A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE USE OF RTV SILICONE MATERIALS FOR GASKETING IS REVIEWED. THE PRINCIPLES AND APPARATUS OF BLOWOUT RESISTANCE TESTING ARE DISCUSSED. DATA IS PRESENTED ON THE EFFECTS OF MATERIAL, GAP SIZE, AND CURE TIME ON SUCH QUANTITIES AS LAP SHEAR ADHESION, BLOWOUT RESISTANCE, AND CURE DEPTH RESPONSES. CORRELATIONS ARE PRESENTED BETWEEN LAP SHEAR ADHESION AND BLOWOUT RESISTANCE.