Paint Filling Silicone Bracelets

[Brian Stezowski]

I'm engraving some samples of silicone bracelets for a local school fundraiser. I've been toying around with paint filling these with a spray enamel (just because I have it in the shop) to give them a better contrast. I finally have the masking issue resolved but after spraying the unmasked area and letting it dry, the painted area cracks when the bracelet is stretched or folded.
Any ideas? Is there a different type of paint I should try?

Thanks in advance-
Brian

[Chuck Stone]

wow.. I wouldn't even know where to begin.. one of the main selling points of
silicone is that nothing sticks to it! (except glass and other silicone)

Have you thought about using silicone caulking as color fill? You could shave
some artist's pastel sticks for color (not sure what else would tint silicone)
If you need white and the caulking isn't white enough, you might get some titanium
dioxide powder from an art supply store and mix that in.. that's all I can think of
right now..

[Dee Gallo]

There are two silicone paints I know of: PsychoPaint and Cirius. Both are made to be airbrushed on things like prosthetics and dolls. I think they are two part paints, don't know about the health issues of spraying silicone...

good luck!

[Belinda Barfield]

We color match silicone caulk to countertops. We use the colorants linked below.

http://www.braxton-bragg.com/index.cfm/m/1/fuseaction/store7catalog.level/bc/0,8447,8500,7216/

[Brian Stezowski]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Richard Rumancik]

Brian - it is possible to mark silicone - provided that you use the right material. It is called (surprise) silicone ink. It is used by pad printers and screen printers. Perhaps you can adapt a silicone printing ink for your purposes. I assume it will have some stretch to it and should bond better than the paint.