Recycling Soft Plastics

[Austin Michael Word]

Alright so I'm trying to get into pouring my own soft plastics but I need to know how to add soft plastic hardener to my recycled lures. My friend said you can only use hardener with cold plastisol and I was wondering if I could use hardener on my recycled lures because if you re-melt the lures the get even softer and then and there obviously hot so I can't use hardener I was wondering if someone could help out. And before you hate and cuss at me. I ask please don't do that cause I'm only fourteen so dont expect me to know everything so keep that in mind. You'll probably have to explain for me to understand. Thanks for the help.

[ChrisD46]

In addition to this site posting , use Google to search for : " pouring your own soft plastic baits" and find a site where you can post this same question .

Since this is a specialized question  - it may result in better quality replies . Surely there are others like you who have had success with this recycled process ...Good luck !

[Siebert Outdoors]

Be careful using old worms,  sometimes there is water still in them especially salted worms and it will pop hot plastic.  I've done this a few times and I do not like melting down used worms.  One can do it but something I just do not like doing. 

[Austin Michael Word]

Thanks for the heads up on the salty lure precaution the only reason I'm doing this is to see if should start blowing money on this

[Comfortably Numb]

If I were you I would get some fresh plastisol. Add some of your used worms to that and heat. Heat stabilizer helps too. Heating just used plastics can burn very easily. Do 30 sec heats and stir alot between (15 sacs when almost done).

 

Not sure why you want to add hardener, but this way you can add it to the cold fresh plastic. Try 1/4 cup fresh plastic.

 

BE CAREFULL. Wear gloves and eye protection. Dont use your regular microwave you cook food in

[Kevin22]

You're not going to pop hot plastic. I melted lures for years and never had the infamous water in oil explosion many warn about. I even took a video of myself pouring cold water into a cup of hot plastisol. Bubbled like hell but never spit or exploded. For a while I had a secret color that used a water based paste dye and scent. Made a killer bait, one that I caught my PB on actually. I had to wait 5-10 minutes for it to stop bubbling before I could pour. 

 

As for using hardener, take 1/2 cup fresh plastisol and mix your hardener in there and reheat with your used. You should always use a little bit of virgin plastisol when reheating anyways. Yes, you MUST put in hardener into cold virgin plastic or you'll end up with lumpy gravy.