I have a pump which parts are made up of silicone rubber, one of its part has been torned a bit, and I want to seal that crack. None of the adhesive work on it, they don't stick at all.
Can anyone help how can a stick or, seal silicone rubber?
Thanks.
I saw in a YouTube video recently (from King of Random, he was making a mold of a roast chicken) that casting silicone doesn't stick to anything except silicone rubber (he discovered the exception at the loss of a silicone spatula). That being the case, you may be able to get some silicone intended for making molds (for casting resin or low-melting metals) and use that to stick your torn silicone part together.
If the tear in isn't in an area that has to stretch in use, I'd suggest also adhering on a layer of nylon or fiberglass mesh as reinforcement, since the repair is likely to be weaker than the original part, which has already failed.
I once repaired a broken silicone seal on a water bottle by pulling the ends together with a thin needle and strong thread (which would remain attached). Kept it plenty secure while using and washing the bottle; didn't have any leakage. Perhaps you can use the same method.
When my moto 360 sport watch band tore, nothing worked (including sugru), until I tried sil-poxy, which worked like a charm! https://www.amazon.com/Smooth-Sil-poxy-Rubber-Silicone-Adhesive/dp/B00NGZHGFI
I recently discovered some 3M products for this. I was bonding silicone to plastic, but I'm sure it will repair a tear. You'll need two products: 3M AC79 primer and PR100 adhesive. Apply the AC79 first, and then apply the PR100 on top of that. I think that should work well for you if you haven't already resolved this.
If you have a rubber you can use rubber cement.
If your rubber made from silicone then you need surface activator, chemical to prepare the silicone to be bonded. like:
Try silicone caulking. A small tube of clear RTV silicone will stick pretty much anything together. Available at any hardware store. I have never tried it personally on anything silicon but I figure that silicon would bond to silicon.
Without a picture or diagram I can't see if this is an essential hard-working part of your pump.
Check out the stuff called Sugru (or similar products), It's self-hardening rubber you can use to mend just about anything.
I use it to mend all kinds of items and haven't been disappointed yet.
This is a silicon based rubber glue, and I've used it to repair silicon rubber kitchen tools that nothing else would touch. I always have some in the fridge as it will fix things nothing else can.
I would visit my dentist to get a "dental dam" or "rubber dam." Although the material is different, it may restore functionality to the pump if the liquids being moved are compatible with nitrile or latex.
From Wikipedia:
A dental dam or rubber dam (sometimes termed "Kofferdam"—from German), designed in the United States in 1864 by Sanford Christie Barnum, is a thin, 6-inch (150 mm) square sheet, usually latex or nitrile, used in dentistry to isolate the operative site (one or more teeth) from the rest of the mouth.
I suggest that you Replace the torn diaphragm with new material rather than try to patch a tear in the existing one.
Good luck.
