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Looking for Suggestions for Clear Silicones for Underwater Puppets
Hi there,
I've been hired to build a number of underwater puppets for a production, and some of them will need to be totally transparent with the internal organs visible (think Jellyfish, Glass Frogs, etc). I've used the Dragon Skin and Polytek Silicones extensively in the past, but they're not transparent enough for these puppets. It seems like Smooth-On has some products like Encapso-K which are completely clear, but their shore hardness doesn't seem right for a puppet, since they are meant to be crumbled to make fake ice and glass. Does anyone have experience adding a lot of deadener to a product like Encapso-K?
I've also been researching clear Plastisol which is used for fishing lures, but it's not a material I'm familiar with. Any experience with similar builds or recommendations for other clear flexible rubbers would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Ben
I've been hired to build a number of underwater puppets for a production, and some of them will need to be totally transparent with the internal organs visible (think Jellyfish, Glass Frogs, etc). I've used the Dragon Skin and Polytek Silicones extensively in the past, but they're not transparent enough for these puppets. It seems like Smooth-On has some products like Encapso-K which are completely clear, but their shore hardness doesn't seem right for a puppet, since they are meant to be crumbled to make fake ice and glass. Does anyone have experience adding a lot of deadener to a product like Encapso-K?
I've also been researching clear Plastisol which is used for fishing lures, but it's not a material I'm familiar with. Any experience with similar builds or recommendations for other clear flexible rubbers would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Ben
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Comments
Their "Solaris" silicone is very clear and is Shore 15A. https://www.smooth-on.com/products/solaris/ Though I've not had the opportunity to try it yet.
Ecoflex Near Clear https://www.smooth-on.com/products/ecoflex-00-31-clear/ has a few more options compared to the SORTA-Clear but looks about the same level of clear. (hard to tell without seeing samples side by side)
You may want to reach out to their support department and see what formula they would recommend for your application. https://www.smooth-on.com/support/
/Chris
Thanks so much for your response and suggestions. I spoke to Smooth-On and the Solaris wouldn't be able to be made soft enough for my purposes since too much deadener would have to be added for it to cure correctly. I ended up going with the near clear which worked quite well! I'll be sure to post some photos when the puppets are completed.
Best,
Ben
/Chris