Looking for help finding a soft, clear rubber/gel material

fallimar · May 18, 2018

Hi folks!

I'm wanting to make some jelly critters but I'm having trouble finding the right product to use to make them. There's a huge knowledgebase here so I'd love a few pointers if anyone can help! I'm after a soft rubber, preferably in the 10-30 OOO shore hardness range though basically anything soft would be amazing. It needs to not be brittle like the "broken glass" silicones, and I know Smooth-On does Encapso K and Solaris, but those are both way too hard (15-30A I think) and very pricey.

I honestly don't care if it's silicone, just need it to be relatively durable and non crumbly. A urethane rubber or some kind of gel product would be just fine, I'm just having a very hard time finding anything with my limited knowledge so far. If anyone has any ideas I'd be very grateful. Thanks!

udog · May 21, 2018

HI!
All I can think myself is platinum silicone. If not tinted, Dragon Skin, Platgel and similar are'clear, not sure if you need it is completely translucent, maybe degassing it could help.
Ecoflex (smooth on) is a very soft silicone (0030 and 0010 I think). If not you can use softening agents such as Slacker (smooth on) or Deadener (Polytek). Adding these to the silicone will let you achieve very soft shores, gel like (used for fx make up prosthetics). But you will have to encapsulate it in a non deadened layer mix as it results sticky when you mix the silicone with these aditives.
That´s what comes up right now. Maybe someone else has better ideas or other options.

fallimar · May 21, 2018

udog said:
HI!
All I can think myself is platinum silicone. If not tinted, Dragon Skin, Platgel and similar are'clear, not sure if you need it is completely translucent, maybe degassing it could help.
Ecoflex (smooth on) is a very soft silicone (0030 and 0010 I think). If not you can use softening agents such as Slacker (smooth on) or Deadener (Polytek). Adding these to the silicone will let you achieve very soft shores, gel like (used for fx make up prosthetics). But you will have to encapsulate it in a non deadened layer mix as it results sticky when you mix the silicone with these aditives.
That´s what comes up right now. Maybe someone else has better ideas or other options.

Thanks

I was looking at those, but really I am after something water clear. You'd think it'd be easier to find! I'm wondering what those fake food sample companies use to simulate liquids, but I'd wager they're not particularly soft. I have seen clear gels that you can heat up, pour and they set up jelly-like but I wouldn't have any idea what they're made of.
I do love the softness of platsil gel10 and ecoflex, pity they're so cloudy

udog · May 21, 2018

Looks like a hard one to find.
Rubber Glass (smooth on) is tin silicone water clear, but not soft , and it´s brittle (to simulate broken glass), not gel like.
There are clear urethane rubbers, but I´m afraid not that soft.
Never heard about that meltable product, sounds interesting, any references or images to take a look.
Let us know if you find it!

.....what about ballistic gelatine?...just thought about that and found this.

Meltable, clear but not gel like, seems harder, Looks very interesting:

https://youtu.be/6l5AM-pr7vM

CptFlyingToastr · May 30, 2018

3rd Degree is a clear two-part silicone that is soft and pliable, but generally returns to its original shape and size. I use it for wound effects in medical simulation. You'd likely want to vacuum de-gas or put it on a shake table to get the bubbles out if you're looking for a truly crystal clear look.

https://alconemakeup.com/shop/detai...MIrOrGoLyu2wIVhf5kCh2Q9wKqEAAYASAAEgKWF_D_BwE

Mr Mold Maker · May 31, 2018

It is not just the material itself, but your master, mold, and release.
A water clear piece has to originate from a perfect glossy-surfaced mold, and that gloss needs to transfer in turn from the master. Casting without a release agent and preheating the mold before casting would help very much as well. Some things to think about.

I am not familiar with any water clear silicones in that soft of a range. Platsil 7315 isn’t a perfectly clear silicone, but it is about a shore A 15 and can be deadened. This may be about as close as you can get, at least to my knowledge.

Harder silicones that may come out more clear..
Momentive 3450T is about a 45 shore hardness.
ESIL 291 is about a 38.
I’ve seen Bluesil 3040 mentioned but apparently tends to yellow.
Poly-Optic 14-70 Clear is a urethane, but again is very firm.

Every once in a while water clear silicones pop up as a topic and I like to take and keep notes. This is gathered from stuff anywhere from a few months old to 5+ years so I apologize if any numbers or product names have changed.. and I wish you the best of luck on your project!

fallimar · Jun 18, 2018

CptFlyingToastr said:
3rd Degree is a clear two-part silicone that is soft and pliable, but generally returns to its original shape and size. I use it for wound effects in medical simulation. You'd likely want to vacuum de-gas or put it on a shake table to get the bubbles out if you're looking for a truly crystal clear look.

https://alconemakeup.com/shop/detai...MIrOrGoLyu2wIVhf5kCh2Q9wKqEAAYASAAEgKWF_D_BwE

Mr Mold Maker said:
It is not just the material itself, but your master, mold, and release.
A water clear piece has to originate from a perfect glossy-surfaced mold, and that gloss needs to transfer in turn from the master. Casting without a release agent and preheating the mold before casting would help very much as well. Some things to think about.

I am not familiar with any water clear silicones in that soft of a range. Platsil 7315 isn’t a perfectly clear silicone, but it is about a shore A 15 and can be deadened. This may be about as close as you can get, at least to my knowledge.

Harder silicones that may come out more clear..
Momentive 3450T is about a 45 shore hardness.
ESIL 291 is about a 38.
I’ve seen Bluesil 3040 mentioned but apparently tends to yellow.
Poly-Optic 14-70 Clear is a urethane, but again is very firm.

Every once in a while water clear silicones pop up as a topic and I like to take and keep notes. This is gathered from stuff anywhere from a few months old to 5+ years so I apologize if any numbers or product names have changed.. and I wish you the best of luck on your project!

Thanks so much, both of these are very helpful. I'm still looking right now, but I'll have a peek at all of those products. Very grateful for the pointers

Voodoocaster · Jun 25, 2018

Maybe you could use the "latex"they use for crystal clear balloons and use that to shape your critters,..if you manage to get an hollow shape out of that material you could fill that with transparent fluid like oil,soap or even water and close it up

skilltreenz · Jun 30, 2018

Not sure if this has been answered. but Smooth On has this https://www.smooth-on.com/products/clear-flex-30/

Looking for help finding a soft, clear rubber/gel material

fallimar

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udog

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fallimar

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udog

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CptFlyingToastr

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Mr Mold Maker

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fallimar

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Voodoocaster

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skilltreenz

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