Plastic and my temper...!

[deadking]

I followed a recipe for pouring some stick baits and I have a really nice aluminum mold so I heated the plastic and began to pour. My question is how long does it take for the plastic to harden.....? I waited and waited and waited what seemed to be an hour and still the plastic is like water.....What did I do wrong? Does it take a few hours for one pour to harden? Would appreciate your help before I pour and waste more plastic...Sure isn't like pouring lead...!

[BassnG3]

Sounds like you did not heat it long enough. The plastic will start out thin then change to a thick gooey state then to a hot thin liquid state. This is the state it should be when you pour. Once in the mold it only takes 3-4 mins at most to harden enough to remove from mold. Read some of the older posts on pouring basics to get more info like when to add color, glitter etc. If you still have questions feel free to ask. Hope this helps.

Scott

[Travis]

Sounds like you didn't heat your plastic long enough. The plastic will go from liquid to "gel" and back to liquid. 4oz in microwave takes generally 2 to 4 minutes depending upon wattage. For you first few batches stir every 30 seconds or so. This will make sure you "catch" it in the gel phase. Keep heating until it flows again.

Beat me to it!!!

[alsworms]

Sounds to me like the plastic is not mixed. Look on the bottom of your container. If you see a solid material, that's your hardener. You need to shake that up or use something to work the hardener free. Make sure the hardener is mixed well with the other materials and try again.