Hello Rooster Cogburn,
As other members underscored, the cheap silicon mats are not ESD safe.
Some videos :
Noel's Retro Lab :
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=dR8nqJzrnSg (start watching at 13:23) (edit URL to remove space characters)
Kerry Wong :
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=TOpS90tCHSc (edit URL to remove space characters).
I bought this light blue
ESD mat.
It withstands heat. I deliberately dropped some solder on it : no marks or holes. Resistance to chemicals is good : the mat can be cleaned with alcohol or acetone if very dirty.
There are 2 male snaps at two of the four corners which makes it easy to connect to ground. The rubber is neither too soft nor too hard (shore A: 75).
From an electrical point of view, I tested its surface resistivity and I was able to confirm the value given by the
product datasheet, namely '< 1 x 10
9 Ohms', which corresponds to the definition of a so-called 'static dissipative' surface (dissipates static charges). And that's exactly what we want.
The verification of the surface resistivity was carried out by using this dedicated
yellow device from Vermason, with the following test conditions:
• Test voltage: 100 VDC (device auto selects this voltage)
• Relative humidity: 32 %
• Ambient temperature: 29.5°C
As mentioned above, silicone soldering mats (often blue) which are universally used by dozens of DIYers/YouTubers are not antistatic. Measuring their
surface resistivity, by using the same device as above, gives a result '> 1 x 10
12 Ohms', which corresponds to the definition of an 'insulative' (insulating) surface.
This is NOT suitable for handling active electronic components. But you can still use your mustard silicon mat while soldering connectors or switches...