Silicone and resin stir stick cleaners

[NOBLNG]

After snapping my wooden paint stir sticks trying to mix the silicone, I made some stirrers out of 3/8” stainless rod (since I had some). The biggest problem with round is that is is really tough to scrape the excess off. So I drilled a 3/8” hole in some .080 styrene to use as a scraper. It works great! The same could be done for any shape of stir stick.

Edited January 15, 2021 by NOBLNG

[stinkybritches]

That's a great idea.

These spatulas are great for mixing silicone: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Screen-Printing-Stainless-Steel-Ink-Spatula-/272721367567

I work for a silicone manufacturer and we use spatulas similar to these to hand mix in the lab.

[peteski]

I use clear acrylic rods.  1/4" and 1/2" diameter.  I bought clear rod stock from a local plastics supplier (they have since closed), but there are plenty of online sources.  I file one end into hemispherical shape.

 

As for cleaning, as I pull the rod out I slowly spin it with my fingers against the side of the mixing container .  Your ideal is clever.

Edited January 16, 2021 by peteski

[Casey]

You never want to use anything permeable to stir either resin or silicone rubber, but stainless butter knives are $.10 each at Goodwill, and almost always available. 

[peteski]

True. Wood can (and usually does) contain some moisture which can ruin the resin mix.