Can I make acrylic caulk more flexible?

Dec 17, 2004 5 Replies

I'm helping my kids make a science project and we need something a little more flexible, or more squishy than the standard acrylic latex caulk. The stuff I bought was GE's acrylic latex plus silicone. I was thinking maybe a some kind of thinner or vegetable oil might do the trick. Any ideas?



I'm helping my kids make a science project and we need something a little more flexible, or more squishy than the standard acrylic latex caulk. The stuff I bought was GE's acrylic latex plus silicone. I was thinking maybe a some kind of thinner or vegetable oil might do the trick. Any ideas?

You might be able to plasticize it but then could have an oozing problem. Why not use straight silicone which should be more flexible. Frank

The hardware store reccomended the acrylic latex as being more flexible, now that I see it out of the "box", its got more of a hard surface than anything else. The stuff thats in a gel pad for mouse and keyboards, thats the kind of substance Im looking for. Where can I find that stuff?

Those gels are a combination of Kraton and mineral oil. I believe that you might be able to find some Kraton in candle making shops for use in making gel candles. If so, they should be able to help you get set up for mixing the mineral oil into it; a slow, but straight forward process.

Kraton is a trademark for a styrenic block copolymer (SBC), and the candleshop might have it as a generic material.

John

That sounds exactly whats needed. Thanks alot!

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