ELASTOSIL® E41 TRANSPARENT is a ready-to-use, one-part silicone rubber which starts curing when exposed to air moisture. Typical curing characteristics are given in the table "Properties Uncured". As RTV-1 silicones require humidity for curing, free access of air moisture to the silicone rubber is essential.

Additionally, the vulcanization time can be greatly reduced by increasing the level of air's relative humidity. Please note that, unlike the initial skin formation, the total curing rate of RTV-1 silicones is limited by moisture's diffusion speed in silicone rubber. As increasing the curing temperature has just a minor effect both on the skin forming time and the curing speed, ELASTOSIL® E41 TRANSPARENT typically is vulcanized at room temperature. Heat curing is recommended only for applications where the silicone rubber is applied as a thin film (thickness less than 0.5 mm) in combination to temperatures not exceeding 80°C as otherwise blistering is likely to occur due to the quick release of acetic acid and solvent.

After completion of the vulcanization the silicone elastomer may continuously be exposed to constantly changing climatic conditions, UV radiation and high temperature without damage. Cured ELASTOSIL® E1 TRANSPARTENT usually shows good primerless adhesion to many substrates, e.g. glass, ceramics, metals, plastics and powder coatings and in particular to cured silicone rubber.

Detailed information about the processing of RTV-1 silicones is given in our brochure “ROOM TEMPERATURE VULCANIZING (RTV) SILICONES - MATERIAL AND PROCESSING GUIDELINES”.

We recommend running preliminary tests to optimize conditions for the particular application.

Removal: If removal of the silicone from machines or dispensing equipment is necessary, white spirit or similar nonpolar solvents are recommended. However, cleaning ideally should take place before the silicone rubber is fully vulcanized. Cured silicone needs to be rubbed off or removed mechanically, if necessary in combination with a swelling agent (solvent) or a chemical silicone removerELASTOSIL E41 TRANSPARENT shows good primerless adhesion to many substrates. We recommend running preliminary test to optimize conditions for the particular application