How To Make Your Own Sugru Substitute

Step 14: Comparison of Oogoo and Sugru

Pic21 shows a eyeglass holder made with sugru on one side and Oogoo on the other to hold on the neoprene neck strap.

Pic22 shows a small coin cell flashlight I made on a circuit board and then covered with Sugru.

Pic 23 shows a Picaxe circuit I laminated on the bottom side with Sugru to protect the thin wires on the back and keep it from shorting.

I experimented around with several packets of Sugru to see what it would stick to and to see what it took to mold it to clean shapes.


Advantages of Oogoo:

1- Made from inexpensive and easily obtained materials.

2- Easy to work and mold into forms.

3- Will set up quickly at any thickness.

4- Can be mixed in any color.

5- translucent structures possible for lighting aplications.

6- slightly more flexible than Sugru.


Advantages of Sugru:

1- Much milder fumes, can be easily used indoors.

2- Cures to a harder rubber.

3- Gives more working time.

4- Already mixed.

5- Somewhat easier to smooth.

6- Carves easier than Oogoo.

Comments

[boypony]

Holy Crap.
This is amazing.
I just made a 50/50 batch and it set up in like 30 minutes and part of it was like 1/2" thick.
Mold is flexible and held detail well.
This is the holy grail for us cheapskates who won't pay the big bucks for A/B silicone.
THX SO MUCH!!!!!!!!

[Creaturiste]

Thank you!

I will try this next time I need to mold something which I usually woulod have done with the expensive silicone putty!

I make puppets, masks and collectibles, so this technique will likely come in very handy!

[Creaturiste]

Ans yes, I tried it months ago, and keep using it. It's really a money saver, although the time aspect is not as shortened as one would wish, the thick oogoo is hard to apply in precision.

I would really like it if someone found a non toxic way of making this pourable, for the first detail layer. There is a way that is toxic, which is adding solvent, such as mineral spirits, but I'd rather not use this while I'm stuck inside for the winter time.
Here's the link to the other guy's article where he uses the modified Oogoo method with mineral spirits...
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-silicone-mold-from-common-household-materia/

I wonder if regular white vinegar would be a suitable solvent?

[atombomb1945]

I have been looking into this aspect as well. I have read a few places where people are adding Acrylic Paint to the mix to thin out the silicone. I haven't had a chance to try this yet. The problem with the mineral spirits is that I have heard there is some shrinkage to the final product. I'm not sure what that would mean to a detail layer on casting mold.

[Creaturiste]

I've been making a lot more molds with this method now. When I have the budget, I use another silicone for the detail coat (Smooth-On's Rebound 25, without any additives). Then I finish the silicone part with the caulking+ corn starch, followed with a mother mold of plaster. When I don't have the budget, or the need for extreme detail, I just apply the caulking+ starch VERY carefully, in extremely small batches, using a flexible painting knife. Avoiding the air pockets and bubbles requires a lot of focus.

Beware that the corn starch adds stiffness to the silicone caulking, but it also decreases tear resistance. For my purposes, it is no problem at all.

[cant_decide]

I will be trying this as well. It looks to be a great alternative to using more expensive silicones in small to medium quantities.

[trescubes]

is there any differences between the 2? the homemade one and regular sugru? i was just curious is one more durable or "better" in anyway? or is it pretty much the same thing just WAY less expensive haha

[jonathanwash]

Does anyone know if either Oogoo or Sugru are safe for making earplugs?
I'm wanting to make custom molded ear protection for shooting and concerts but not too sure if these would cause any damage or not.

[KittyF]

sugru shows someone did.

[crowfive]

Try this stuff: http://www.radians.com/main/p-282-radians-custom-molded-earplugs.aspx

I just made some custom molded ear buds with it. You can get from Amazon

[kboyte]

Cured silicone is okay. The acid given off by uncured silicone WILL cause blisters over time. You might want to consider using disposable latex or plastic gloves.

[1stage]

Fantastic! This is one of the most useful Instructables I've read. Any idea if Oogoo can be used for prolonged periods in contact with skin... i.e. as an inexpensive custom, fitted silicon earpiece for a particularly annoying Bluetooth headset of mine that looses ear bumpers constantly? :)

[Marcos]

Why not use a bit of silicone or Oogoo to fasten your ear bumper onto the headset? Then you get the best of both worlds. ;-)

[mhdguy]

my thoughts exactly
first thing i did when i saw this was make a set of ear-bud earpiece
haven't had any adverse effects other than the slight discomfort/heat during the molding process as I used my ear as a mold for the oogoo rather than go to all the trouble of making a male than female mold and the vinegar was irritating to the skin during the 2.5 min i let it set for was fixed in my second attempt by coating the oogoo and inside of my ear with cornstarch before molding it

[pickler555]

The only thing I would say is try wearing a small piece (the size of a penny) under a plaster on the inside of your arm. This is a very sensitive bit of skin and any signs of irritation will show up. You may need to leave it there for a few hours.

Hope this is a useful suggestion.

ps Don't blame me if you come up in a rash.

[1stage]

Worth a try! And fortunately, the human ear is already pretty well protected by wax/oil near the canal opening, so it may not even be an issue.

Thanks for the feedback, though.

[kc8kzn]

I understand the desire for something inexpensive, but a product like Radians Custom Molded Earplugs might be a better choice for this, it is made to be molded in the human ear for a custom fit and should not irritate. somewhere there is an instructable showing how to use it for custom earbuds.

[shaune23]

I haven't heard of anything adverse about cured silicone caulking and skin irritation. Warnings on the caulking tube might give you some idea.