>While going through Home Depot the other day I stumbled upon an interesting
>product. It is "Liquid Electrical Tape" by Starbrite(tm). Apparently it is a
>coating of some kind that you can use in lieu of electrical tape. It comes
>in a small can with a brush built into the cap; a lot like school glue.
I have a can of the same stuff at home and have used it for a number of
applications.
>flame retardant, works from -30F to +255F, and has super dielectric strength.
I haven't tested some of the detail specifications, but it does work as
represented on the can.
>Does anyone know about this stuff? What would be the disadvantages to using
>this for waterproofing. I don't want to start another general waterproofing
>thread, but I would like to know if anyone has experience with this stuff.
Well, I have used it with good success in lieu of electrical tape, mainly
where I didn't want tape to become unravelled (i.e., a mobile antenna part)
or where tape wasn't easy to apply (a hard-to-reach wiring joint or something
like that). I make sure that the thing to be covered is clean and free of
oil/grease/etc.
It is a little peculiar in texture - a bit like handling RTV (silicone rubber),
but not quite as thick. It seems to take longer than 5 minutes to set - I'd
allow a couple of hours before disturbing the application, particularly if you
end up with a thick glob somewhere (it is a bit hard to control the thickeness
of the application because it tries to adhere to itself while it's still
liquid - if that makes any sense...). It slightly reminds me of rubber cement.
Once cured it seems to have very little structural strength - I wouldn't use
it as an adhesive.
I've had the same can of the stuff for about a year now - probably have used
about half of it on various spots. No failures found yet. I only have the
black color (that's all that was available where I am located). The stuff
remaining in the can seems to have thickened some (I'll probably discard the
can soon and get another one) but it is still useful.
73 Dave WB0GAZ dgf@netcom.com
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