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I Want to be Sitting on Silicone

May 28, 2009

I want to provide a thick coat of silicon to an aluminum tractor seat. Ideally, the silicon would be colorless, though not necessarily completely transparent. Thickness of at approximately 1/8" for durability. The purpose for the coating it to decrease heat conduction, and for protection. The seat has a pattern of holes, so any applied liquid that is not viscous will drip through. I've considered using plasti-dip, a compound designed for tool handles .

Any other ideas? Is there any sheet material that could be heated to conform to the seat surface?

Gerald LeGagnoux
hobbyist - Santa Monica, California

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May 28, 2009

Hi, Gerald. You want 'silicon' or 'silicone'?

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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Oops...SILICONE is what I want. Sorry for the typo....I actually do know the difference. lol
Thanks

Gerald LeGagnoux
hobbyist - Santa Monica, California
June 4, 2009

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Hi again, Gerald. You can probably get it locally if you prefer, but you can get clear silicone at this link from J. C. Whitney .

You will be happier, I think, with the plasti-dip because it is designed for this purpose, while the silicone isn't. But good luck with it, and let us know what you did and how it worked out.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
June 8, 2009

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June 8, 2009

We buy some formable sheet materials from a company called Mosites. You can buy the materials in sheet form cured or uncured. Uncured allows you to form it to a shape (although the cured is fairly formable anyway)
I don't know if they make a clear form as we have never been concerned about the colour. You may have to tack it down with a clear RTV but I know that these are available.
Alternately I believe you can get some sprayable RTV coatings but these are usually used for encapsulating electronics so I don't know if they provide a soft pad or how thick you can get the coatings.

Ciaron Murphy
Aerospace - South Wales UK

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June 23, 2009

The response from Ciaron Murphy(Aerospace - South Wales UK) got me thinking. I bought a colorless translucent desk protector from IKEA. By judicious use of a heat gun ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , I was able to soften the sheet while it was draped over the warmed aluminum tractor seat. Using a cloth bag filled with rice, I was able to massage the softened sheet to gain full contact between the sheet and the aluminum surface. After cooling, I trimmed the excess with a razor knife and used (again very judiciously) a rotary tool to round and smooth the edges. Having no idea what fumes might emanate from the heated plastic sheet, I maintained full ventilation by doing this outdoors. The threat of combustion also lurked in my mind's self-preservation zone. Happily, I got the desired results without burns, psychedelic episodes (from fumes), and don't seem to have any memory loss.
Thanks to all, especially Ted Mooney and Ciaron Murphy
Sitting on an Ikea desk pad,
G.

G. LeGagnoux
- Santa Monica, California