Yoyo PET plastic outer coat / shielding

Hello.
Been years since my last mod post.

Anyway, this stems from a talk with the Southern Revolution guys many years ago (2005? 2006?). Pres was deep in the throes of response systems. Ghe wanted to experiment with tin, aluminum or lead (tinga) moulding. I wanted to try out plastic melts. Never had the chance, until now.

One of my plans was to melt plastic to form yoyos (coat hangers, PET bottles). Well, after some research, the DIY process would be too toxic or impossible for residential areas. Maybe plastic mould injections would be next in my list.

So temporarily I settle for this, Yoyo PET plastic outer coat / shielding. Been toying with this idea but I saw that melting it with candles is hard given the uneven heat. Also the plastic darkens because of the soot. So I had to wait till I had moolah for a heat gun. (Note: I was surprised that this process was also used for making artificial limbs for landmine victims: http://www.instructables.com/id/Plastic_So...tle_Prosthesis/) Note that I think a similar process was used to coat / protect the paper graphics on some old FH2s.

USES for Yoyo PET plastic outer coat / shielding:
1. provides rigid support for broken / cracked plastic yoyos
2. serves as protection film for new metal or plastic yoyos

Materials:
1. Yoyo halves
2. 2 PET bottles (identical), for this I used two Cobra Energy Drink bottles (quite indicative of my nocturnal work habits of late)
3. Heat gun (or open flame, like stove top, might work but I haven't tried it)
4. X-acto / hobby knives (normal bookstore cutters won't do, they may break)

Simple Steps:
1. Cut funnel shape from top half of PET bottles. (Probably works with the cylinder side, but I liked the funnel shape since it means less work to mould it around the yoyo.Plus the bottle cap gave me a natural holder.)
2. Place yoyo half inside funnel.
3. Apply gradual heat using heat gun to slowly mold PET around yoyo half.
4. When PET plastic has already moulded to the shape of yoyo halves, trim and sand off excess PET Plastic.

CAUTIONARY NOTES AND OTHER STUFF:
1. PET in PET plastic, stands for polyethylene terephthalate. Plastic may give off toxic fumes when intense heat is applied to melt it. I had to work in my room but made sure it was well-ventilated. (Chem and materials science guys correct me, am not sure on this.)
2. Be careful with the Heat Gun. Not only is it very, very hot (I found out the hard way), it's also a fire hazzard.
3. The heated PET plastic may also bond with the yoyo plastic. I tried it on my very old Minimo and I think some of the parts have stuck to the old yoyojam plastic.
4. The heat-treated yoyo is also very hot! Be careful when handling!
5. The additional PET layer adds weight to the yoyo. I found Minimos light, but after the PET coat and a quick throw, I found out it was a slightly heavier play.
6. I was probably just lucky on my first try. But I would think that uneven heating would cause uneven moulding and would affect the stability of the old yoyo.
7. Over-burning / over-heating causes the PET plastic to burn, bubble, lose transparency and be brittle. So be careful with that one.
8. Wrong heating melts not only the PET but also the yoyo plastic.
9. The heated PET plastic is soft, it hardens after a while. And the resulting moulded plastic is harder and tougher to cut than when it was in the original form it was in.

Now... If I could have one of Preslie's Acrylic paint jobs / coats before I PET coat / shield... Hmmmm....

I'm currently trying to mould hubstacks, key grips, cellphone casings, etc. But am not holding my breath for those.