How to make ABS glue or liquid plastic
To prepare ABS glue yourself, you do not need expensive components, theoretical knowledge or professional training. Any adult and even a high school student can handle the work of preparing such glue. Using ABS glue, it is possible to reliably connect ABS plastic, manufacture (cast) parts, repair chips and cracks in plastic products, coat a metal surface, etc.
DIY liquid plastic
First of all, we find among the plastic waste a fragment or part on which the designation in the form of three letters ABS is clearly visible. The color of the selected workpiece is very important, since it will determine the color of the glue that we are going to prepare.
Next, for the success of the matter, we should cut, break into small pieces or even crumble into powder using a suitable tool at hand, the plastic fragment or part we found. It is better to do these operations over a box of suitable sizes so that pieces or fragments do not fly away in different directions.
Now we pour the resulting pieces of plastic into a container of suitable volume made of a material with which acetone or dichloroethane does not interact.This can be glass, metal or plastic, but not ABS plastic.
Fill the crumble placed in a jar with ordinary acetone in approximately a one to one ratio. Don't be upset if more acetone is added. It is enough to leave the container open for a while and the excess solvent will evaporate.
We close the jar with the two-component contents with a lid and place it for some time, but not less than 12 hours, in a warm place, periodically stirring the contents of the jar to speed up the process of dissolving the plastic crumbs in acetone.
After the specified time, the plastic completely dissolved and a homogeneous liquid consistency was obtained, the viscosity of which is determined by the quantitative ratio between the plastic and the solvent. If the contents of the jar are too thick, then just add a certain amount of acetone to the container.
When using the resulting mass to repair chips in plastic, it fills the resulting depression, waits until it hardens, and then mechanically processes it to obtain the required profile.
If the resulting liquid plastic is used as paint to coat metal surfaces, then the metal should be cleaned of dirt, degreased and lightly treated with acetone. The result is a durable, reliable coating that will last for many years.
When eliminating minor damage to plastic in the form of cracks, rough scratches, pinhole defects, etc., it is convenient to draw ABS glue into a medical syringe of the required capacity. If, after finishing work, there is liquid plastic left in the syringe, then by sealing it hermetically, we will protect the contents of the syringe from drying out.
Using the resulting mass as glue, the ends of the plastic parts or parts to be glued should be treated with acetone so that the edges begin to dissolve and the initial connection occurs at the molecular level, which is very strong. We will provide additional strengthening by applying liquid plastic along the connection line of the parts to be glued.
