If you're here for one answer, here it is: Momentive products are worth the premium when you need silicone's specific performance—temperature stability, weather resistance, or low compression set—but they're not a universal everything material. I've learned that the hard way, and it's made me a better buyer.

I'm an office administrator at a 70-person industrial company. I manage purchasing—roughly $220,000 a year across eight vendors—and I report to both operations and finance. When I took over purchasing in 2020, I didn't know a silicone sealant from a rubber gasket. Five years later, I still don't have a chemistry degree, but I know enough to ask the right questions.

Momentive Products, and What I Actually Order

When people search "momentive products," they're often thinking of the consumer silicone tubes at a hardware store. In B2B, it's a wider lineup. What I order, or see ordered:

Momentive GE silicone carries a lot of the old GE Silicones legacy, and that's not trivial. Those materials have been tested across decades of demanding applications. Legacy doesn't mean every product fits every job, but it does mean the performance data usually goes back a long time.

The Rubber Tube Mistake That Cost $400

Let's talk about "rubber tube," because that keyword gets a lot of engineers and buyers into trouble.

In my first year, I ordered "silicone rubber tubing" without a durometer specification. I figured silicone is silicone. It isn't. Put another way: silicone is a family, not a single material.

The first shipment was too soft for the peristaltic pump head—the tube kept collapsing. The second shipment used peroxide-cured silicone, which was mechanically fine but made the downstream fluid taste like plastic. Both batches had "silicone rubber tube" written on the invoice. The reorder and testing cost us about $400.

Now, when I see Momentive silicone in a rubber tube data sheet, I ask three questions:

Before you skip these questions because it's just a tube, remember that silicone tube failures in the field are usually spec failures, not material failures. A cheaper EPDM or PVC tube may honestly be the better buy for water at room temperature. The more adult purchase is choosing the right family, not just the fancier brand. (Note to self: say that politely to the engineer who wants 'the big name silicone' for a cool-water sample line.)

Foam Board Walls and the 'Is Foam Board Insulation Toxic?' Question

I also handle building maintenance questions, so foam board walls come up. Some people want to insulate a wall with rigid foam, and then someone in the office asks: is foam board insulation toxic?

I'm not a toxicologist, and I will not pretend to be one. What I can tell you from reading SDS docs and working with insulation distributors:

Rigid foam insulation—EPS, XPS, or polyiso—is generally considered stable once properly installed and covered. The more obvious hazards are during cutting and sanding: dust particles, and possible off-gassing from facers or fire retardants. If a board has a strong chemical odor that doesn't air out in a wall cavity, that's a red flag, not a normal silicone caulk fix.

Here's where Momentive products fit in: after you've selected a safe, code-compliant foam board, silicone sealants can close seams and transitions and keep air and moisture from moving. But a sealant is not a substitute for selecting a safe board. Let me rephrase that: you can't silicone over a material choice that was wrong from the start.

Honestly, I'm not sure why foam board gets a blanket toxic label. My best guess is people are conflating installation dust with long-term off-gassing. That doesn't mean every foam board is fine—it means check the specific product, not the internet rumor. If the SDS scares you, have a building science consultant review the wall assembly. That consultant is a specialist, and specialists who know their limits are worth more than generalists who overpromise.

In fact, the sales engineer who once told me, "this isn't our area—specify a proper insulation, then use our sealant for the seams," earned my trust more than the vendor who claimed one tube could solve half the building. That's the expertise boundary I want from every supplier.

Where Momentive Products Are Not the Answer

I'd rather admit this than pretend otherwise: Momentive products don't win every job. On some commodity applications, a generic RTV silicone is fine, and the higher price isn't justified. On some specialty adhesives, a different chemistry is built for the substrate, and silicone has no business on it. And if you're just trying to save a dollar for a temporary repair, price matters.

What I've gotten better at is deciding what question I'm actually answering. Is it "which material seals best?" Or is it "which is cheapest and good enough?" Those are different purchasing decisions.

Buying Summary I'd Hand to a New Admin

This was accurate as of early 2025. Silicone pricing shifts with raw material and freight costs, so verify current quotes before you budget. I learned the rubber tube lesson in 2020, and in 2024 we cut our silicone-related order issues by about 80% just by putting more buying criteria in the work order.

If you take one thing from this: Momentive products are a tool, not a promise. They work best when they're chosen for the right material condition, specified by someone who asks annoying questions, and used within the boundary where silicone outperforms the cheaper rubber.