METHOD FOR PRODUCING A PERMANENTLY COLORED OBJECT HAVING A SILICONE SURFACE AND COLORED OBJECT PRODUCED ACCORDING TO THE METHOD

Abstract

A permanently colored object having a silicone surface which is produced by means of the following steps: a) mixing coloring substances with a still cross-linkable silicone in order to form an application mixture, b) swelling the silicone surface by means of a solvent, c) applying the application mixture to the silicone surface, and d) performing the cross-linking of the silicone of the application mixture, which silicone penetrates the silicone surface.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a permanently colored article having a silicone surface, the method comprising: mixing color-conferring substances with a still crosslinkable silicone to form an application mixture; solvent swelling the silicone surface; applying the application mixture to the silicone surface after the solvent swelling; crosslinking the silicone of the application mixture as the application mixture penetrates into the silicone surface.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising drying the application mixture before the crosslinking.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the application mixture is formed with the solvent used to swell the silicone surface.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the solvent for swelling the silicone surface is applied to the silicone surface as a constituent part of the application mixture.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein applying the application mixture is effected without any activating pretreatment of the silicone surface.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein crosslinking the silicone of the application mixture is effected under elevated temperature.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the application mixture is both applied and crosslinked so as to penetrate into the swollen silicone surface and not form a coherent layer covering the silicon surface.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the application mixture is applied by painting or spraying.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein during crosslinking the silicon of the application mixture applying a transparent layer to the silicon surface, the transparent layer comprising a crosslinkable silicone.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein after crosslinking the silicon of the application mixture, solvent swelling a resulting surface, and applying a transparent layer to the resulting surface, the transparent layer comprising a crosslinkable silicone.

11. An article, comprising: a silicone surface comprising initially uncrosslinked silicon, the silicon surface being solvent swollen; a permanent coloration formed with color-conferring substances, the color-conferring substances penetrating into the solvent swollen silicone surface to provide a firmly attached layer of color upon crosslinking of the silicone.

12. The colored article as claimed in claim 11, wherein the silicone surface is free from a coherent layer.

13. The colored article as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a transparent covering layer applied to the silicone surface.

14. The colored article as claimed in claim 13, wherein the transparent covering layer comprises silicone.

15. The colored article as claimed in claim 11, wherein the colored article is formed as a cosmetic cover for a prosthesis.

16. The colored article as claimed in claim 11, wherein the colored article is formed entirely of silicone.

17. A method for manufacturing a permanently colored article, the method comprising: forming a silicone surface; forming an application mixture having color-conferring substances and an uncrosslinked silicone; solvent swelling the silicone surface; applying the application mixture to the solvent swelled silicone surface; penetrating the application mixture into the solvent swelled silicone surface; crosslinking the silicone of the application mixture that is penetrated into the solvent swelled silicone surface.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising drying the application mixture before the crosslinking.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the application mixture is formed with the solvent used to swell the silicone surface.

20. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the solvent for swelling the silicone surface is applied to the silicone surface as a constituent part of the application mixture.

Description

EXAMPLE 1 SILICONE GLOVE (PALM SURFACES OUT/IN)

[0027] 634A58 isopropanol is used to clean a silicone glove of electrostatically adhering particles of dust and fuzzballs. A clean lint-free cloth or textile is used for this purpose. A drying time of 10 min at room temperature is allowed for because the isopropanol's evaporative cooling may cause the atmospheric humidity to condense out on the surface as water, which likewise has to be reevaporated.

[0028] The materials used are

TABLE-US-00001 Solid Silicone LSR 3003-50 100.00% Solvent Silicone Q7-9180 +278.08% fluid Color Silicone Elastosil color white RAL 9010 +2.27% dark blue RAL 5010 +3.63% dark red RAL3000 +6.09% red RAL3020 +0.69% Note: Solvent and color are reckoned as a percentage of the solids content.

[0029] Elastosil silicone color is thus used to produce a white, a dark blue, a dark-red and a red application mixture together with the silicone fluid as solvent.

[0030] The material used for the silicone glove is here referred to as solid silicone.

[0031] Of the color prepared, and kept in a fridge, about 5 ml are removed and applied to a nonabsorbent substrate (glass plate or a ceramic plate). A further approximately 7 ml of purely solvent (silicone fluid) is applied alongside. A long-hair synthetic brush is wetted with the same solvent and then a small amount of the color quantity prepared is taken with the brush from the plate and if necessary thinned with extra solvent in order to vary the color intensity and prolong the drying time. A blurred boundary between colors is additionally achieved thereby as desired.

[0032] Any desired mattness of the add-on may be influenced by dabbing off with a finely porous sponge or the like during the drying period, in which the silicone color is no longer fluent but not yet hard.

EXAMPLE 2 PAINTING OF NAILS

[0033] 634A5 cold cleaner (1685C fraction aliphatic hydrocarbonaceous mixture) is used to clean the silicone glove of electrostatically adhering dust particles and lint. A clean lint-free cloth or textile is used for this. The application mixture can be applied following a drying time of 5 minutes. The materials used are

TABLE-US-00002 Solid Silicone LSR 3003-50 100.00% Solvent Cold cleaner +278.08% Color Silicone Elastosil color white RAL 9010 +34.67% black PAL 9011 +0.79% dark blue RAL 5010 +1.76% yellow RAL 1016 +5.29% yellow RAL 1021 +1.26% dark red RAL 3000 +0.20% Note: Solvent and color are reckoned as a percentage of the solids content.

[0034] Of the color mixture produced and kept in a fridge about 2 ml are removed and applied to a nonabsorbent substrate (a glass plate or a ceramic plate). Elastosil silicone color (Wacker Chemie, Munich) is a silicone-based pigmentary composition.

[0035] Then, a size 5/0 synthetic rigger brush is used to take up a small amount of the prepared color mixture off the plate and paint it directly onto the silicone in the nail region.

[0036] Painting the lunula and the tip of the nail requires a hiding stroke providing a clear boundary between colors. It is achieved when the formulation has a high pigment content and a low solvent content. So the formulation has to be made slow-evaporating via the nature of the solvent used in order to leave sufficient time for smooth application. This can also be achieved using a higher solvent of a fast-evaporating system, but the high solvent content would make it impossible to achieve the color intensity.

EXAMPLE 3 SPRAYING TECHNIQUE

[0037] 634A81 silicone fluid is used to clean the silicone glove of electrostatically adhering particles of dust and fuzzballs. A clean lint-free cloth or textile is used for this purpose. Following a drying time of 10 min (as in Example 1), the application mixture can be applied by spraying. To this end, nail regions are covered up with nail varnish or the like in order that they may not be sprayed with the color. The materials used are

TABLE-US-00003 Solid Silicone LSR 3003-50 100.00% Solvent Silicone Q7-9180 +600.00% fluid Color Silicone Elastosil color yellow PAL 1021 +10.00% dark red RAL 3000 +5.83% black RAL 9011 +12.71% Delusterant Silica Acematt3300R +1.89% * manufacturer: Evonik Industries AG, Essen Note: solvent, color and delusterant are reckoned as a percentage of the solids content.

[0038] The color mixture is introduced into a spraygun or an airbrush system and applied at 2 bar pressure to the silicone surface in a plurality of passes. The protective varnish in the nail region is subsequently removed again using nail varnish remover and then the painting in the nail region is carried out as described in Example 2.

[0039] After painting or spraying, the article may dry at room temperature for 10 to 30 min and then crosslink/fully vulcanize in an oven at 120 C. for four hours or at 150 C. for two hours. This applies to all Examples 1 to 3.