No vacuum chamber for silicone?

I'm sure most artist's already know this, but I still get questions from people new to using silicone regarding how to get the air bubbles out if a vacuum chamber isn't available.

For years, I didn't have a vacuum chamber either (read: I'm "frugal"). I still got great results by simply pouring my mixed silicone from very high up - sometimes standing on a chair - and letting it pour into my mold in a very, very small stream. As the silicone is falling the air bubbles break because the the stream is so fine. Now, you won't get rid of ALL the bubbles, but you usually don't with a vacuum chamber either. So, if you don't have the money for a chamber, grab a chair; I'm sure you have one handy.

If doing a very large pour, be sure to know when you're silicone will start to kick. You don't want to be 3/4 of the way into the pour and have it start to thicken. Not good. In that case, break your pour down into manageable sizes. Silicone sticks to silicone so there's not a problem with that method. Some have said you can see the dividing line where two pours have met. I've never had that problem. I think allot of it stems from the intrinsic coloring of the silicone itself. If you do your own color mixing and matching with oil paints, etc., you might run into this problem. I use (and sell)the FuseFX silicone paint system. The colors are consistent ALL THE TIME! I never have to worry about shade difference - ever. FuseFX might seem a little high in the price range, but take it from me (read: frugal), it is WELL WORTH THE MONEY!

Do you need a vacuum chamber for silicone? Well, they're nice but not absolutely necessary.