BL wrote:
One supplier said that Tin based silicone has not been sold at all for 20 years!
That's news to me!
Actually, and quite sadly, many chem company sales reps are not sure of exactly what they are selling. Many do not even have degrees in chemistry! If an outsider tries to get some specifics about a certain material, he will often be told it's "proprietary" or a "trade secret" and get no useful information. I think in the future this type of secrecy will be ending as consumers become more concerned about the safety of the products they are using. Anyone who purchases a product that is, in some way, taken into his body should have a right to know the EXACT nature of it. That should apply to a food, a medicine, a supplement, or a sex toy!
Right now, I am only aware of two types of catalysts used to cure silicone elastomer products: tin based and platinum based. Both types have an effect upon the final nature of the polymer produced and its characteristics.
However, there can be many different types of silicone monomer used to make the final cured polymer, each varying a bit from the other depending upon what "functional" group of atoms is attached to a siloxane "backbone" within the monomer. These functional groups will have varying effects upon the final physical properties of the polymer they form. It is also possible to form a final polymer from a mixture of monomers with different functional groups attached to them and the proportions of individual monomers within such mixtures may, indeed, be "trade secrets".
I am beginning to pick up some "chatter" on the internet about growing concerns over the "skin safety" of slicone products that have been cured with tin based catalyts. As many here know, ALL silicone products exude small amounts of the silicone oil used to plasticize them and this oil will also contain some of the catalyst originally used to cure the silicone polymer as well as any solvents used to thin the monomer prior to molding. If someone has physical contact with the oil, then it is possible for both the oil AND the tin catalyst it contains to be absorbed into the body.
The absorption of the oil is of minimal concern to me because it is, for all practical purposes, chemically inert. although SOME individual's immune systems seem to react to it. However, I have always wondered about the safety of the catalysts themselves.
I thnk I remember reading somewhere that silicone products cured with tin based catalysts that can come in skin contact have been banned for sale in Great Britain or the European Union. But, until I can find something more substantial about this, I must consider it to be a rumor at this point.
So, if Abyss is not using a tin or platinum based catalyst in their dolls, then what are they using?
technoguy
