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Sorry purists. I'm a bad person. :devil:

I'm about to try melting some LEGO by soaking it in 100% acetone. After doing some reading, I learned that once taken from the acetone it has a consistency somewhere between water and glue, depending on the ratio of your mixture, and that it will solidify back to its original state when left alone. What I haven't been able to learn is whether it keeps its color. Have any of you tried this before? If not, I have 3PO head that's about to be a guinea pig. Also, does anyone know what I could apply to the surface of an object to keep the liquid ABS from bonding to it? Will a standard mold release coating work? I'll try and post my results as I go and hopefully something useful will come of it eventually.

-SB

I finally got to experiment with this a bit tonight. It didn't take long at all and it worked brilliantly; it maintained its color, it applied easily and it didn't harm the piece I applied it to! I went and picked up a quart of 100% acetone from a hardware store for about $8.

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I scraped little shavings from a couple old technic bricks that were already broken onto a piece of paper and then poured the shavings and what was left of the bricks into a little glass canning jar.

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Next, I poured just enough acetone into the jar to completely cover the plastic and within thirty seconds the shavings were melted and the bricks were getting gummy.

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I got a toothpick, dipped it in the stuff, and then tried applying it to a broken red brick. It spread much like thick paint while it was wet but it became kind of tacky pretty quickly as the acetone evaporated.

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The plastic maintained its original yellow color and didn't harm the brick I was applying it to unless I rubbed it with the mixture. Even then, there was no noticeable change to the brick itself but I began to have red mixing with the yellow I was applying. As long as I apply it carefully and in thin coats, I don't think this will be a problem. Now that the brick has been sitting for about an hour, the yellow has completely dried and is just as solid as it was before I melted it! :laugh: I still have questions I want to answer: if mold release will keep it from bonding to pieces and whether dipping is an effective means of coating something. I'd love to hear ideas any of you may have that this would be handy for. Right now, I am hoping to use it to add crowns/circlets to hairpieces. I still have to pick up a few things and do a little prep work before I start on my project but I wanted to share what I've learned so far with you. I hope its helpful.

Edited by Str0ngbad

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I am both horrified and intrigued. My curiosity outweighs my fright though, there are billions of Legos in the world after all. I look forward to the results.

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I got to mess around with this a little tonight and am very pleasantly surprised with how well it worked. I updated the OP with my little experiment but if you need a tl, dr... Shavings melt almost instantly, the plastic maintains its color, it applies rather easily and doesn't mar what it's applied to if done with care. :classic: I hope to actually use this on a project within a week or so. Questions and comments welcome.

-SB

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will you be using this technique to create Gil-Galad's circlet that you requested a picture for? also, does it shape well? can you form it like puffy, or is it only good for coating? And one more think, have you tried it with some of the softer lego pieces? like the kind tree leaves are made of? wonderful idea though, I might actually have to try it.

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That's exactly what I plan on using it for. I've soldered a couple different circlets out of very tiny copper wire. I plan on shaping the circlet this way and then coating it little by little until I'm happy.

It won't work like putty but you might be able to shape it some while it's semi-solid if you had tools that it wouldn't stick to. If it was possible, you'd still have to work; the acetone evaporates incredibly quickly.

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That sounds incredibly intricate, I'd love to see pictures when you get them finished. Will they permanently be attached? Or something that can pop on and off?

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Thanks Omi! I just hope it works.

That sounds incredibly intricate, I'd love to see pictures when you get them finished. Will they permanently be attached? Or something that can pop on and off?

I've thought about this a good deal and there doesn't seem to be a very good way to make it detachable but I'm okay with that. Is there any elven, Tolkien character off the top of your head that would merit a crown/circlet on the back of his/her head? I have one that I'm ready to work with but it's not for anyone in particular.

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Thanks Omi! I just hope it works.

I've thought about this a good deal and there doesn't seem to be a very good way to make it detachable but I'm okay with that. Is there any elven, Tolkien character off the top of your head that would merit a crown/circlet on the back of his/her head? I have one that I'm ready to work with but it's not for anyone in particular.

There are a few I can think of, such as Elladan and Elrohir, Elrond's sons. There's also Cirdan from the gray havens. Glorfindel could possibly wear one too. There are tons from the silmarillion that might, they're all from the first age though and not as popular. Let me know if you're interested and I can list some more names.

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There are a few I can think of, such as Elladan and Elrohir, Elrond's sons. There's also Cirdan from the gray havens. Glorfindel could possibly wear one too. There are tons from the silmarillion that might, they're all from the first age though and not as popular. Let me know if you're interested and I can list some more names.

Oh, I'm interested. I love the Silmarillion and I know there are tons of good candidates there but I'm going to try and start with second age elves. Cirdan is another I am working on and I am considering giving him something but not what I have prepared. Glorfindel is a good candidate I suppose. Do you think gold would show up on the bright light yellow hair or would silver be better? (I'm not sure either will hold their color when melted the same as the yellow does though. The 'pearl __' colors seem to be a little different.)

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Interesting technique. I'm interested to see how these turn out.

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Oh, I'm interested. I love the Silmarillion and I know there are tons of good candidates there but I'm going to try and start with second age elves. Cirdan is another I am working on and I am considering giving him something but not what I have prepared. Glorfindel is a good candidate I suppose. Do you think gold would show up on the bright light yellow hair or would silver be better? (I'm not sure either will hold their color when melted the same as the yellow does though. The 'pearl __' colors seem to be a little different.)

Personally I think silver would look better on the bright yellow hair, that's how I pictured it in my head anyway. As far as first age goes, I think Turgon of gondolin would be good, or Feanor and any of his sons considering they were all princes. Thingol of Doriath might aswell. I'm really looking forward to the end products. Metallic gold and silver would also be something interesting to try.

Edited by MrErikku

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Personally I think silver would look better on the bright yellow hair, that's how I pictured it in my head anyway. As far as first age goes, I think Turgon of gondolin would be good, or Feanor and any of his sons considering they were all princes. Thingol of Doriath might aswell. I'm really looking forward to the end products. Metallic gold and silver would also be something interesting to try.

Sadly, pearl gold and silver LEGO are apparently not made of ABS plastic (they didn't melt) so I am going to have to paint it eventually. I'm melting down some white bricks now and hope to sit down and play with it tomorrow. I love Turgon but I doubt I'll be working that far back for a while.

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Great Work Strongbad! This is a very interesting technique and in my web trawling I've not seen it attempted. This could be of particular use for us when trying to update items made by custom houses! There are a number of items that would merit from being coated with a different colour! Overmolding for the masses!

Top work! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

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Do you think you could use this technique to actually make a new type or shape of brick or just modify one to a form they do not produce, perhaps if a mould could be made using existing bricks to get the shapes, sort of things like brackets or say a 2X4 plate that was 2X2 plate with LEGO studs and the other 2X2 bit a tile, sort of half and half, or obviously countless other bits people may want?

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I am both horrified and intrigued.

^ This.

I am also very interested to see what you achieve - and only slightly concerned about the health effects of breathing in the fumes.

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Do you think you could use this technique to actually make a new type or shape of brick or just modify one to a form they do not produce, perhaps if a mould could be made using existing bricks to get the shapes, sort of things like brackets or say a 2X4 plate that was 2X2 plate with LEGO studs and the other 2X2 bit a tile, sort of half and half, or obviously countless other bits people may want?

I don't think it would be very practical to pour into a mold but I have absolutely zero experience with making new parts so I'm not really familiar with the standard procedure. Minor modifications like your example with the 2x2s would be pretty straight forward though though. You would probably want to sand a tiny bit from one of the bricks so that it will be its original size after having plastic applied. Other than that, just push the two bricks together while the plastic is still melted and they should bond. I definitely suggest practicing on stuff you don't care about first though.

As as far as fumes, a well ventilated area is important but it's not nearly as bad as Brasso in my opinion.

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Do you think this could be used to repair cracks in bricks, or would it not hold up to that kind of stress?

I'm sorry, somehow I missed this yesterday. I think it would work. As far as I can tell, the plastic is just as strong after it solidifies as it was before being melted. All you'd need is a thin coat and to be able to keep the crack pressed together for a bit while it hardens.

I should have mentioned earlier why thin coats are important. Putting a thin coat down and letting it dry allows the acetone to evaporate quicker and keeps your plastic from having air bubbles all through it from the acetone evaporating. This is why molding new parts with it doesn't sound like it would work to me.

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Very interesting. If it were possible to make a paint from dissolved bricks, you could save yourself the annoying search for paints that fit the color of a brick. One would not have to use for example that yellow nail polish that was suggested in the forum a while ago for painting werewolf ears yellow, but just dissolve a yellow brick.

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Very interesting. If it were possible to make a paint from dissolved bricks, you could save yourself the annoying search for paints that fit the color of a brick. One would not have to use for example that yellow nail polish that was suggested in the forum a while ago for painting werewolf ears yellow, but just dissolve a yellow brick.

That would be really easy and it would be much more durable too. It seems like none of the metallic colors are pure ABS as they I haven't gotten them to dissolve but I've tried it with five or six colors of actual bricks and they all work great.

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