Flowable silicone: red vs clear???

[Ben]

I'd just like some people more knowledgeable than myself to clear up some things about flowable silicone types.

Still seems like if you buy a flowable silicone yoyo, chances are it will be clear silicone.  ILYY uses red silicone exclusively.  Not sure who else does.

When I started doing my own silicone jobs I first ordered clear silicone from YYN: http://www.yoyonation.com/product.php?productid=16234




After hanging on the boards I see that the general consensus is that red silicone is longer lasting, is preferred over clear by most players, and is more expensive.

A few weeks back I'm at an Auto Zone and they had red flowable silicone by the same company as the one pictured above.  Only where the above image has "clear" it says "red".  The price?  Exactly the same as the clear, $5.

So I bought it.  I've been using it.  Seems to be the same stuff ILYY and any other red silicone yoyo I own has in it.  Personally I can't tell during play if I'm throwing a red or clear sili yoyo.  Also I don't notice any extended life out of red sili.

So:
Why the myth that red sili is more expense? (unless I've stumbled across magical cheap red sili)
If red is better than clear and they are the same price, why aren't all yoyos being sili'ed with red?
Can any of you actually tell what kind of sili is in the yoyo while throwing?

My current open is that silicone is silicone, regardless of color.  I'd like someone to tell me if my opinion is wrong.

- Ben

[Wakeness]

I can't answer your question, but I have to say, Great Avatar!

[ibanezcollector]

I always thought red looked better haha, but I have no useful information to add here sooooo...

[foxen10144]

i think your right i mean i have clear sili on because ive never come across red

[PrototypeGuy]

The clear is flowable and is much easier to apply. The red lasts longer but can be messier to work with, IMO.

[landhere]

I've used the red stuff in a  can from Dynatek(?) before.  It claimed to be for high temp if that makes a difference.  Seems to stick better, but I usually use the flowable due to ease of application.  The red stuff I find I usually have to shove it in there.

[Kullas]

! will take a stab at this. clear silicone is used to seal water and such. red is used to seal in areas with grease and oils = stuff added to the silicone and there is the blue which is a better version of the red stuff seals better but dries a little harder to the touch and not as rubbery and there is the rtv silicone it comes in black and red i think. as for the price. yoyos is a nitch market like the RC planes i fly i go to the hobby store and pay75 cents for a #6 screw or go to a hardware store and get 10 #6 screws for the same price 100% pure silicone is 100% pure silicone no matter where ya buy it its just some types have additives added to them to make them more suttable for different applcations wear, vibration, and chemicals

[iceblink_]

I prefer red

[wh33l3r]

I perfer the blue rvt easier to appy than red and last longer than clear

[yoyojunkie]

i like the red, it last longer and binds good.

[Yo-Ghurt]

i actually use the G&E Sillicone II white kitchen and bath! it's white, so it looks killer in pretty much any yoyo, and its somewhere inbetween red and clear in texture.

[yoyojunkie]

i like the red, it last longer and binds good.

so every time i use red in both sides of my 888, one side snatchis out,
so i use clear blue on one side and red on the other, it's workin' pretty good.
has this happened to anybody else?
thanks, i know this is an old thread.

[IV]

I've had the same red silicone in my lyn fury for almost two years, the same can be said for my x-convict;... I've never had to re-silicone a yoyo. I use Permatex red RTV silicone which can be purchased at almost any department store.

This is my silicone, it has NEVER torn out of ANY yoyo I've ever siliconed::


Siliconing a yoyo is sometimes more how it's applied than what type/brand/color it is; when you do an odd 300 yoyos you sort of get a routine habit of getting it right.

[yoyojunkie]

i use the same stuff, it's happened to me twice, i don't know why.

[Ben]

i use the same stuff, it's happened to me twice, i don't know why.

Here's a trick I use on yoyos that are having problem holding flowable silicone (of any kind):

Technically this will make your yoyo non-mint, but since we are talking about messing with the recess response area that will be covered by silicone and we are talking about making a yoyo play better, who cares?

With the silicone out take a small piece of sandpaper, 800 to 1200 grit would be best, and lightly sand the inside walls and the bottom of the recessed groove.  You aren't trying to remove the finish.  Your goal is to rough up the surface, make it more textured.  This will give the silicone something to hold on top, so ooze around these scuffs and bond much better than it would to smooth ano or polished raw.

It's all about prepping the groove to maximize the silicones adhesion to the surface.

Said Ben

[Roodog]

I always thought red looked better haha, but I have no useful information to add here sooooo...

How often do you look at your silicone?

Anyways, I like the clear flowable. A well done sili job last me months. Even if red will last a touch longer, doesnt matter much to me. Its no big deal for me to re do a silicone job every 4-6 months and the small amount of added durability that red may provide (according to rumor) would be so negligible as to not even make it worth for me to experiment with. Now if red performs better, I mioght bite but Im ont sold it as I think the actual siliconing itself (how much recess, how clean and without bubbles and holes, etc...) makes more of difference that the type you use.

I would also like to add that everyone crows about how good the red hot SILYYCONE is but I have a different take on that. ILYY yoyos ahve a fairly wide silicone groove compared to most silicone recess yoyos and the better binds, longer life may be due to that and not the silicone itself. Until someone gets their hands on the ILYY red silicone and does a Pepsi challenge using the same yoyo, I will not be sold on the superiority of red sili. Make sense?

I with you Ben, sili is sili.

[Will G]

I think red looks stupid and it's hard to get out of the groove, lots of little bits are left. Clear looks good, goes with any yo-yo and seems to to easier to take out all of it.

[hiimhanshuru]

You (original poster) say there isn't a big difference between red and clear FLOWABLE silicone.  This may be true, but most people use red RTV Gasket maker.  There is a large difference between Flowable silicone and RTV Gasket Maker silicone.  Do a comparison between the application and lifespan of those two, and you will see a difference.  Color matters much less than what type of silicone it is.

[sicyo]

Would be nice to get a word from one of the ILYY guys on this.

There's always black and grey too

http://www.yoyonation.com/talk/index.php/topic,50940.msg577924.html#msg577924

[HITMAN]

i am a grease monkey.... well I work I cars for s living.... so we use silicone all day long.... and the diffrences are minuscule... flowable silicone is flowable so that when u apply to a crack on the seal of a windshield it will flow into all the right spots to seal it.... rtv sili is for making gaskets that go around say a oil pan... so the the rtv has to be much more durable and longer lasting because of the heat dirt and grime of the motor it's self...and the color doesn't make a diffrence not on this application....anyways
and that white silicone.... well that's a whole new story.....