What kind of plastic are pearl gold pieces made of?

[Str0ngbad]

I hope I am posting this in the right place as I thought it likely someone outside the custom community might have the answer to my question. If not, I trust the mods will assist me by moving it. I have been experimenting with melting down broken ABS bricks in acetone to use the plastic in customizing and was a bit surprised when some pieces didn't melt. First, I tried chopping up a few pearl gold pieces; a treasure chest and a 45but after leaving them in there for much longer than necessary, only a bit of the color had been taken from the pieces and the plastic was still solid. The same also happened with an old white racing helmet when it works perfectly fine with standard bricks in white. Can anyone tell me what kind of plastic is used to make these parts? Also, are all pearl gold and metallic pieces made out of this plastic or only some of them?

Thanks

-SB

Edited March 28, 2013 by Str0ngbad

[Aanchir]

I hope I am posting this in the right place as I thought it likely someone outside the custom community might have the answer to my question. If not, I trust the mods will assist me by moving it. I have been experimenting with melting down broken ABS bricks in acetone to use the plastic in customizing and was a bit surprised when some pieces didn't melt. First, I tried chopping up a few pearl gold pieces; a treasure chest and a 45but after leaving them in there for much longer than necessary, only a bit of the color had been taken from the pieces and the plastic was still solid. The same also happened with an old white racing helmet when it works perfectly fine with standard bricks in white. Can anyone tell me what kind of plastic is used to make these parts? Also, are all pearl gold and metallic pieces made out of this plastic or only some of them?

Thanks

-SB

Hmmm, I'm not sure. Here's a question: have you tried melting the same part designs in both Warm Gold (pearl gold) and non-metallic colors? If a warm gold treasure chest doesn't melt, then it may be made of another plastic like polycarbonate (the type of plastic used for transparent parts and some non-transparent parts like lightsaber blades). But that doesn't say anything about the color if ALL treasure chests fail to melt in acetone.

It could even be that there's something in the dye that reacts with the acetone and prevents the plastic itself from reacting with the acetone, but I'd say this is unlikely since if the dye were reactive enough to neutralize a pool of acetone then it would not likely meet safety standards.

Incidentally, Warm Gold cheese slopes are Design ID #54200, Roof Tile 1X1X2/3, ABS. Polycarbonate cheese slopes, including transparent colors and some early cheese slopes in opaque colors, are the earlier Design ID #50746, Roof Tile 1 X 1 X 2/3. This at least suggests that SOME Warm Gold parts are regular ABS, or at least a part that is comparable from a production standpoint.

[Str0ngbad]

Hmmm, I'm not sure. Here's a question: have you tried melting the same part designs in both Warm Gold (pearl gold) and non-metallic colors? If a warm gold treasure chest doesn't melt, then it may be made of another plastic like polycarbonate (the type of plastic used for transparent parts and some non-transparent parts like lightsaber blades). But that doesn't say anything about the color if ALL treasure chests fail to melt in acetone.

It could even be that there's something in the dye that reacts with the acetone and prevents the plastic itself from reacting with the acetone, but I'd say this is unlikely since if the dye were reactive enough to neutralize a pool of acetone then it would not likely meet safety standards.

Incidentally, Warm Gold cheese slopes are Design ID #54200, Roof Tile 1X1X2/3, ABS. Polycarbonate cheese slopes, including transparent colors and some early cheese slopes in opaque colors, are the earlier Design ID #50746, Roof Tile 1 X 1 X 2/3. This at least suggests that SOME Warm Gold parts are regular ABS, or at least a part that is comparable from a production standpoint.

Thank you so much for your reply Aanchir. I'll try your suggestions and let you know what turns up.