Silicon Adhesives are EXPENSIVE, but nothing else works.

Silicon is a great surface and a super mold making material. The versatility of this product comes from the characteristic that it does not want to stick to anything. I love a great silicon mold because it also goes the other way in that most things don't stick to the silicon once it is made into a mold. One use for silicon has been pad printing, which is using a molded silicon shape to pick up ink and then with pressure the silicon will release the ink onto an object that does not have to be a flat smooth surface. I have been experimenting with making silicon based stickers and stamps, but the problem has been getting something to stick to the back of the silicon so that I can then stick the silicon sticker or stamp onto something else. Yesterday I purchased some silicon adhesive from Douglas and Sturgess in Richmond California, a well-know purveyor of all things moldy, and was surprised by the cost. A small tube of silicon adhesive was $11 and I mean a small tube. It had some reference to the active ingredient and I used the entire tube at once, but this stuff is expensive. I applied the adhesive to a vinyl sticker sheet, like bumper sticker paper, and let it dry overnight. The good news is that it seems to work, although I am not 100% convinced that the adhesive will permanently bond to the vinyl, I am going with the initial testing that shows a decent bond. Now I have been applying these small stamps with the sticky back on the back of phones and am using them as stamps. I call them Phone Emblems and will be launching a site dedicated to these products as they develop. The silicon has a high tech feeling and the detail is great, plus the silicon also works like a grip on a surface when you set the phone down. This could be considered and add-on for cell phones and for cases, as well as, a fun thing to have on a mobile phone which is just the right size for the backing of a stamp. I have had some mistakes in the past where I could not get the silicon off of a project piece and I am going to go back to that to test alternative methods of sticking something to silicon. I think that an adhesive sticker with more porosity will allow the silicon to dig in and set inside the paper itself which should work as a way to make the silicon bond without using the expensive glue. Also I have had some trouble separating urethane rubber from silicon and could see putting a back coat of urethane then connecting to the urethane may be an easier and cheaper process. One of the fun things about experimenting is when the mistakes of the past solve problems in the future. This makes even my seemingly wasted efforts worthwhile, if I can remember what the actual mistake was and why it happened. Better notes next time.