Silicone Spray

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Jasoncassanova

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
185
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Location
Philippines
# of dives
200 - 499
i just bought a can of silicone spray for maintenance of my diving gear, i got this idea from people here at SB, many thanks to you guys :D
 
Aside from assembly, what do you use silicone spray on?

you mean aside from all the dive gears i have, what else do i use it for?

well you can use it on hinges, windshield wipers, rubber lining on your car door, outdoor padlocks, etc.
 
Don't use it ANYWHERE near a fill station or ANYTHING that is supposed to be o2 cleaned. Or anything you don't want to be slippery or stinky. Wait what good is it again? I just rinse my gear with fresh water. YMMV.
 
Silicone is GOOD for rubber / silicone rubber. Some of my dive gear is 20+ years old the rubber/silicone shows no sign of age. No dry rot still, soft and plyable. I just changed the hose on my SP Mk V regulator this year, the reg is 40 years old the hose was original. I spray my "rubber" gear after rinsening and drying. Also makes your gear look new, like AmorAll on tires. Of course for most people it's not need as they usually stop diving after a few years anyway and sell their gear. Just make sure you get it at a dive shop and not an auto parts store, those contain petroluem. Look for food grade silicone.
 
Exactly the answer I was looking for. I only used it to simplify sliding and threading.

Silicone is GOOD for rubber / silicone rubber. Some of my dive gear is 20+ years old the rubber/silicone shows no sign of age. No dry rot still, soft and plyable. I just changed the hose on my SP Mk V regulator this year, the reg is 40 years old the hose was original. I spray my "rubber" gear after rinsening and drying. Also makes your gear look new, like AmorAll on tires. Of course for most people it's not need as they usually stop diving after a few years anyway and sell their gear. Just make sure you get it at a dive shop and not an auto parts store, those contain petroluem. Look for food grade silicone.
 
Silicone is GOOD for rubber / silicone rubber. Some of my dive gear is 20+ years old the rubber/silicone shows no sign of age. No dry rot still, soft and plyable. I just changed the hose on my SP Mk V regulator this year, the reg is 40 years old the hose was original. I spray my "rubber" gear after rinsening and drying. Also makes your gear look new, like AmorAll on tires. Of course for most people it's not need as they usually stop diving after a few years anyway and sell their gear. Just make sure you get it at a dive shop and not an auto parts store, those contain petroluem. Look for food grade silicone.

This is worth highlighting as I'm sure most users aren't.
 
DO NOT use it on your drysuit. Glue will never stick again!
That depends
... not all silicone is the same

If it says "food grade" or is 100% soluble in water per the MSDS, then it will not cause any problems for drysuit/wetsut repairs ... I asked DUI about that a while back
My, formally was a rental drysuit, cracking wrist seals are much more plyable after using it on them, and my zipper slides like butter
 
Silicone spray/lubricants are not good for silicone such as masks or more importantly, diaphragms. It will cause silicone parts to expand so over time, that great fitting mask may not fit so great and the silicone diaphragm in your reg will actually expand in diameter and potentially unseat, especialy if the edges are slick with silicone lube.

As noted above, silicone soaks into dry suit fabric and is a bear to clean off, making it very, very difficult to get a new seal to stick properly. Time works better than most cleaners, and while saying it will "never" stick is an overstatement, if you envision a need to change your seals in the next year or two, keep the silicone spray away from the suit.

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As for quality and content, even food grade silicone is petroleum based, so it is still a major no-no if something needs to be O2 clean.

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Having dove for 25 years, ther eis a time when I would have recommended silicone spray, but after a decade or so i realized that while it may or may not extend the life of rubber products, it does not matter as what is important is not what you put on them but rather what you keep off them. Ozone is a real killer as are many chemicals and oils, so if you keep them clean and provide reasonable protection from contaminants, the item you are trying to protect will outlast you without the use of silicone and without the complications silkicone can bring. (As an example my 1985 vintage Jet Fins - 25 years, maybe 1750 dives and still going strong with no weather checking or other damage.) So my advice now is just don't bother and save your money for something else.
 

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