Sometimes people confuse silicone grease with silicone paste. But there are some fundamental differences between silicone grease and silicon paste. Today, we are going to discuss and find out what products can be used in place of silicone grease.
What is silicone grease?
The core elements of silicone grease are silicone oil and thickener. The oil used for silicone grease is known by the name of PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane). On the other hand, the thickener used for making silicone grease goes by the name of Amorphous Fumed Silica.
If you combine these two elements together, then you get silicone grease.
The uses of silicone grease are many and because of that there is a huge demand for silicone grease in the market. First of all, silicone grease is famous as a lubricant product on multiple surfaces. Along with its lubrication quality, it can also be used as a sealant on different surfaces.
Silicone grease alternative
Multiple products can be used in place of silicone grease. Dielectric grease is a good substitute for silicone grease because of its components. White lithium grease can handle higher temperatures than silicone grease. Synthetic grease and WD 40 are also good alternatives of silicone grease.
There are many products available in the market that claim to be perfect alternatives of silicone grease. Let’s discuss in detail and find out good alternatives of silicone grease.
WD 40:
The first alternative of silicone grease we are going to talk about is WD 40. WD 40 is a widely known lubricant and sealant in the automobile world. But the great thing about WD 40 is that it is also a good substitute for silicone grease.
So it is no surprise that many automobile owners prefer using WD 40 on their vehicle for lubrication and sealing.
Plumbers grease:
Plumber grease is another great alternative to silicone grease. The most striking similarity between silicone grease and plumbers grease is their common components. They are almost like a substitute for each other.
That is why plumbers sometimes can be seen using plumbers grease instead of silicone grease and vice versa.
White lithium grease:
White lithium grease is one of the best alternatives of silicone grease. White lithium grease is hailed for their durability under high temperatures. This gives white lithium grease an edge over silicone grease.
But silicone grease is better than white lithium grease on plastic surfaces.
Dielectric grease:
Dielectric grease is such a compatible alternative of silicone grease that they are often thought of being the same. However, dielectric grease does not develop into a hard shape like silicone grease.
So dielectric grease can be used in place of silicone grease if you are looking for a semi solid sealant.
Synthetic grease:
Experts recommend using synthetic grease as an alternative to silicone grease. There are a lot of reasons behind this. First of all, synthetic grease is blessed with incredible durability which makes it a perfect alternative to silicone grease.
Avo Jel:
Avo Jel is a good alternative to food grade silicone grease and it is recommended by experts.
What are the alternatives to these silicone greases?
Finding the alternative to different varieties of silicone grease can be a difficult task if you have no prior experience regarding the matter. Let’s take a look at the silicone greases below and find out their alternatives.
Plumbers silicone grease alternative:
There are a lot of alternatives available for plumbers silicone grease. Most common substitute of plumbers silicone grease is the vaseline. It might surprise you but vaseline can actually be used in place of plumbers’ silicone grease alternative.
However, the problem with the vaseline is that they do not last as long as plumbers silicone grease when it comes to being a good sealant.
Another good alternative of plumbers silicone grease is the silicone spray. The reason behind this is the components of silicone spray are similar to the components of plumbers silicone grease.
The most likely substitute of plumbers silicone grease is the silicone spray because of its longevity.
WD40 is also a good and capable substitute for plumbers silicone grease. In fact, WD40 is used as a sealant and lubricant in most parts of the car. The thickness, components and longevity of WD40 make it a good enough alternative of plumbers silicone grease.
The many kinds of cooking oils along with coconut oil can be used as an alternative to plumbers silicone grease. But they are not durable as a substitute of plumbers silicone grease and most often than not fail as a lubricant and sealant.
Food grade silicone grease alternative:
It can be very difficult to find a food enough alternative of food grade silicone grease. However, it has been recommended by experts that you can use Avo Jel instead of food grade silicone grease.
Avo Jel has the components and features required to be a good alternative to food grade silicone grease.
Shin-etsu silicone grease alternative:
There are not a great number of alternatives of Shin-etsu silicone grease available in the market. It is very difficult to find an exact match with the same components and features as Shin-etsu silicone grease.
But it is believed by experts that lithium grease can be a good enough alternative to Shin-etsu silicone grease because of its identical components and capabilities.
Are these same as silicone grease? Can you use these instead of silicone grease?
There are many products available in the market that are perceived as being the same as silicone grease because of their components and outlooks. However, you can not use all of them as an alternative to silicone. Let’s discuss some of these products.
Lithium grease:
Lithium grease and silicone grease are made with different components. But their outlooks can deceive people into believing that they are the same. The fundamental difference between lithium grease and silicone grease is their defense against high temperature.
Silicone grease does not do well under high temperature situations but lithium grease does. So you can easily use lithium grease instead of silicone on many different surfaces except plastic.
Synthetic grease:
It is believed by experts that synthetic grease is the better choice when it comes to handling high temperatures. Synthetic grease is equipped with the ability of doing well under high heat whereas silicone grease can not cope with high levels of temperature.
So it is safe to say that synthetic grease can be used instead of silicone grease for its high temperature durability.
Dielectric grease:
Many people think that dielectric grease and silicone grease are the same product. But that is not the case as there are fundamental differences between them. However, dielectric grease can be used in place of silicone grease.
Dielectric grease has a slightly thinner outlook than silicone grease. However, dielectric grease and silicone grease can be applied on the same surfaces most of the time.
Plumbers grease:
The components of plumbers grease and silicone grease are almost similar. The main difference between these two products is their thickness. Plumbers grease is thicker due to the extra components it has in the form of additives.
But it is safe to use plumbers grease instead of silicone grease.
Bulb grease:
Bulb grease is made with lots of additives and it is not as safe as the silicone grease. Despite its negative sides, bulb grease can still be used instead of silicone grease because of its thickening ability.
Rubber grease:
The grease used on rubber surfaces is known by the name rubber grease. Rubber grease can be used instead of silicone grease if you are working on a rubber surface. However, rubber grease is not as durable as silicone grease.
Vaseline:
Vaseline and silicone grease are made from different components. So their applications are different too. If you have run out of silicone grease, then you can use vaseline instead of silicone grease as a short term solution.
But vaseline is not durable as lubricant and sealant like silicone grease is.
WD 40:
WD 40 is a thick element that is used on automobile parts as lubricant and sealant. However, it does not always do well as an alternative to silicone grease. Because silicone grease is thicker than WD 40 and also holds longer on any surface.
So it is recommended by experts that you use WD 40 instead of silicone grease as a short term measure.
Coconut oil:
Silicone grease is basically used as a lubricant and a sealant. Coconut oil does not have the required components to work as a sealant. However, you can use coconut oil instead of silicone grease in terms of lubrication.
Final Thoughts
Dielectric grease, lithium grease, synthetic grease, plumbers grease, and WD 40 can be used effectively as alternatives of silicone grease. The reason behind this is the similar components and thickness of these products. But vaseline and coconut oil are not good alternatives to silicone grease.