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Silicone sealant is one of the most versatile construction materials you could bring to a job site. It&#;s ideal for sealing joints in various construction materials, including glass, metal, wood, and concrete.
It is also widely used for weatherproofing, thanks to its strong resistance to all kinds of weathering. Silicone withstands exposure to UV rays, rain, and extreme temperatures without ever cracking or deteriorating. It also has extraordinary adhesion properties, ensuring a clean finish that will last for years to come.
When shopping for caulks, you may have noticed that there are a number of different types sold in the big box stores. One of the most common categories is &#;all-purpose&#; silicone sealant. If you&#;re curious about all-purpose silicone sealant and its uses, you&#;ve come to the right place. In this guide, we give you everything you need to know about the features, benefits, and ideal uses of all-purpose silicone.
All-purpose silicone sealant is offered by several different brands and is designed to adhere to just about any kind of material and serve just about any kind of purpose. Unlike other silicone sealants formulated to serve a specific function, such as concrete expansion joint sealant or automotive sealant, all-purpose silicone is designed for general use.
Many stores sell all-purpose silicone that meets ASTM C920 standards. This is likely a label you&#;ve seen. When shopping around, check for compliance with these standards if it is important for your project.
One thing to be aware of with these standards is that ASTM classes each silicone into different classes based on its expansion and contraction abilities. Class 12.5 is the lowest class and means the silicone sealant can expand or contract 12.5% of its original size.
If your all-purpose silicone meets ASTM C-920 Class 25 standards, it would be a sealant that can expand or contract up to 25% of its size. Different levels of expansion or contraction are required for different purposes and projects. All the silicone sold by Silicone Depot meets ASTM standards and is ideally suited for whatever project you need.
Often, all-purpose silicone is used by people looking to complete sealing or re-sealing projects such as around windows, doors, siding, and trim. It&#;s an excellent choice for most household repairs and is also commonly utilized in aquariums and bathrooms where waterproof seals are required.
Professionals utilize all-purpose silicone sealants for industrial and commercial applications. Sealing and bonding materials in large-scale construction projects is a common necessity. In home construction, for instance, molding, baseboards, vents, wires and pipes, countertops, and so much more all require silicone sealant. All-purpose or general-purpose silicone sealant works ideally for all these purposes and more.
All-purpose silicone sealants offer many advantages. This is why they&#;re so popular. Firstly, the versatility of all-purpose silicone just makes it so useful. Whatever materials you need to seal or bond, all-purpose silicone sealant can get the job done.
These sealants also remain flexible after curing, allowing them to accommodate the movement of the materials without cracking. We&#;ve already highlighted the weather resistance and waterproofing capabilities of silicone sealant.
In terms of additional advantages to using all-purpose silicone, its durability is a key selling factor. Brands test and re-test their formulas to ensure their sealants are durable, long-lasting, and reliable. All-purpose sealants endure the test of time, remaining intact for many years. They are also resistant to chemicals, including household cleaners, acids, and alkalis.
Finally, these sealants are well-known for their ease of use. Simply place a tube in your standard caulking gun, and you&#;re off. These silicones have a smooth consistency that is easy to work with to ensure your project is perfectly sealed.
Although different formulas vary, most all-purpose silicone can be used on these materials:
Due to the composition of some silicone sealants, you cannot always use all-purpose silicone for projects involving vinyl materials. Certain chemical reactions can occur in certain sealants that can cause the silicone to become brittle, discolored, or damaged over time. Not all silicones correctly adhere to vinyl, either. Be sure to check if you have vinyl-friendly silicone if you need it for a project.
When it comes to adherence and silicone, rain can cause irritating delays for a sealing project. Fortunately, there are rain-ready formulas for silicone sealant. Rain-ready means that the silicone can withstand rainwater on the first day of its installation. This means you don&#;t have to worry about delaying your project due to the weather.
All-purpose silicone sealant is a versatile and durable solution for any sealing or bonding project you might have. Its benefits include flexibility, weather resistance, and ease of use. When shopping for silicone sealant, be sure to look for products that meet ASTM standards and are rain-ready. For the best selection and prices, check out Silicone Depot, the premier provider of silicone sealant for a variety of purposes.
chemical compound
Also known as: polysiloxane, siloxane
silicone, any of a diverse class of fluids, resins, or elastomers based on polymerized siloxanes, substances whose molecules consist of chains made of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms. Their chemical inertness, resistance to water and oxidation, and stability at both high and low temperatures have led to a wide range of commercial applications, from lubricating greases to electrical-wire insulation and biomedical implants (such as breast implants).
The silicones differ from most industrial polymers in that the chains of linked atoms that make up the backbones of their molecules do not contain carbon, the characteristic element of organic compounds. This lack of carbon in the polymer backbones makes polysiloxanes into unusual &#;inorganic&#; polymers&#;though in most members of the class two organic groups, usually vinyl (CH2), methyl (CH3), or phenyl (C6H5), are attached to each silicon atom. A general formula for silicones is (R2SiO)x, where R can be any one of a variety of organic groups.
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major industrial polymers: Polysiloxanes (silicones)
The most common silicone compound, poly-dimethylsiloxane, can illustrate the central characteristics of the class. The starting material is metallic silicon, which is obtained from silica sand. Silicon is reacted with methyl chloride (CH3Cl) over a copper catalyst, forming dimethyldichlorosilane ([CH3]2Si[Cl]2). By reacting this compound with water, the chlorine atoms are replaced by hydroxyl (OH) groups. The resultant unstable compound, silanol ([CH3]2Si[OH]2), polymerizes in a condensation reaction, the single-unit molecules linking together to form poly-dimethylsiloxane with concomitant loss of water. The dimethylsiloxane repeating unit of the polymer has the following structure:
Siloxane molecules rotate freely around the Si-O bond, so, even with vinyl, methyl, or phenyl groups attached to the silicon atoms, the molecule is highly flexible. In addition, the Si-O bond is highly heat-resistant and is not readily attacked by oxygen or ozone. As a result, silicones are remarkably stable, and they have the lowest glass-transition temperature (the temperature below which the molecules are locked in a rigid, glassy state) and the highest permeability to gases of any polymer. On the other hand, the Si-O bond is susceptible to hydrolysis and attack by acids and bases, so silicone plastics and rubbers are relatively weak and readily swollen by hydrocarbon oils.
Polysiloxanes are manufactured as fluids, resins, or elastomers, depending on the molecular weight of the polymers and the degree to which the polymer chains are interlinked. Nonvulcanized, low-molecular-weight polysiloxane fluids are exceptionally stable to decomposition by heat, water, or oxidizing agents and are good electrical insulators. They make excellent lubricants and hydraulic fluids, as well as emulsions for imparting water repellency to textiles, paper, and other materials. Silicone resins are used in protective coatings and electrically insulating varnishes and for laminating glass cloth.
Vulcanized silicone rubber is prepared in two principal forms: (1) as room-temperature-vulcanizing (RTV) elastomers, which are low-molecular-weight liquids that are cast or molded into desired shapes and then interlinked at room temperature, and (2) high-temperature-vulcanizing (HTV) elastomers, which are higher-molecular-weight gums that are mixed and processed like other elastomers. Silicone rubbers are usually strengthened by fillers such as silica; other fillers are mixed in to add bulk and colour. Valued for their electrical-insulating properties, chemical stability, and the wide temperature range over which they retain resiliency, silicone rubbers are used mainly in O-rings, heat-resistant seals, caulks, gaskets, electrical insulators, flexible molds, and (owing to their chemical inertness) surgical implants.
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Siloxanes were first characterized as polymers by the English chemist Frederic Stanley Kipping in . Because Kipping thought that the structure of the repeating unit was essentially that of a ketone (the polymer chains formed by silicon atoms, with oxygen atoms attached by double bonds), he incorrectly called them silicones, a name that has persisted. In American chemist Eugene George Rochow at the General Electric Company laboratories in Schenectady, N.Y., U.S., prepared methyl siloxanes by the process that remains the basis of modern polymerization methods. Meanwhile, researchers at Corning Glass were exploring the production of silicones, and in Corning and the Dow Chemical Company formed the Dow Corning Corporation to produce silicone products.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn
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