The school year is almost over for some of us, and it’s time for spring cleaning and summer activities. Something that can go well with both of these is Sugru. We’ve written about Sugru before, but it’s one of those substances for which new ideas are being generated all the time.
If you haven’t heard of Sugru, it’s a moldable silicone rubber that cures by being exposed to air. Once cured, it stays put, attached to whatever surface you’ve put it on, including ceramics, glass, metal, wood, and most plastics and fabrics, according to their website. Consider what project you want to use it for before you open the Sugru packet(s), however. Once open, you’ll have about a half hour to get the project done. After a day or so, depending on the thickness of your project, Sugru cures into a flexible silicone rubber. It can hold up to extreme weather and plenty of abuse. It can add friction to surfaces that need more grip, and it’s waterproof. To remove it, simply cut off with a sharp knife.
Once made, you’ve got about 13 months to use it before it’s no longer fresh. Check the use by date on the packet. You can apparently extend this life considerably by putting it in the fridge, but I haven’t had the time to test this.
The uses for Sugru are endless. Here are some ideas that we thought up or found online:
- Remake a USB drive whose housing has fallen off.
- Create custom earbuds that will fit your ears perfectly.
- Repair nose pads on eyeglasses.
- Create custom rubber stamps for crafting.
- Put beads of Sugru on hangers to hold clothes in place.
- Put over the handles and knobs of cookware to make a heatproof grip (test first for safety!).
- Mold several packets together to make a useful bowl.
- Create custom tool grips designed for your hands.
- Put some Sugru on frequently used keys to identify them.
- Create custom hair or hats for Lego minifigs.
- Attach Lego bricks to just about anything, which you can then attach more Lego bricks to. Use this idea for toys, tools, and tasks.
- Create padded feet on devices, racks, boards, or furniture.
- Add grippy grips to lids, levers, and knobs.
- Protect the corners of your tech.
- Organize your charging cables.
- Make waterproof knee patches.
- And, of course, repair slightly broken cords. Especially phone charger cords!
There are also thousands more ideas for how to use Sugru on the Sugru website, where you can filter by interest (such as DIY, gaming, prototyping, parenting), benefit (such as fixing things, organizing, making things quieter), and property (such as durable, flexible, grippy). Check it out!
Sugru comes in white, black, and a slew of colors. If the many colors still aren’t to your liking, blend them together, as you would modeling clay. Sugru also comes in a Sugru + Magnets Kit, which contains three packets of black Sugru, four neodymium magnets, an idea and tip booklet, and a Sugru tin. Use this to make your projects even more versatile, allowing you to stick your cured Sugru blobs to anything a magnet will stick to.
The magnetic kit was especially useful for me. We have a metal front door, and are always sticking things to it with magnets. But I was able to make a magnetic basket that would easily stick to the inside of the door without scratching the paint.
Sugru comes in multiple packs of single-use packs. Well, single-use depending on your project. You can likely stretch one packet for several small projects, or use several packets for a larger job.
If you love getting into the chemistry of it all (and who doesn’t?), check out the Sugru Technical Data Sheet and the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) (European and U.S.).
Note: I received some Sugru samples for review purposes.
didn’t realise about this, sounds useful. We’ve often made do with good old blue-tack to fix anything you come across, but this will unfortunately always stay plyable of course.
I’ve got so many cables lying around as we all do. Tell me someone who cna’t relate haha!
All my lego from being a kid is stashed away in this one cupboard at home. I think it’s time to pull it out and get it to work. I hate how at the cables always get so messy and tangled.
Who would have though the lego I played with as a kid would come in handing 20 plus years later.
Yes! Though I still play with the LEGO as well. Sometimes with my kids, sometimes on my own. It’s a great toy.