to do so. Which surprised me. Just be careful. Napalm can be very useful if not used for its original purpose.

[nerd12]

How are the ingredients common?
Napalm=Gas+Al Soap
weird plastic=Acetone+Styrofoam

i know that you could also use gas as the solvent but 2 things- gas is more flammable and it rather volatile as compared to acetone.
here acetone is used instead of gas

(PS- Textbook explainiation for 'volatile' means it evaporates easily, not explosive but often is.)

[mpilchfamily]

The poor man's Napalm is just Styrofoam in gas. The last time i played with the stuff was about 12 years ago. I used a gas oil mix and Styrofoam. It made it a bit more manageable as far as handling it. It wasn't sticky like it would be with strait up gas.

[the walking stick]

they are rather common materials though. I bet you my girlfriend in all her non-crafty-ness has all these ingredients. I think it was a great idea. very clever of you stu2themax.

[stu2theMax]

A styrofoam does the same thing when acetone eats it. Stop questioning me and try it both ways if u don't believe me dubie. Then talk to me about what I don't know. :)

[nerd12]

i though this site had moderators on language. i am betting you are an American.
napalm, when lit almost explodes then starts to burn. do you really think i want to go to hell directly?
this 'might' be an explosive but it won't be napalm. it will be somthing else.

[useraaaaa]

"napalm" is sticky flamable goo

so acetone + styrofoam :-)


also you can sniff acetone :-)

[Arano]

napalm contains by definition gasoline and a thickener...

[nerd12]

Which is where the Al Soap comes in...

[Arano]

or other substances... Napalm B contains polystyrene as thickener

[nerd12]

scratch that. your most likely Canadian.

[stu2theMax]

Then u don't know how to make it. Sorry I thought u understood English. My bad.

[nerd12]

no need to start trying to act smart
i work with weapons as a living. i know my stuff. i most certainly understand English and spoke nothing but all my life. I'm just not fimiliar with slang terms like 'dubie' so i looked it up on urban dictionary

[Landon Sullivan]

I'm sorry I have to say this, because this kid is being a but of an ass [Canadian] about it, but acetone can actually form a very short-living napalm substitute, albeit not all that effective.