reillyshoe in gray
I am looking into some new types of impression material. There are already about a dozen brands on the market that all seem very similar in design and price.
What do you currently use, and why do you use it?
Also, if you could design a new impression material, what would you change?
Pat,
This is old technology, but I still occasionally use clear silicone caulk catalyzed with benzoyl peroxide (Bondo Body Putty Cream Hardener). Ordinarily, I prepare the foot, fit the shoe and pad, fill the solar surface with caulk, scrápe off any excess with a tongue depressor, squirt a small ribbon of red hardener atop the caulk, mix it with a tongue depressor until it's uniform in color, then nail on the package. Setup usually takes 60-90 seconds, longer when it's cold.
The amount is of hardener is not critical to the reaction, but I've gotten different readings on the Shore scale when measuring old filler, so the possibility of varying the hardness of the filler at different points of the solar surface by varying the amount of catalyst might be something worth your investigating. Because of the color change, it'd be fairly easy to do the initial testing.
As an aside, I do side-by-side sole hardness tests with a Type A-2 Shore Durometer patented in 1948 - I even have the original leather case.