Hi guys! Glad to meet you, looking forward to get your input on the following: Im interested in using thermoplastic materials like wonderflex or foss shape and also to cover complex metal  mounts with plasti-dip orsimmilar. Do you guys have some personal experience with these materials and are there any oddy-test results on them online? Thank you very much for any kind of help, Regards, Clemens

Hi Clemens,

There is an Oddy Test database that is available at http://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Oddy_Tests:_Materials_Databases . In looking through it, I found both Wonderflex and Fosshape were given a pass rating on their Oddy tests. The Plasti-dip has been tested in the past and failed. I could not find a test of it in the database, but it has generally been considered off limits for padding mounts. Almost anything that stays that flexible has a lot of residual plasticizers that continue to off gas for a long time.

If you'd like to give a little more information on what you're going to be working with, we might be able to give some suggestions as to what might work for you.

It was interesting going through the database as I saw things that failed that I've generally thought of as safe, as well as things that I did not think were usable having a pass (P) or temporary (T) rating. One interesting one was Sugru. This is a moldable silicone putty that cures to a Shore 70 durometer. It got a T rating on the list, which makes it very interesting to me. However, that does not really give the full picture. My own testing has shown that a very small amount of an oil tends to be left on the cured surface and can transfer to whatever that is in contact with. It made very minor dark spots when in contact with unglazed terra-cotta, which I assume to be a residual silicone oil. I'd love to get opinions from others in the group about this product as it could be very useful if we can find a way around this problem.

Good Luck, Jamie

Jamie Hascall Craftsman, Trainer, Consultant Mountmakingfocus.com jamie@mountmakingfocus.com Seattle, WA 206-954-4141