Sugru - A handy little find

[peerjay56]

I was at an outdoor trade fair on Tuesday, and came across this stuff:

It's amazing stuff - ideal for repairing or modifying those things that need it. Anything from strengthening joints on wires and pplugs, to repairing or replacing switches on electrical equipment - there are loads of examples on their website at The future needs fixing - the future needs fixing - sugru Applied thinly it is very flexible (they had goretex clothing repaired with it); used more thickly it forms a pretty firm shape, with a pleasant texture.
Anyway, as I'm completing the installation of a kit to my refurbished hybrid, I thought this part

looked a bit vulnerable - ripe for knocks or loss of magnets. So, out came the sugru

and a couple of minutes later, the job was done

It'll be cured in 24 hours, and then it will go onto the bike.
(I have no connection with the maker or any distributor of this material)

 

[Alan Quay]

You can make a cheap alternative by mixing silicone sealant with corn flour. You can colour it with poster paint. Google oogoo for details.

You have to use the cheap silicone that smells a bit like vinegar (screwfix and toolstation, less than £2 a tube)

 

[103Alex1]

I like that stuff too ... KirstinS put me on to it in one of his posts - I've used it quite a bit to make blanking pins for connectors, insulate solder bridges on a double ouput socket made from Deans Connectors, to reinforce my rear lighting mounting bar and lots of other little fiddly insulating jobs.

I don't think it's too expensive for small jobs as the cured rubber is so strong, can be used where shrinkwrap can't and it'll prevent any arcing or shorting. Not sure I'd opt for silicone sealant with cornflour on my primary electrical circuit !

 

[peerjay56]

I like that stuff too ... KirstinS put me on to it in one of his posts - I've used it quite a bit to make blanking pins for connectors, insulate solder bridges on a double ouput socket made from Deans Connectors, to reinforce my rear lighting mounting bar and lots of other little fiddly insulating jobs.

I don't think it's too expensive for small jobs as the cured rubber is so strong, can be used where shrinkwrap can't and it'll prevent any arcing or shorting. Not sure I'd opt for silicone sealant with cornflour on my primary electrical circuit !

At least the product has known properties, and the small sachets are a handy size. You can use just as much as you need. I find tubes of silicone sealant are rarely completely used, and just finish up going off. Shelf life on the Sugru is six months, but you can extend that by storing unused packets in the fridge - adds up to another 8 months of useable life. Plus, it doesn't take up much room in the fridge, and doesn't taint anything.

 

[timidtom]

Mmmm, tempting. What flavour is this? Can nurse make tasty biscuits with it?

Tom

;-)

 

[BAH48]

Keep taking the tablets.

 

[smudger1956]

That looks 'well handy'..reminds me of Dental casting material.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[peerjay56]

Mmmm, tempting. What flavour is this? Can nurse make tasty biscuits with it?

Tom

;-)

Depends on't colour Tom. Remember Blackjacks? Well, black tastes
nothing like them!

 

[hopper_rider]

I like that stuff too ... KirstinS put me on to it in one of his posts - I've used it quite a bit to make blanking pins for connectors, insulate solder bridges on a double ouput socket made from Deans Connectors, to reinforce my rear lighting mounting bar and lots of other little fiddly insulating jobs.

I don't think it's too expensive for small jobs as the cured rubber is so strong, can be used where shrinkwrap can't and it'll prevent any arcing or shorting. Not sure I'd opt for silicone sealant with cornflour on my primary electrical circuit !

Do you know for sure that the sugru is not made in a similar way?

 

[Alan Quay]

Do you know for sure that the sugru is not made in a similar way?

I use Oogoo (in place of Sugru) because of availability. I always have the ingredients in abundance in the house, so it makes sense. Also, I can make it any colour I choose.
Sugru is a harder to get hold of, I assume because it is not approved for use in the EU (no CE mark apparently).

Alex's rather snooty attitude toward Oogoo, and his assertion as the to the insulation properties of Surgru ("...it'l prevent any arcing or shorting....") are both based on guess work.

It would be interesting to do some proper tests on both materials, I suspect they would behave in a fairly similar way.

Interestingly, if you look the up the Wikipedia entry on Sugru, not only is it silicone based, it was conceived while its inventor was playing with something very similar to Oogoo, albeit with the carrier for moisture being sawdust.

Sugru - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[103Alex1]

Alex's rather snooty attitude toward Oogoo, and his assertion as the to the insulation properties of Surgru ("...it'l prevent any arcing or shorting....") are both based on guess work.

Don't know about Oogoo - was referring to making a DIY mix and using it on my electrical circuits. For the sake of £1.50 worth of Sugru I wouldn't take the risk that's all ! Plus I've seen the cured results of Sugru and how strong it is and been convinced it's worth buying. But by all means use whatever you like !

The Sugru electrical insulation properties are indicated by the manufacturer if I remember correctly .. which is why I used it for the application I did. Certainly been no shorting or arcing to date so that's something I guess.

 

[Alan Quay]

Oogoo is an alternative name for silicone sealant mixed with corn flour.

 

[hopper_rider]

There was some degree of reasoning behind my point. There are waterproofing preparations that you can buy to reproof various items of clothing, tents, outdoor equipment, etc.

Per litre they are not exactly cheap. But there are videos of people making the same with silicone sealant watered down.

Its based on the silicone having particular molecular characteristics and behaving in a particular way when mixed with one item or another. I dont pretend to know the full details but there are some people on this forum who seem creative and problem solvers, and they may like the opportunity to experiment.

 

[Alan Quay]

Silicone as a fabric waterproofing agent, I like the sound of that. Will do some googling.....

 

[hopper_rider]

Silicone as a fabric waterproofing agent, I like the sound of that. Will do some googling.....

Let me know if you cant find anything. I may have saved a link somewhere

 

[peerjay56]

Silicone as a fabric waterproofing agent, I like the sound of that. Will do some googling.....

That was meant to have an irony icon, right?

 

[hopper_rider]

Heres a link that shows the home made version

common mans silnylon tarp.wmv - YouTube

Very home made. But it seems to work

 

[Scimitar]

Interestingly, if you look the up the Wikipedia entry on Sugru, not only is it silicone based, it was conceived while its inventor was playing with something very similar to Oogoo, albeit with the carrier for moisture being sawdust.

Sugru - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sugru's exact constituents may be the key, but the "invention" of it is a bit of a stretch; as it was known before 2003 that you could use bathroom silicone mixed with other things to form a setting rubber. If the patent office were doing their job properly, "prior art" should have come into play.

 

[peerjay56]

Heres a link that shows the home made version

common mans silnylon tarp.wmv - YouTube

Very home made. But it seems to work

ROFLMAO! He's wearing gloves (which melt, so he takes them off), but holds the can steady with feet in flip flops! Just buy a litre of fabsil - it'll cost a little more (about £7.50 from a local camping shop). Proven consistency, known results, minimum risk to your own health. And it works. Save the self made idea until the apocalypse, when you can't get something proven to work.

 

[Scimitar]

ROFLMAO! He's wearing gloves (which melt, so he takes them off), but holds the can steady with feet in flip flops! Just buy a litre of fabsil - it'll cost a little more (about £7.50 from a local camping shop). Proven consistency, known results, minimum risk to your own health. And it works. Save the self made idea until the apocalypse, when you can't get something proven to work.

I've never known Fabsil to work worth a damn and it's more expensive where I am, whereas I might give the diy version a go, since I've got all the ingredients anyway.