Amount of silicone used in tails?

[Luna Dreamtide]

I recently found a brand of silicone that I can get in Australia (platinum cure of course) but it is sold by weight (kgs). I think it's about $75aud for a kilogram of the stuff. So any experienced silicone tail makers know how much I might need? Thanks :)

[Theobromine]

The amount of silicone used in tails can vary a lot depending on how thick it is poured, how long the body is, how big the fluke is, how many extra fins are added, etc. etc. I haven't finished my own silicone tail yet, so I can't tell you that part exactly from experience, but I can tell you that it's easy to convert from weight to volume and vice versa (and between metric and imperial units). So once you have a general idea of how much silicone you'll need for your particular molds, you can figure out how much to order. If you have your molds made already (or fyi once you do), you can measure the volume of each one by pouring water into the molds in small measured amounts and keeping track of how much you add until it's full. Also, to my knowledge, finished silicone tails generally weigh 25-30 pounds (11.4-13.6 kg), so you will probably need a minimum of that much (keeping in mind you might want to do tests with it beforehand, and in case anything goes wrong and you need to remake any parts). $75 AUD per kilo sounds pretty expensive to me, honestly. A 1-gallon unit (1 gallon of each part so 2 gallons total) of Dragonskin from Smooth-On weighs 16 pounds (7.3 kg) and costs $183.72. That works out to be about $25 USD per kilo. I'm not sure what the exchange rate is at the moment, or how the price of the stuff you found compares to the prices of any other brands you might have available, or how much it costs to ship Dragonskin to Australia...just giving you some things to think about.

[Luna Dreamtide]

Yes. Silicone is crazy expensive in Australia! And unfortunately Smooth On will not ship outside the U.S. So getting a better price is unlikely at best. There is one supplier of Dragon Skin is Australia but it is priced at around $500aud for the gallon kit!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

There are actually several suppliers in Australia, depending on where you are. I got mine for $400 a gallon from a shop in Perth.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Oh and I used just under 2 gallons for my tail. I made the body fairly thick though!

[Luna Dreamtide]

Thanks. SmoothOn only lists one place that sells Dragonskin in Australia. What is the name of this seller from Perth?

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Kirkside products is the one in Perth. I'm pretty sure there is another shop in Adelaide, not sure what it is called though. Ask Mermaid Mizuko, I believe she knows about that store.

[AnnaAbyss]

Rowe Trading is the Australian distributed for Smooth On. They're based in S.A.
www.rowetrading.com.au

[AnnaAbyss]

Oops never mind. Sorry lolol.

[Ilyena]

Adelaide Moulding and casting supplies, I think an/was Adelaide distributor...expensive though.