Reusing brand name plastics

[nbarnych]

Hello folks,

Now that I'm in this bait making biz for good, I have a TON of soft plastics baits that I am not going to use. I've already taking them out of the packages and put them in my own larger bags so selling them is out of the question(not to mention I don't wanna deal with the hassle of selling a bag here a bag their on eBay.

I have already seperated them into large shopping bags by color. Whites/light colored, browns/greens, and blacks.

-Can I remelt these as normal, maybe adding a little softener, and a bit of new plastic??
-Will my baits come out relatively normal(like they would with new plastic??
-Is there anyway I can, I don't know, hide/camouflouge/get rid of all the existing glitter that are already in these baits??
Is there anything I should be careful of??

This is for personal use only of course....

Thanks guys!

[GoneFroggin]

When I received my first mold I melted down old soft plastics that I didn't use. I added a little new plastic to the old plastic and didn't have any problems at all.

[Jason]

-Can I remelt these as normal, maybe adding a little softener, and a bit of new plastic??
You would only need to add softener / hardener if you wanted to alter the plastic.  You may need to add heat stabilizer.

-Will my baits come out relatively normal(like they would with new plastic??
There's no way to know without knowing the brands of plastic you are mixing, not the bait brand, but the brand and formula of plastic the bait company used - and what they may have added to it.

-Is there anyway I can, I don't know, hide/camouflouge/get rid of all the existing glitter that are already in these baits??
Not really, unless you just made them a super dark color.

Is there anything I should be careful of??
If you wanted to be careful you could first try it in small batches.

I would definitely add some new plastic to each batch.  Some have had problems with the plastic not being very workable, others have done just fine.  I'm sure it depends on the baits being melted.   Large bait companies use different formulas than we do, they are engineered specifically for their process.  Add it in small quantities to your regular colors over time, test it in smaller batches first. 

[shockley32]

The answer is yes but............. You may not get what you are looking for. Most big companies don't put much heat stabilizer in their product and it will burn easy. The plastic will be different and when you combine them you get all sorts of fell, color, durability, smoke, smell etc... Some will do just fine others aren't worth the hassle.

I have created some great colors by melting down laminates. You will just have to try and see what works and what doesn't. I'm in the same predicament, I have a whole box of plastic baits I've bought that I'll never use again.

Let us know how it turns out.

Brad

[ghostbaits]

As Jason stated, a good tip on remelting other plastics is to use some "fresh" plastic to melt it in. Cut the other plastic up in pieces vs leaving it as a whole worm.

To "get rid of" unwanted glitter, just let the plastic sit for a little bit after heating. Just like when we pour now, the glitter will fall to the bottom and you can transfer the plastic to another cup without spilling to much flake out.

Last tip is to cook slow and stir, stir, stir!!!!!!! You will have LOTS of bubbles and smoke!!!Also, avoid some of the "exotic" plastics like Strike King. That stuff just does not melt good.

IMO, you would be better off selling the stuff on ebay as that hassle will be less than trying to actually re-melt it.

Jim

[nbarnych]

Thanks guys....that was alot of help and reassurance.