Recently we added black silicone as a finish option on our popular 18" light-duty flexible gooseneck tube. By April 2022 we will offer many of our gooseneck tube designs with black and/or light grey silicone coverings. 18" Light-duty flexible gooseneck tube with black silicone covering Silicone is widely used in the healthcare industry because of it's ability to be cleaned and sanitized. As you know a flexible gooseneck tube without a covering has plenty of cracks and crevices for germs to hide! We also have customers who need to use their flexible goosenecks in wet or damp environments. While the gooseneck itself can rust if exposed to moisture, our new silicone covering will help to protect it. The silicone extends from end to end and can be sealed with a silicone caulk if you need it really watertight. Since the silicone covers the end adapter slot cuts (flat spots for holding with a wrench) and set screw hole you will need to "roll back" the silicone for access. It's easy to do using your two thumbs like this: Roll back the silicone with your thumbs to expose the slot cuts and set screw hole While some customers will still prefer the beautiful look of our chrome-plated flexible gooseneck tubes we have found that a raw (bare metal - no plating, painting, etc) gooseneck provides the best bending and "stay put" performance (our silicone-covered goosenecks are raw). This is because a gooseneck holds it's position due to the friction between the inner spring wire and outer wire. Unless the painting or plating process is done to exacting standards, painting or plating can interfere with this friction and result in "rebound" (the gooseneck can bounce back from the set position) or cracking and popping noises. Silicone-covered gooseneck tubes will allow us to provide you with consistently top quality products that will perform well and last for many years.