Vacuum Degassing Silicone and Why you should do it.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ต.ค. 2020
- We are going to do some vacuum degassing silicone for making silicone molds. We are also going to talk about why you need to degas silicone. Silicone molds are popular for resin casting. Beginners may be intimidated by using a vacuum chamber. I show in this video that it's pretty easy and fun to do.
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Great video. A vacuum pot is the next tool to buy on my list of must haves.
Awesome.. it was fun to use..
Hey Jake your videos are awesome to say the least. When I made my Silicone molds I put them in my pressure pot. Worked pretty good.
Thank you Lee.. I’ve heard that is the way to go, but for the sake of the video I didn’t do it.. I try to keep it as simple as possible on videos like this and by the time I was finished pouring the last batch, the first batch was solidified already.. Thanks for watching and for your feedback 👍👊
Great information Jake! Look forward to the next part. 👍
Thanks Buddy!! 👍👍👊 Next one should be cool!
This makes sense even to this crazy grandma. I had bought a vacuum chamber first, thinking I could use it on resin and molds, and later was a little disappointed to hear it probably can't be used much for resin. Now I have a pressure pot too. Good to know my investment wasn't a waste. Thanks!
Thank you for watching Pam! I’m glad I could help out! 😄👍
Another great informative video. Thanks Jake.
Thank you Michael 👍👍👊
Very informative video as usual. Thank you Jake.
Thank you.. glad you liked the video.. I appreciate it. 👍👍
Jake- stumbled into your videos a bit ago and I have to say thanks- good info and in a conversational format- I know the vid is older but I appreciate your content! Subscribed and looking forward to more from your channel! Be safe, stay well and at peace!
Sorry I missed your comment. I'm glad you enjoy the videos and glad you found the channel. Plenty to come.
Your video really have me laughing - I've been highly reluctant to try the degassing for all the reasons you mentioned but you've inspired me to give it a try. Thanks!
Thank you 😀 Glad you enjoyed
I find this so satisfying. As usual very informative, Jake. Thank you. Now only if they shipped here.
😂😂 Thank you Kris!😄😄
a super interesting and informative video. Thx Buddy 🤜🏼🤛🏼
Thank you Brother, I appreciate it. 👍👍👊
Sweet video! Can’t wait to see that blink!!
Me too lol .. it’s freezing today.. lol
Excited to see what you cast with this burl mold.
Yes sir.. I’m excited about it too! 👍👊
Nice job. Thanks for having an indication onscreen of how much timelapse you're using.
Very welcome.. glad you enjoyed the video
Thanks for the info Buddy 👍🏻
Thanks for watching buddy!!
I made a set of silicone moulds for my pen blanks and I didn’t use a vacuum chamber (because I didn’t have one). All I can say is I won’t do it again without one.
I tried vibrating them out as I had seen this worked for some. Thought it worked for me as I saw no surface bubbles anywhere on the top, bottom, sides or inside... totally smooth.
When I made my first blanks the bubbles just below the surface collapsed and my blanks turned out prickly! Not a big deal for my own blanks but aesthetically if I were to sell them it would make a poor product.
So, yeah, long story short. Totally agree!! Thanks for the video as usual. Always great content!
Thank you Shane, I thought it would be a complicated, intimidating process but it’s pretty easy and fun. Thank you for telling us your experience 👍👍👊
Great video as always Jake. Only thing I would change is just make sure to reinforce that if you want to degass, you need to use a silicone with a long cure time. Preferably over 20 minutes. If the cure time is 15-20 minutes or less you simply are not going to have enough time to degass properly. Gotta remember that the vacuum has a tendency to create a lot of heat, so the cure time will be faster than the on the tin quoted time when you degass.
Awesome.. Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed. 👍👍
Great vid Jake!
Thank you David! 👍👍👊
Very helpful.
Glad you enjoyed! 👍👍
Nice video got that picture up on Instagram like I promised
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Hi, Jake. This video was a confidence-builder for those of us who have been researching degassing to death and are now about to take the plunge. Thank you!
Two thoughts: First, I've learned enough about the "perils" of this process to have EXACTLY the same comment offered below by Karkarov, below. Substantial cure times are crucial. Second, I've read a fair number of complaints from people who bought cheap Amazon degassing kits that haven't held up over time. I truly hope you'll report on the long-term performance of your system after, say, a year or so. Best, Chris
Hey Chris. I’m glad you enjoyed the video. This cheap set has held up just fine.. But I have only ever degassed silicone in this set. We are over a year and I it had done just fine. The cheap pots with the plastic lids shouldn’t be used to stabilize wood… use the glass lids for that.. Plastic lids will crack, leak, and can even leak
@@JakeThompson Thanks for the quick, helpful reply. I need a vacuum-chamber setup for EXACTLY the same reason you do: degassing silicone (and, in my case, Plastisol)). So, this kit should work fine!
Just ordered a similar one(same braand) hope it's easy to set up 😂 thanks for the info
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JAKE THANK YOU .GREAT VIDEO VERY INFORMATIVE .ALLWAYS A JOY WATCHING AND LEARNING FROM YOU .THANK YOU .FROM DOUG
Thank you Doug! I’m glad you enjoyed! 👍👍
Thank you Jake I sure did and I have to say again that was very informative. I've done a little bit of work with silicone casting in the past but nothing too large and I appreciate the input very much. Thank you again from Doug
GTK it won't "rebubble" if you give it pressure back before it's cured. That one tidbit just made my (equally cheap) vacuum pot last a lot longer! Thanks bud!
Thanks dude.
Very welcome!!👍
Nice video. I think it is interesting that you are embracing the use of a vacuum chamber now. A while back, I had asked you why you used positive pressure instead of vacuum to degas the material (it was probably epoxy instead of silicone). At that time, you were a pressure pot guy. You might try epoxy in the vacuum chamber to see what you get.
Yes Sir.. it was with resin. And I still feel like if I have a pressure pot, that will be what I use. I might do a video on comparing the two with resin. With silicone it is necessary and I just needed to get a second vacuum chamber because my other one is always full of stabilizing resin. Thanks for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed it. 👍👍
Nice Video, have some of the same silicone, was wondering about the vacuum part pouring resin in molds that would go into pressure pot , how much deformation you would get etc.. might be a good test on another video to see if you
ever have time lol . Could you use this chamber to stabilize wood with some cactus juice ? be nice to have just 1
vac chamber with multiple uses
Thank you for watching, I’m glad you enjoyed it.. as far as cactus juice in this pot.. the one I use for stabilizing has a glass lid.. cactus juice can crack a plastic lid and leak... as far as the silicone.. before I degas it.. it’s way full of bubbles.. I’m sure it will deform pretty good.. maybe a good video in the future.
Hi, thx for the very informative video. I am new to this, I'm thinking buying a vacum chamber for my first molds. I can't help wondering why not put the mold in the vacuum chamber to get rid of any bubbles directly in the final product? What could go wrong?
Very welcome.. I don’t think there would be anything wrong with doing that.. in fact lots of people pour the silicone and then put it in a pressure pot until it’s set up.. I didn’t do it because I was doing the small pours and didn’t want to wait in between pours.. 👍👍
Great video, I’m planning on buying myself a 3 gallon vacuum chamber so I can make a 2 part silicone mold for casting the polyurethane foam Mandalorian spearhead to help comply with the convention center’s rules on cosplay props while cosplaying as The Mandalorian
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thanks ur reply/ looks like I should get the 5 gal single stage, if I can get the 2 stage for the same $ would u get it? and it looks like I will get harbor freights paint tank also for $99 incase I want to do pressure... Thanks Again ,Rock On!
Both the chaser and the pump are holding up just fine.. works exactly how I want it to every time. 👍👍
Hi Jake, great video. Can you tell me what size pump that is please? I have a similar one off ebay but I dont think the pump is actually big enough. thank you Shane, Australia.
Hello, it’s a single stage 1/3 hp 5cfm .. it works great for me.
@@JakeThompson Mine is about the same hp but only a 3 cfm. Might explain why its not as good. Looks like a need an upgrade
Hello Jake, Thank you for another great video --
Quick question -- would you be able to use that vacuum chamber to stabilize wood with Cactus Juice or similar product?
Or would you need to use a different pot (one with a galss lid)?
Thank you again for the vids, i enjoy them very much.
Thank you Chris. You are exactly right.. I stabilize in a vacuum chamber with a glass lid.. ones with a plastic lid will crack and leak, or break.
instablaster...
Very informative as always. Can't wait to see the end result.
Me too.. it’s freezing, so it might be next week.. lol
@@JakeThompson I thought you had a heat pump on that air conditioning unit. Lol
@@WackeyWorxWorkshop lol I do
Hey Jake, thanks for the video! I was wondering how hot your vacuum pump gets during operation? I am using what looks almost identical to your pump in this video. I am using it to stabilize wood and after about 30 minutes of running it, it is getting quite hot. Hot enough to burn you if you hold your hand against it for a couple seconds. Is that normal? They don't give much information in the manual. Thank you!
They will get hot.. I have bumped into mind a few times on accident.. it was hot and I think should be hot to the touch.. glad you enjoyed the video
Hey Jake, is it normal for the vaccum pump create an oil smoking / mist during operation? Thanks
Hello Alex. It is normal.
Great video. Can you buy a vacuum pump and use it with your pressure pot?
You can but won’t be able to see in the pot.
Hey Jake. I bought one of these kits and used it on MoldStar 15. My pump doesn’t seem to pull more than 25 pounds of mercury with the factory set up but SmoothOn recommends 29 pounds of mercury. Any tips? Thanks.
Different locations, altitude, and such will limit the amount of vacuum you can pull.. as long as it pulls the bubbles out.. you are good to go.
Does your vaccume machine start to smoke after a few seconds of using it?
I have the same model and Im a bit scared to use it. Any advice would be amazing, thanks!
It will let a bit of steam out.. it’s normal . 👍
@@JakeThompson Excellent, thats so relieving haha Thank you so much!
Keep up the great content!
I'm Waitinggggggggg 😁😁😁😁
It’s too cold to pour.. I’m about to go out and remold it now 😄😄😄
@@JakeThompson I know, you said maybe a week, 😊 But I'm still waiting LOL.....
I just came across your video, I just bought the same unit for degassing silicone. I can't get mine to pull the air out though? The gauge only goes to about 20 and to be successful, I need to pull 29. Do you know maybe why I can't pull more than 20? It's definitely not clearing my bubbles. I googled for info, but there isn't much other there for this model.
First I would make sure the outside valve is shut.. I would take the lid off and place something over the hole on the underside of the lid. Turn the pump on and see if it gets more vacuum that way. If it gets good vacuum that way.. the lid isn’t sealing very well
I got a vacuum chamber the pump spray mist out of the air outtake, and I cannot get all the air out of my silicone. I found a dry o ring in the chamber gage and replaced it. I also see I'm leaking oil from the min max glass in the pump. Not sure what to do besides order a different vacuum pump. Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
I would send it back for a new one.. and if the new one has problems too.. get a different one.. I have had no problems out of the one in this video.
@@JakeThompson I actually fixed it. Also the oil spraying out the exhaust I just put a 10ft 5/8 hose over it and attach it to a window fan. Just ran 32 ounces today for a great test run and got some projects done. The leak in the window for the oil can't fix but doesn't seem to bother it for I can get -32 on my gage now.
Some people say you need to change the oil in the vacum chamber ea.time u use it some the fumes don't get into the oil n leave residue n ruin the pump?what's your thoughts.
If I’m stabilizing wood with cactus juice.. and it’s on for several hours.. it’s a good idea to change the oil after a use like that.. after a use like the one in this video.. I wouldn’t change it for a long time... and there’s a sight glass on the front of the pump.. you can see if the oil is changing colors or getting contaminated..
@@JakeThompson k ty just getting mine set up don't want to destroy it first thing.
Hey Jake. My BAC Stablizing vacuum pot com with a 9”x9” square 50 micron filter have any ideas how it’s used?
Mine came with a mat that sits at the bottom.. if yours came with a filter… I have no idea. 😁
@@JakeThompson It is a mat I found out it sits on the bottom so the cactus juice can get in the wood more freely. Thanks!
I plan on using linoleum tiles to carve designs that I impress into silicone molds so I can make chocolate bars.
Should I degass the silicone before applying it to the molds?
Yes… because I’m sure the bubbles would overflow your molds.
@@JakeThompson cool thanks for the tip
Sweet, can you tint the silicone??
I can, but after using it.. I think it’s pretty cool to be able to see through it..
There is a similar kit from VEVOR that is also "cheap" which costs about 200$. so I was wondering, how good has your vacuum chamber and pump been so far?
I have degassed lots of silicone.. works like a champ.. I have no complaints 👍
@@JakeThompsoncool, thanks man!
I assume you didn't just put the wood burl into the vacuum pot because it wouldn't fit? If you were molding something smaller, would you just de-bubble the whole thing and not have to pour at all?
I did it that way because I didn’t know how much it would take and second.. if I filled the mold up and then degassed it.. the bubbles would have overflowed pretty bad ..
what would happen if your degas the two parts separately before mixing? would it make mixing the silicone very difficult?
I think it would need to be degassed again after mixing .. I haven’t tried it.
Most of the bubbles are a byproduct of mixing the two, so it would be pointless.
How often do you change the oil in your pump?
I don’t change it often At all.. the oil you can see in the site glass is still clean
Would you ever do a 2nd degassing when the silicone is in the mold before it cures? Also, how is the pump and chamber holding up as of today?
I would be afraid if there were bubbles in it after you poured it.. the bubbles would overflow the mold.. another option would be to put it in a pressure pot as it cures
@@JakeThompson I appreciate the quick reply! I believe you're correct; the pressure pot is the right choice. Thanks for the clarification on that note. Also, how is the vacuum chamber and pump holding up today? Hopefully you've put it to good use and can perhaps confirm the longevity of both parts.
@@charlesbonkley Yes, I'd like to know too please, as I'm about to hit the button on one of these!
@@johnsullivan395 I'll tell you what I ended up doing for my projects in terms of pressure-casting molds and resins: I never pursued the vacuum chamber because it just seemed like a major PITA. What I did was buy a pressure pot (a big one that is solid as a rock), and it has been nothing short of amazing for both silicone mold making and castings. My method that has worked very well is to use SmoothOn's Mold Star 30 (blue) silicone. Set time is 45min. I first mix the silicone evenly and thoroughly then let the cup sit for 15-20 minutes. 90% of the bubbles have time to rise to the surface and pop. Then, I pour the mold and let it sit another 5 minutes or so. Then the mold goes into the pressure pot, and the result after the full set time is a high-quality, dense, no bumps/bubbles mold. This is exactly the same method I use for the pressure casting of the resin as well, but there is way less initial work time. IMPORTANT NOTE: In order to do a successful pressure CASTING, the MOLD must have been made under pressure as well. If not, then distortions will occur in the casting because the silicone was not previously made more dense/devoid of air. I think vacuum chambers have their place, being important to getting a gas-free pour of slow-cure epoxy/resin, for example. Not so much in silicone mold making, IMHO.
@@charlesbonkley Thanks so much for getting back to me on this! I can't tell you how many tutorials on this I've been watching this week. It has slowly dawned on me over the last few days that it would make sense to cure the mold and the resin at exactly the same pressure as the mold bubbles should be in some kind of equilibrium state and not distort the mold surface. I was toying with going nuts and buying a vaccy chamber and pressure pot
tonight, but I'm going to take your recommendation and buy only the pressure pot and see how things go! Will let you know and many thanks again! I owe you a cyberpint, mate! ;-)
What do you do with the blue switch?
I’m not sure what switch you are talking about, but there is a blue filter at the end of the inlet valve
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How to clean a cup of mixed silicone？
Just let it set up.. then just peel it out.
Your pump oil is a little low. I have the same system and also shipped with a low level. After filling to about max, I was able to achieve a full vacuum. Also a lot of noise reduction.
I added some before I started. It’s between the lines.. I’m pretty happy with it.
When you say “let the air out”, I think you mean “let the air in”!
You caught it.. that’s what I meant.
Fun fact - when you open that second valve, you're actually letting air in, not out. 😊
I misspeak sometimes.. actually .. a lot lol
@@JakeThompson I do too. I'm much better at catching other people's mistakes than I am my own. 😂🤣
@@migbham1 most people are lol
Grand final Storm26 Penrith 20
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I've had to do that 6 times and never got that collapse
Mine does it every time.. sometimes it’s not as pronounced depending on the volume.
Somebody please confirm (or refute) my thoughts that "slowing down the vacuum by opening the lever that allowed air back in" accomplished nothing as the bubbles only shrink but did not collapse?
Thanks for the efforts making this video. I'd like to see more. :-)
I’m not sure on the letting the air back in. But I know I didn’t want to overflow the cup.. and I left the vacuum on until no more bubbles were coming out.. sooooo ... who knows.. lol
Plenty more to come.. Thank you for watching. 👍👊
I believe the process was slowed down but the end result was still the same. The vacuum pressure still removed all of the air from the material. If you do it all at once the air that's in the material will make it expand outside of the container therefore losing material.
In my trials with resin vacuuming, opening the lever helps reducing "boil over." Let's the bubbles combine and settle.
It simply kept it from overflowing that's all.
1st....
That’s what I’m talkin bout!! 👍👊
Holy crap ......... you definitely don’t want your silicone deformed.....
Just sayin
It’s a huge problem when that happens.. you don’t want to misrepresent your form! 😄💪