Re-using a plasic oil bottle.

Recyclable plastic can be used to make battens, rudders, line cleats and fittings for all kinds of rigging for your boat.
Plastic containers made of the right thickness are found in larger bottles like motor and vegetable oil, not in small cup sizes and lids that are usually too thin.

Before you reuse a plastic motor oil bottle, you first want to empty the bottle completely, or you will get oil all over your hands and clothes.
Oil coats the inside of the container due to the oils viscosity, the thicker oil, like w5, the more remains inside. I found on average, at least one half liquid ounce of oil still inside an ‘empty’ quart (or litre) bottle. (According to my shot glass). Multiply that half ounce by the number of containers that get tossed every day by, you got a lot of oil.

After my car has had its fill, I secure the oil bottle upside down, and let the oil slowly drip through a small funnel into an oil dropper.

Once you have the bottle in place, find something else to do. It will take several hours for all the oil to drain. I use the oil in the workshop and around the house, it’s a bit thicker than household oil, but just as good for a squeaking door. If you don’t have a dropper you can re-use an empty plastic bottle with a nozzle (like for lens solutions), just make sure you re-label it.

I like the idea that one ‘empty’ bottle lubes up my bicycle all year.

After the oil has drained, you can slice up the bottle with a utility knife. There is still going to be a bit of oil residue in the can, have a paper towel handy to wipe the inside surface clean.

To cut out the (most useful) flat areas, begin by cutting off the ends, then slice down the corners of the middle part.
Hold the bottle down firmly and slice down through the plastic. Be careful slicing through the plastic, sharp blades can suddenly gain momentum and slip through quickly. Always cut in a direction away from your hands and fingers, and use a cutting board, or a work surface.

Getting the label off. ______________
It would be nice if you could just peel a label off, glue and all, but that rarely happens.
Chances are, you may be able to peel off some of the label, but part of the paper is still glued to the plastic.
Different adhesives require different methods to dissolve the glue.
If it wont peel off, first try soaking the plastic in soap and hot tap water.
If that does not work, try rubbing it with paint thinner (let it soak a few minutes)
Failing all else, try nail polish remover (acetone).
There are products like ‘goop-off’ that you can buy that also work well at dissolving sticky adhesives and residue.

Cutting and shaping______________

The safest way to cut the plastic with a blade is to score the surface, then bend and fold along the score, and then cut from the inside along the fold.
A really, good pair of scissors will work on some cuts, for scoring, use a small retractable utility knife. Use a metal ruler to lay out straight cuts, for things like sail battens.

- I have a jig design that will help you make sail battens on the Quick Tips page.

But the ‘score and fold’ method does not work well for making curves. For cutting curves, place the piece on a work surface and press down firmly onto the plastic with a single edge razor until the razor shears its way through. Work your way around until you almost have the shape you want, then carefully round off the corners with the razor or a sanding block. To use a sanding block, abrade the plastic using a small circular motion to give you a clean edge.

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