Fwiw, I went through the spec sheets of all the RTV-1 Elastosils, and my take on it is this:
I do not like the byproducts of the A series( organic amins) and the N series( mostly alkohol, incl. methanol) so unless one really needs to avoid the byproduct of the E series( acetic acid) this is the way I go as I get a feedback by smell.
The best( strongest) transparent glue is E43 with E43N a little bit stronger still but stating translucent instead of transparent, so E43.
The softest glue with the highest stretching and the longest worktime is E4, note that this will not flow on its own, but can obviously be squeezed out of its tube.
The one most easy to paint with is E303 as it is already diluted with 50% white spirit solvent; it is intended for( single to multiple) thin film coatings.
There is no explicit mentioning of thinning E4 & E43 with white spirit so that is an experiment, but one likely to succeed( again, imho).
Shrinkage is likely 0 in size, but 3-4% in weight for both E4 & E43 and about 50%+ in size for E303 as the white spirit evaporates.
Here's a short overview of these 3( Edit: Plus E41, E43N & SilPoxy added):
Code: Select all
Type Fluidity Worktime Curetime Shore Stretch Bondstrength Tearstrength Visual
name min h/mm % N/mm² N/mm
E303 thin 5 4 30 400 5 unspecified transparent
E4 paste 20-25 12 15 750 2 7.3 transparent
E41 average 10-20 12 40 350 6 11.5 transparent
E43 thick 15-20 12 30 600 6.2 11.5 transparent
E43N thick 5-10 12 30 500 8 13.5 translucent
SilPoxy paste 5 24 40 750 5.2 17.8 translucent
I hope you and others may find this helpful.
Kind regards.
p.S.: Edited again to differenciate between Bond- and Tearstrength, as one was omitted and the other got the wrong name, also added visual statement.