Couple newbie ?'s

[ARfiser]

I have a couple questions. First is how many times can I reheat the plastic? And could under heating cause bubbles?  Thanks for any help

[Jason]

If you manage your heat and add additional stabilizer you can reheat it a lot.  If you get your heat up to high and/or run out of stabilizer your plastic will turn yellow.  So, just try and keep your heat under 360 and make sure you add a few drops of stabilizer and you should be in good shape.

Additional heating by itself shouldn't cause bubbles.  However, stirring remelts or if condensation, humidity, etc. get in the remelts then you will have bubbles.

Jason

[pjmcla]

Jason is correct ( as always ).  I might add a few thoughts as I am a reheat addict.  Glitters, and which color will have a bearing on the number of reheats as well.  Some glitters, purple for example, and some colors; Florescents  and some typically transparent colors( and purple ); will degrade much quicker.  As Jason said -  use adequate heat stabilizer; and heating is critical.  Over Heating is you worst enemy; especially on remelts.  I shorten my heat cycle times and stir more.  This seems to smooth-en out the plastic quicker and avoid lumps in the plastic when it reaches the 340 - 350 range.   I try to hit a 320 - 330 temp range on a heat cycle and this is where I do my "lump removal".  If the plastic cools & starts to get too thick, I will aim for the same 320 - 330 and stir some more to remove remaining lumps rather than heat to 340 - 350.  Then I will do a short heat to get to my preferred 345 - 350 injection temp.  Heating to / or above 360; and degradation increases rapidly.  You will notice a sharp increase in the amount of "smoke" coming off the plastic when you start stirring if you scorch it.  A good microwave that heats evenly really helps as well to avoid hot spots in the plastic.