Shrink Plastic for Beginners: Coloring, Cutting, Shrinking, and Sealing - YouTube

Hi everyone welcome to shrink plastic 101. Here you will pretty much learn

everything you need to know about shrink plastic.

This will be great for beginners or anyone looking into adding shrink

plastic to their crafting arsenal. So shrink plastic, what is it?

Some people in the USA may know it as Shrinky Dink

and it's basically a plastic called polystyrene.

Same type of plastic used in packaging and carry out boxes. Usually labeled as

PS6. So this type of plastic starts off as a thin film and shrinks when certain

amount of heat is applied and it becomes thick and hard, which

makes it very versatile because you can make all kinds of things

including charms, jewelry, and accessories. Nowadays, you can get different kinds of

shrink plastic. They make clear ones, frosted or sanded,

colored ones, and even printable ones.You can use different mediums to color

before or after you shrink the plastic. For after shrinking, you can use pretty

much use anything you'd like with no issues.

However, for before shrinking, there are some limitations, which i will be

discussing. Now, important to note any color that you

apply to the shrink plastic will intensify as it

shrinks down. So keep that in mind with different

mediums you use. This applies with the printable version

as well. You would have to lighten the colors

before printing to get the desired color after shrinking. Before you start

coloring, always make sure your plastic is free of

oil or dirt so the colors stick better. Use some

rubbing alcohol to clean the surface if necessary.

Here are some things you can use to color your plastic

before shrinking: you can use permanent markers,

alcohol markers, paint markers, colored pencils,

and soft pastels. For permanent and alcohol markers, they're best to use

on untreated shrink plastic that is still

shiny. When you use them on a sanded or frosted plastic, the ink

will bleed through the fine scratches.

For colored pencils and soft pastels, the surface

needs to be sanded or frosted so the colors

stick. You can buy already frosted shrink plastic

but i prefer to sand my own because the store-bought version has a very

uneven finish with deep scratches. The colors won't lay down

evenly. So, to sand your own, use a 320 grit sandpaper and

sand it in all different directions until there are no shininess

on the surface. For colored pencils, you will get the best

result with quality artist pencils that have

soft cores. They have more pigment in them and

because they're soft and not waxy, the colors

lay down nicely on the plastic.

Now, for applying soft pastels, you're basically rubbing it onto the plastic. You can

use a brush or even your finger.

For paint markers, the only brand I can recommend to you

is Posca paint markers. I've used different brands in the past

and I always find myself going back to it. The paint will stick to both shiny

and sanded surface but better on the sanded. Now, here's a

tip when using posca. Always paint it in one

single layer. If you missed a spot, don't go back to fill it in

because if you paint it on too much the paint will crack during the shrinking

process. You can always paint over missed spots

after shrinking. Some mediums i would not recommend are

crayons, oil-based markers, and acrylic paints as they will not

survive the heat when shrinking. So i'll show you all the

samples after shrinking in a little bit. Okay, so

i do want to mention this because i don't see people talking about it.

Shrink plastic shrinks more in one direction and this is important to

know because depending on the orientation of your

artwork on the plastic, it can distort or make your image

wide or elongated. Usually the plastic shrinks more

in this direction; in portrait. But this may depend on your brand so the

best way to check is to cut a sample and put it in the oven, observe which

direction the plastic curls. The direction that it curls is the

direction the plastic shrinks more. Here's an example: same artwork

but drawn in different orientation on the plastic.

i hope you guys can see the difference. Because of this i normally draw my

artwork in landscape position.

You can cut shrink plastic with scissors

or craft punches. With scissors, when you get to a sharp

corner like, this don't force it and continue the cut

as this will cause a plastic to tear or bruise.

Instead, flip it over and cut from the other direction

towards that corner. Also, if you want to make it into a charm, this

is the time to do it. Use a craft punch to create a hole for the jump ring

like so. You can shrink the plastic using the

oven or a heat gun. When using an oven, follow the directions

on the shrink plastic you are using. The most important part is to use it in

a preheated oven, even if you're using a toaster oven with

no preheating function, just set it at a specific temperature

and let it run for a few minutes. If you don't, your plastic won't shrink

evenly and may distort it. As the plastic heats,

it will curl and shrivel up. Don't panic here because it will flatten itself

eventually. If your plastic starts sticking to each other,

quickly use a tool like chopsticks to spread it apart.

But generally to avoid this, it's best to avoid

shapes that are long and skinny or have appendages.

However, if your piece still keeps sticking to itself,

put a cardstock or parchment paper over it to weigh

it down a little so it won't curl on itself.

Now, timing is everything with shrink plastic.

As soon as you see your piece flattening, take it out of the oven.

If you leave it in too long ,first of all you will burn it,

or you will end up with micro bubbles in the plastic because

as it gets too hot literally it starts boiling from the inside. Once it's

out of the oven use a flat object and press it down

gently until it's cooled off.

With a heat gun, it's best to do it in a heat proof container to prevent the

air from blowing the piece away. All you have to do is apply the heat

from a few inches away until it shrinks. From my experience

i can't get a consistent result with this method and

it may have to do with my heat gun but this

method generally works with smaller pieces. For larger pieces, not so much because it's difficult to apply the heat evenly

throughout the entire piece without causing any distortion.

The amount of shrinkage will depend on the brand.

The one i'm using shrinks to about a third to half

its original size but some brands can shrink smaller.

To get a rough idea of how big your original artwork should be, I recommend making a ruler like this out of the shrink plastic you are using.

This way, you'll have a general idea of how much

your artwork will shrink. As you can see, from my ruler

mine shrinks a little more than half of the original size.

Based on that, in order to make a decent sized

charm, i make my artwork around three to four

inches. Now let me show you all of the sample pieces so you guys can see

what each colored medium will look like after shrinking.

Here's a permanent marker. I use the brand Sharpie.

As you can see you won't get an even finish.

You will see the striation from the marker tip. Similar results with alcohol

markers. This is why they're not my preferred

choice for coloring but i do like using the black sharpie because

it's great for outlining and when you color with it, it's dark enough to where

you won't see those striations.

And here's the colored pencils. They created nice

even concentrated colors.

And this one is with pastels, which will give

very soft colors to your plastic. It's great for blending and creating

ombres or gradients. And here's the one with Posca markers.

Now, the only medium that will give you an opaque finish is the Posca, so if you

want to increase opacity or bring out the colors more, you can

paint the back of the piece with white acrylic paint. The reason you don't

want to do this before the shrinking is because

the heat will ruin the paint. Now, you may wonder which side you should

draw on, which side to paint on, which side should

be the front, and so forth. Well, this is all up to you and what

you're looking for in the overall look of the piece. Usually, i'll

have the colored side on the back and sometimes i'll flip the

image to accommodate that. When the colors are on the back, it looks

cleaner from the front. For example, for this one, i only colored

the back, whereas this one, i drew the text on the

front and colored the back to give a nice

layered dimension to the piece.

To seal your artwork on the shrink plastic, you have few options.

Here is a list of what you can use: number one:

you can use a sealer spray. Number two: a brush on sealer.

Number three: uv resin or two part resin, Number four dimensional sealers such as

diamond glaze ,dimensional magic, and embossing powder. If you used

permanent markers, make sure to seal the ink with a decoupage

medium such as Mod Podge before the sealer to prevent

any of the ink from bleeding or smearing. If your sealer is water-based, then don't

worry about it. If you are using resin, both uv or

two-part, seal the plastic with a decoupage medium

before the resin layer. Why? Because resin doesn't bond too well

to polystyrene. The decoupage helps with that and it

will prevent the resin from peeling off of the plastic.

My preferred medium to seal the plastic is definitely

resin as it gives a nice shiny finish. It transforms your piece and makes it

look professional. If you want to learn how to dome with

resin, click on the right upper corner. So that was pretty much everything. I

hope you found this video helpful and i hope to see more crafters using

this versatile medium. Comment down below and tell me what you

would make with shrink plastic. I know 2020 has been a crazy year so far

so wherever you are and whatever you are going through,

stay safe! Thanks for tuning in and i will see you guys in my next video.

Bye!