Silicone Rubber and Weathering Performance
You may already know that silicone rubber is an incredibly versatile material, used in countless applications and scenarios. You may have found your way to our website because you’ve read that silicone rubber is often a better choice compared to standard rubber.
We could compare the two in many situations. However, one area of interest concerns weathering. While some uses for silicone rubber mean that it will never be exposed to the elements (think of silicone rubber kitchen implements and even baking trays and pans, for example), this isn’t always the case.
Weather resistance
There are some situations where rubber parts are going to be exposed to the weather. This could mean extremes of temperature and the impact of being in direct sunlight, among other things. Even ozone comes into it.
So, what makes silicone rubber the better option whenever you’re looking for rubber parts to use outside or that you know will be exposed to a range of weathering conditions?
It performs better than rubber in many ways
That’s the takeaway from this article if you’re wondering why you should choose silicone rubber parts over standard rubber parts. However, we need to dig deeper to get to the real answer.
Standard rubber is by far the poor relation to silicone rubber when it comes to its performance in sunlight and outdoors in general. For standard rubber to stand a chance of giving a reasonable performance in such conditions, you’d need to include additives to make sure it stood a chance of lasting for any real length of time.
So, we can already see that regular rubber isn’t the ideal choice for outdoor situations where weathering is an issue. How does silicone rubber fare by comparison? Much better, is the simple answer. It is much more resistant to extremes of temperature, which can occur in the average UK location throughout the year. Everything from freak summer heat to frosts and snow – silicone rubber can easily handle it. Indeed, it is known to withstand temperature ranges far beyond even the most surprising extremes of British weather.
Yet that is only the beginning. You can also expect it to put in an impressive performance against ozone and UV light exposure. When you consider all these elements, it is hardly surprising that silicone rubber parts last far longer than regular rubber ones under the same conditions.
Is it worth using silicone rubber outdoors?
In some scenarios, you’d pick silicone rubber for safety reasons. However, is it still worth using silicone rubber even when safety isn’t an issue? We believe so, and when you look at the range of performance factors involved here, you can see why.
If you’re creating a product that is going to be used outdoors, you want to make sure it’s going to last. No one wants to buy items that aren’t designed to last. Silicone rubber feet or other essential elements of your product are certainly going to stand the test of time… and of the great British weather.