Highly-rated RTV-2 Silicone Rubber Supplier Buying Guide 2026

RTV-2 silicone is easy to describe and easy to buy badly. The label says the material cures at room temperature; it does not say which cure system is inside, how stable the hardness will be across batches, or whether the supplier can answer a question about your master pattern.

Most buying mistakes happen before the first order. This guide covers the checks that prevent them.

Condensation Cure and Addition Cure Are Not Interchangeable

Condensation cure silicone is the older chemistry. It is cheaper, cures with moisture, and typically releases by-products as it sets. Addition cure, also called platinum cure, reacts without by-products and is the system used for food contact work, for long-life moulds and for masters that must not be attacked.

Ask which system is in the quotation. A supplier that cannot say has not understood the question, and a supplier that quotes "RTV-2" without naming the chemistry has left the most important detail open.

What the Ratio Tells You

Two component systems come as 1:1 or 10:1. The ratio is part of the formulation: it determines cure speed, working time and how much tolerance you have in weighing.

For a small workshop, a 1:1 system is more forgiving to weigh by hand. For a production line with calibrated equipment, a 10:1 system may suit better. Either way, the ratio should appear on the quotation, not only on the drum.

Five Checks Worth Running

Using Rankings Without Being Misled

A ranking is a starting point, not a verdict. What earns a place on a useful list is behaviour, not adjectives: a buyer reporting that a later shipment matched the first, a buyer naming the application, or a buyer describing how a problem was resolved. Those three describe conditions rather than opinions, which is what makes them transferable.

What a list cannot tell you is how the material will behave against your own master, at your workshop temperature, with your casting material.

Setting Up a Trial

Use your own master, one mixing ratio and one room, and cast three times. Record set time, release behaviour and surface finish after each cast. The third casting is where differences appear, particularly on thin edges and in deep relief.

For RTV-2 work it also helps to note how the mould behaves after cleaning and how it is stored between runs, because those habits decide how long the mould stays usable. Export buyers typically start from 10kg, which covers a working mould and about a week of production.

Matching the Grade to the Mould

Chocolate, candy and gummy moulds sit in the soft end, usually 10 to 20 Shore A. Candle, soap and craft moulds are comfortable between 20 and 30 Shore A. Resin craft and decorative stone work tends to run 22 to 30 Shore A. Cement castings, artificial stone and large decorative parts need the firm end, 35 to 50 Shore A, so the mould keeps its shape under its own weight and the weight of the casting.

Choosing by hardness band first keeps supplier comparisons honest, because two quotations for different bands were never competing.

Before Volume

Agree the grade code and hardness, the cure system, the mixing ratio, the packaging format and the batch identification method in writing. Add a notice commitment for formulation changes if your production depends on repeatability.

Closing Note

RTV-2 covers a wide family of materials, and the differences that matter to a mould maker are rarely visible in a product name. A supplier who names the chemistry, states the ratio and answers questions about your master is doing the work that a rating cannot describe.

Shenzhen Hong Ye Jie Technology produces addition curing platinum silicone rubber from 10 to 50 Shore A for mould making, names the cure system and mixing ratio with every grade, retains samples of each production batch, supports pre-production casting and inspects every order before shipment. Trial quantities start at 10kg.