I’m still not sure why people think that flowable and RTV are different. In fact flowable IS RTV. It’s just a thinner version. RTV stands fore room temperature vulcanizing. That is the curing process. I.E. turning into rubber.
Well, the only big difference that really matters is Flowable just slips right into the response groove and levels itself out, whereas with Red silicone you have to use a spoon or something to get the excess silicone off* and to get the stuff flush against the side of the Yo-Yo. So Flowable is much easier to use most of the time.
The “myth” is that Red silicone lasts longer, but Flowable provides a smoother response. Some people disagree with this. Some say it’s true. I personally think that it all somewhat depends on what Yo-Yo you’re putting the silicone in.
I gotta say this is a great post I think ill try out flowable for once, since im now using red rtv. also how long does it take for blue rtv to cure because it took 4 days to cure or is it all different based on company recipie?
It will cure within twenty-four hours under ideal conditions.
As far as what lasts longer, let me say that I do not believe it is a “myth” simply because I used to used flowable, which while viscous, it is not NEARLY as viscous as Red RTV and as such the red stuff is MUCH tougher. Don’t believe me? take a yoyo and make one groove out of Flowable and the other with Red RTV, play with your yoyo as usual, guess which one will wear out faster? Flowable. Still dont believe me? Go grab some wax paper and make a glob of each and let it cure, peel it off and try tearing them apart, guess which one is tougher to tear? Red RTV. Now, it takes a bit more finesse to apply Red RTV properly but it lasts a LONG time compared to flowable. So I believe the “myth” is “fact”, just my 2 cents, ymmv I suppose…
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Agreed.
Yeah, people always think flowable is better.
They are different RTV cures through temp whereas Flowable cures with a solvent like a caulking. If you get flowable silicone wet it will catalyze RTV won’t.
If it took 4 days it was too humid to the flowable or too cold for the RTV though cold will also slow the chemical reaction in the flowable.
Well even if Red Silicone being tougher is a “fact”, It still doesn’t confirm if Flowable actually provides a much smoother response. Personally, I think the Yo-Yo itself is the main factor to think about when it comes to how responsive the silicone will make your Yo-Yo. Still, I’m not 100% sure about any of this stuff, and I’m not trying to convince anybody that I am. So even if something is a “fact” I’m not going to claim it is or isn’t.
That being said, I have no doubt that you are correct about Red RTV lasting longer :-\
Yeah the yoyo really doesn’t have anything to do with the responsiveness of a yoyo. It’s the bearing then the response system then the string. That IS the order too.
Well yeah :-\ I realize that with some fine tuning you can make almost any Yo-Yo responsive or unresponsive. But my point was that one Yo-Yo might be more responsive/unresponsive than a different Yo-Yo even if they both have the exact same response system, bearing, and string.
I have a bassalope and the stock silicone worked fine for a while and then little pieces of it started getting in the bearing and messing it up. I fixed it with a Kpad. Why? Was this just my yoyo or is this common with flowable?
Well, the problem with Flowable is that it’s not very tough. Because of that, certain tricks that put a lot of stress on the response can tear the silicone up and cause the problem you had. But that’s really rare. It’s also possible that the stock Flowable was defective. In other words, the formula was incorrect because of a factory problem. Still, that’s even more rare.
So I’m not entirely sure what the problem is, but I would recommend buying some more Flowable silicone at a Hardware store and giving it one more shot. If the same thing happens, I would just switch to Red silicone or keep using Kpads.
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thanks, 8)
I have Kpads in there now and I like the way they are playing.
Just wondered what the problem might of been.
That is good info for the future though.
czyoyo 
By the way, great post Should REALLY be stickied
good job.
Your welcome 
And thanks as well 
And this was a stand-alone sticky for a while before Mrcnja (Up there^) put it on “the List” XD
Your welcome
And thanks as well 
And this was a stand-alone sticky for a while before Mrcnja (Up there^) put it on “the List” XD
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lol
Is this silicone thing just for unresponsive play? Or can you tighten the gap to make the yoyo responsive again?
Why would sili be better than shimming or adjusting the gap wider to make the yoyo unresponsive?
I’m pretty sure with a tight enough gap pretty much any silicone can be responsive.
And even if methods such as using shims or a really wide gap can let you achieve complete unresponsiveness, some people just prefer the way Flowable sili feels. Some people like it better for no reason at all.
Why don’t you try it out yourself and see what you think
help!! My YYJ Legacy was really unresponsive but when the silicone worn off, I replacedit with Blue RTV Silicone. I reccesed it with a SCISSOR TIP and now, still, it’s TUG-responsive. I reccesed it deeply anyhow, but it’s always responsive. Like there no reason though. I am sure it’s not the bearing or bearing seat, it’s the silicone. Help please!!! The silicone settled for 24 hours, still responsive.
The only way to make it semi unresponisve is to silicone one side which just sucks for strong throws and tight binds. If I silicone both sides, I can’t learn double suicide without it auto binding.