Buying silicone or resin in Pounds (Lbs)?

[Raikoh]

I have ran into a small problem figuring out how much silicone/resin I'll be getting from certain websites. I know how much I'll need in volume, but the weight of the package doesnt tell me jack, and I'm not able to find any other measurement on their websites.

Some examples of sites that only measure in weight are Alumilite and Polytek.

Does anybody have any extensive experience with resins and/or silicones, and can tell me a good pound-to-gallon conversion? Or maybe take an exact gallon or 2, and weight it for me? For all I know, 5 pounds of silicone is only half a gallon. And if that were the case, a website that's selling it by pounds is charging twice as much as a site selling it by volume...

 

[The Mad Professor]

I have ran into a small problem figuring out how much silicone/resin I'll be getting from certain websites. I know how much I'll need in volume, but the weight of the package doesnt tell me jack, and I'm not able to find any other measurement on their websites.

Some examples of sites that only measure in weight are Alumilite and Polytek.

Does anybody have any extensive experience with resins and/or silicones, and can tell me a good pound-to-gallon conversion? Or maybe take an exact gallon or 2, and weight it for me? For all I know, 5 pounds of silicone is only half a gallon. And if that were the case, a website that's selling it by pounds is charging twice as much as a site selling it by volume...

A pound is a measure of weight, whereas a gallon is a measure of volume. Therefore, we'd need to know the specific density of the materials in order to give you a correct answer.

That said, you can always OVERestimate how much material you will need. Many resins and silicone rubbers come in a 2 part mix, so you can mix only what you need and the unmixed portions should keep for some time.

 

[Philly]

Someone told me 1kilo ~= 1 litre.

 

[bookface]

Someone told me 1kilo ~= 1 litre.

Of water, yes. Of silicone? Not necessarily.

 

[Raikoh]

A pound is a measure of weight, whereas a gallon is a measure of volume. Therefore, we'd need to know the specific density of the materials in order to give you a correct answer.

That said, you can always OVERestimate how much material you will need. Many resins and silicone rubbers come in a 2 part mix, so you can mix only what you need and the unmixed portions should keep for some time.

Thats actually the point of this post. I have no clue what the density of silicone is, all I know is it's "heavy"...that close enough?

I know how much I need in volume, but I dont know how much volume 5 pounds is. And there is no way to tell from their websites.

Thats why I was hoping some of you could weigh a gallon for me? Or maybe already know the conversion off the top of your head?

 

[bookface]

Well, the problem with your question is that there isn't actually a straight conversion. Some silicones weigh more than others. Smooth-on is one of the best at providing detailed answers, and will give the specific gravity for each of the different silicones. However, they list something like oomoo 25 with a specific gravity of 1.34, making a 1 gallon kit (which is actually 2 gallons, 1 gallon of each part) weigh nearly 21lbs. However, Dragonskin has a specific gravity of 1.07, making the same 1 gallon kit (again, 1 gallon of each part) weigh almost 5lbs less at 16lbs.

So the answer to your question is: It depends. There is no straight conversion. Resin has the same problem. Some are heavier than others.

Perhaps it would help if you let us know which ones you were looking at? Have you looked at all the of the technical data sheets for this info?

 

[robstyle]

according to the old Miami Vice tv series, 2.2 pounds = one kilo of cocaine.

 

[Raikoh]

alright, understood. I was worried it would be vague like that. Even the numbers you gave have already helped me figure out how much I'll getting. I just needed a decent average.

right now, I'm still just trying to compare prices and silicones. I don't need a very fancy silicone, and pretty much any cheap one will do (i'll be making 1 or 2 pulls in the end). So thats why I'm trying to compare prices.


I'll post the links when I get home.