The Role Silicone Plays in Car Care Products

[DaC]

I think often when people find that a "silicone" product has damaged rubber or plastic they have been using a silicone product that uses petroleum distillates or other heavy solvents as a carrier and it's those carriers that have destroyed the material.

But, and a very big butt !! the product that they used called itself a silicone product so they blame the silicone instead of the carrier solvents.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk so please excuse any grammatical errors

So if silicone needs a strong solvent in order to have a liquid form..........
Ahum.... it got me thinking now...

[Setec Astronomy]

So if silicone needs a strong solvent in order to have a liquid form..........
Ahum.... it got me thinking now...

I think what you're observing is the difference between silicone oils, which need a solvent carrier, and water-based silicones, which don't. Silicone oils are clear, and the water-based (usually referred to as PDMS) are opaque white.

[shoeless89]

Thanks for the GREAT information Mike!

[Janainag]

Fantastic info on silicone and the myths surrounding it.
This post is a myth buster and very useful for some one starting to get into detailing.

[DaC]

I think what you're observing is the difference between silicone oils, which need a solvent carrier, and water-based silicones, which don't. Silicone oils are clear, and the water-based (usually referred to as PDMS) are opaque white.

Thank you for clarifying that. I was putting two different things together.
So we use the oil type, in products like tire dressing, which requires solvents, right ?

[Setec Astronomy]

Thank you for clarifying that. I was putting two different things together.
So we use the oil type, in products like tire dressing, which requires solvents, right ?

Um...well, those clear, oily dressings would seem to be silicone oil-based, while the white, watery dressings would seem to be PDMS-based. That's my understanding of it, I could be wrong.

[FUNX650]

Um...well, those clear, oily dressings would seem to be silicone oil-based, while the white, watery dressings would seem to be PDMS-based. That's my understanding of it, I could be wrong.

To my limited understanding:

PDMS:

Poly-di-m-ethyl-siloxane is the basic and most commonly available silicone.

Note:
I prefer to use, as noted above: White(ish), watery, PDMS dressings.



Bob

[Matt]

This has got to be the best discussion about silicone in car care on the Internet.

***bookmarked***

[Setec Astronomy]

I was reading a bit and I think perhaps the base silicone in those dressings is the same and the white, "water-based" products are a water-in-oil emulsion.

[FUNX650]

I was reading a bit and I think perhaps the base silicone in those dressings is the same and the white, "water-based" products are a water-in-oil emulsion.

IMHO:
"Base silicone........is the same"......
Closer to the truth, may have never been spoken/written before!!!


Where do silcones come from?

Methylchlorosilanes form the basis for all silicone chemistry.

That is to say:

There is a combination, or synthesis, of:
Silicon (the element) with Methylchloride (derived from high-temp-heating of methane/chlorine gas).

This combination/synthesis is derived in several processing fashions....Mostly dependent on each process' price-point an entity is willing to pay.

Note:
This is just my basic understanding of how silicones are synthetically produced. Could be way off base, though.



Bob