Thread: stabilizer

Stabilizer is what gives plastic its tolerance to heat and heating. All plastic has some stabilizer in it and when you take a cup out of the microwave after getting it to the 350 degree conversion point you may see it coming off the plastic as smoke.

I use a couple different plastics and it depends on which I am using and what color I am making. As a rule I'll not add any to dark greens, deep blues and purples, smoke and black. I'll add some to chartreuses and whites/pearls to help buffer against prolonged heating to get those denser [lots of pigment load] colors to the 350 degrees. 4 ounces can handle up to 1/2 teaspoon but this again will depend on the plastic you are using. You pretty much need to figure this out for yourself but maybe 8-12 drops as a starting point will help.