I have a set of electronics repair tools that include plastic “spudgers” and pry tools.
This one works pretty well to scrape out just a little and recess the silicone.
Not sure where I got it, but before I used this, I used spare plastic spoons we had laying around from take out.
But, after reading the comments here, I’m at least going to try out the ultra grey a few times. I just had a bit of silicone fly out of a yoyo i really haven’t used very much, so I’m ready to try something new.
…Remember… Alby? 
And that’s exactly the video I used to watch when I learnt how to do it million years ago 
the good old days
Oooh I forgot about the syringes, those probably make it much easier. I just squeeze directly from the tube (no nozzle) into the response well, with some finesse you can get the job done without much waste.
I think Albertino is right in that you don’t want to do multiple passes with a plastic card to smooth it out. Once is enough, and after that it’ll smooth out more during playing. On the bottom half of this Omnitron I tried to do two passes to smooth it with the card and you can see that it only made it worse, compared to the top half which was just a single pass with my card.
I don’t wipe excess off the yoyo until it’s fully cured since it’ll peel right off with no mess or fuss.
I have a bad tutorial for applying this silicone in detail. Excuse my stuttering and zero editing lmao
Thanks for all the feedback! I’m actually kind of relieved to hear that I was using the wrong (or even worst) stuff, as it wasn’t easy to work with. I just squeezed it into the recess straight from the tube, which ended up wasting some of it and making a mess of the yoyo. The syringe method looks much easier, so I’ll give that method a try after my 81730 comes in. It’s interesting to hear that it’s better to just do a single pass with the credit card, as that sounds so counterintuitive. I would have thought that going over it a few more times would help, but that’s yet another mistake that I made. I would guess that it’s good advice, though, as it seemed to me that the silicone got chunkier and chunkier each time I tried to level it out lol.
Thanks for the reminder about a “spudger”. I was using a tiny plastic screwdriver that I originally got in a kit - probably for the Nest or Ring doorbell, I don’t remember which. That fitted nicely in the bearing seat, so that’s how I was able to get the silicone out of that part. But it sounds like everyone agrees that it’s better to let everything dry before removing the excess, so I’ll try that too.
That video was also really helpful, and it was shocking to see how he made the whole process look so easy! I’m hoping that things go better for me the next time, especially since I’ll be using the right kind of silicone along with a syringe and credit card. I’ll post pictures after I’m done, and hopefully, the next batch will turn out much better.
Thanks, I learned a couple more things by watching that tutorial. When you were applying the groove, I realized that I could probably use guitar picks too, which would give me even more options for curvature.
Yea, picks would work really well, and with the glass repair silicone, i usually set the yoyo on a paper towel and spin it around in a single direction until i feel like it’s recessed enough. I usually go around more than once with a pretty clean finish. I expect that the grey silicone is different.
Dylan has an old tutorial in which he does something not mentioned here. He uses a wet finger to smooth the silicone. It seems very similar to using a card but his results look a little nicer than the examples here.
Do people find that using silicone works on yoyos that use 19mm pads? Does it tend to come out easily?
I ripped out my flowable I had in my beater for as long as I’ve had it, put the grey stuff in and it seems to be easier then a regular response because of the size.
But that’s for me what works for me might not work for you test and try!!
I’ve been using monkey snot on 19mm throws since monkey snot was released, granted I live in a very dry climate, so your mileage may vary.
Easier to get out than pads bc you don’t have all the adhesive to clean out after the pad comes out
I had a couple little ice cream cone swoops that felt funky for like 5mins until they got smoothed out by play.
I ask because I’m considering designing yoyos that use 19mm pads but modifying the recess for flowable to stay in better.
The standard 1.1-1.2mm response well depth for 19mm pads has no issues accepting long lasting silicone applications.
I think it’s generally agreed upon that deeper recesses provide longer lasting silicone though. I’ve had yoyos with 14 year old silicone applications that were still going strong though, and those used a depth closer to 1.9-2.0mm. One Drop Flow Groove is 19mm OD but iirc 2.0mm thick.
If your yoyo takes standard pads it’s already good to have silicone applied. It’s only really an issue with very old super shallow grooves, like those used for .555/dif pads.
I wouldn’t worry about changing anything. The only thing that imo really makes siliconing more convenient is if the yoyo has a 21mm OD response groove. But I think 21mm response is relatively unpopular.
It may be completely different to this, but I happen to have a guy over to do some installations and he did a beautiful job with the silicone seal … I asked him for tips and he said that it’s important to wipe smooth with a wet towel.
Yesterday I was at a yoyo meeting so I used only one yoyo all day (expect the ones I tried there not mine), so I have to play properly with the other ones I siliconed but this time I nailed it, this look very good after some hours of playing.
I have to say that for now this silicone has only pro and no cons, happy to see that is working crazy well, the response is just perfect for my taste and my playing, very unresponsive I am not having any string bite like before using my usual fat strings, this seems to me a very good long term solution, still I have to experiment on how long it will last the pad but only the time can say that!
@Marioyo I have no clue how you nailed so well the application 
@GTDropKnot did you played with them? Also mate with the card you can take it out the “little drop” that appear when you move the card from the yoyo, if you look the videos they show how to do it so you don’t have to worry when it dry
Yeah mostly hades though it feels really good though
