Ideas or pointers for a pourable but dries malleable gel?

[drventure]

Ok, it's a bit off the wall, but here's the rub

Basically, I've got a 1" dia clear vinyl hose that various cabling is going to be run through including some elwire to light it up from the inside.

I'd like to seal one end, fill it with +something+ that I can pour in but that dries to a silly putty like consistency, is clear or tintable, and that stays flexible and clear once it's dried. the idea is to make the hose look like it's filled with liquid.

I've used handsoap in small scale tests and it works and looks great, but obviously it doesn't "dry" solid, so both ends of the hose have to be sealed +completely+ or I'll end up with a big mess on my hands. I considered clear silcone caulking, but experiments show it dries a little too opaque and too stiff for what I'm needing.

Anyone out there worked with anything like that or have any pointers?

[bkenobi]

Stretch used corn starch, but he wasn't supposed to dry out.

[HaRuMaN]

Hair gel?

[drventure]

corn starch

Yeah, just about any food product I'd rule out cause I don't want any possibilities of it going rancid or worse   

Hair gel is a possibility. my fear there is that if I don't get things sealed completely, it'll end up drying out and shriveling up. I used hand soap in a glass tube that I could seal easily with epoxy and it still looks great after a year, but sealing vinyl tubing completely might be a bit trickier.

I also found this model railroad scenery stuff that replicates water. You pour it on, sculpt it as it gels and, theoretically is stays pliable once it's set, but I'm thinking it might be too hard too. Might have to buy a small batch just to try it out though.

[Encryptor]

dr,

Check this place out. This is where I get my urethane from for making restrictors. They have all kinds of different stuff for doing special effects and the like. You might find something there you can use.

http://www.smooth-on.com/

Encryptor

[drventure]

Wow. Cool site. Hadn't seen that one. Surely they've got something

Thanks Encryptor!

[protokatie]

In case you can't find what you want on that site, may I suggest bearing grease? It repels water and stays put as it is very thick. It is also rather cheap. There is also food-service lubricant (used in those frozen capaccino machines) it is essentially a very thick immobile clear/whitish hydrocarbon grease. I do not know why you need the stuff to be clear tho, a conduit is made to rarely ever see sevice.

EDIT: I reread your OP and see why you need it to be clear. I would recommend the food-service lubricant in that case, it isn't perfectly clear but will aid in the "glowing" that you want to achieve.

[drventure]

@protokatie

Good idea. I'd be a little concerned about the effect something like grease would have on the elwire, etc that'll be in there.

the Site encryptor suggested had this

http://www.smooth-on.com/Encapso-K%3D-Water/c1276/index.html?catdepth=1

Basically, it's a clear (and tintable) silicon rubber thats pourable but dries stiff but completely flexible. Looks like exactly what I was after.

I'm going to pick up the sampler pack (should be enough for what I'm doing) and let everyone know how it goes!

Thanks!

[protokatie]

Got a look at that product in the link. Prolly is what you are looking for, just make sure to mix it in small batches and then pour it. I cannot stress how hard it is to get anything like that through a tube tho. You may want a vacuum at the other end of the tube to help draw the stuff in. If it is in ANY way thick, positive pressure will not be enough.

As per hydrocarbon grease interfering with EL wire, it is not a worry. If you walk outside of your house and look at the nearest transformer on the telco pole you will be looking at an application of grease used as an insulator/neutral fluid.

[polaris]

.

As per hydrocarbon grease interfering with EL wire, it is not a worry. If you walk outside of your house and look at the nearest transformer on the telco pole you will be looking at an application of grease used as an insulator/neutral fluid.

i get the impression you're more cleverer than me when it comes to stuff ,but, the el wire is covered in plastic, whereas i'm assuming the telco pole isn't.  isn't the issue that the grease could corrode the plastic coating?

[drventure]

Good point about the difficulty pouring into a tube (esp given that it's going to have "stuff" it already (wires and cables).

I very well may need a vacuum of some sort on the other end....Hmm, that complicates things a bit...

Did not know that about the grease. That may be another alternative after all. I'm still a little concerned about possible leaks. I guess if it's stiff enough, you just pack it in like you were packing a bearing and seal it once you've filled the tube. It shouldn't run once it's in place anyway.

I'm guessing you're talking about something like this.

http://www.pmllubricants.co.uk/pml701c.htm

Sounds like it wouldn't attack vinyl, doesn't dry out, it's clear, and won't run (unless it gets really hot, which it won't).

Hmm, more experimenting for me! I'm wondering where the heck I'd actually get a small volume of an industrial product like that, though.

[protokatie]

I "came up" with a way to fill a tube with any non-viscous fluid. It is a stupid MSpaint pic I made, but you may find a way to utilise the concept.

http://s102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/protoplatapus/?action=view&current=tube.jpg

[protokatie]

.

As per hydrocarbon grease interfering with EL wire, it is not a worry. If you walk outside of your house and look at the nearest transformer on the telco pole you will be looking at an application of grease used as an insulator/neutral fluid.

i get the impression you're more cleverer than me when it comes to stuff ,but, the el wire is covered in plastic, whereas i'm assuming the telco pole isn't.  isn't the issue that the grease could corrode the plastic coating?

oops, missed your post. I have never heard of grease eroding good plastic. The stuff is pretty much neutral. If you have seen hydrocarbon grease breaking down plastic, then let me know. I am sure there are types of plastic that do not get along with various forms of grease. Noone should think of grease as one thing and plastic as one thing. Both names are a generalization of a property of a substance, not it definition.


EDIT: I should clarify that it isnt the telco pole covered in grease/oil that is the example, but that the entire transformer is in an oil bath. Some over-clockers have used an oil bath for the CPU as it can take heat well and doesn't arc.

[M.Lanza]

You could try ballistics jelly.

[DillonFoulds]

^^ haha i was going to post the same suggestion. Only thing is i don't think it dries up too clear, always seems to have a tinge to it.

[SavannahLion]

You could try ballistics jelly.

You could try DIY Gel but I'm not sure how long that stuff might last.

You could try Gel Wax. Someone is selling 4lbs of the stuff on eBay for $14.95

[Nacimroc]

Just spotted this on hackaday!  Sugru! its moldable and sets at room temp! Might be handy for other projects aswell!

http://hackaday.com/2009/12/04/sugru-moldable-silicone-adhesive/

[drventure]

Dang, somehow I missed the emails on all the responses. Great ideas.

I checked out the Sugru, but it dries too stiff for what I'm looking to do (it'll go in a flexible clear hose full of el wire and DVI cabling).

The ballistics gel is another great idea. I've seen that stuff on Mythbusters, just forgot about it.

There's an interesting home recipe here for it

http://www.myscienceproject.org/gelatin.html

But you're right. Seems like it tends to turn yellow brown which would make it too murky for what I want. Still, mine will be a lot thinner than a block so it might work. It's cheap enough to try out anyway 

Thanks!