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using glazing sealant
02GF74 - 22/8/06 at 03:28 PM

any tips on how go get a good finish using silicone glazing sealant along an angled joint?

I find the sealant gets past either side of the nozzle as you move the tube and it tryingto smooth with a knife, the same happens so you need to remove the excess; wiping means you end up touching thus messing up the bead you put down.

Is there a trick to it? masking tape?


nib1980 - 22/8/06 at 03:34 PM

I use masking tape, and smooth it down with a spoon, then peel the tape off before it sets. works for me


Hurdsey - 22/8/06 at 03:34 PM

Get a spray bottle, like shower cleaner comes in, clean it out put in a couple of drops of washing up liquid, add water, shake, spray the diluted soapy stuff onto the silcon bead and gently smooth with your finger, it takes a bit of practice to get a really good finish but persevere, it works.

Oh yeah cut the nozzle of the silicon tube at an angle.

Paul

[Edited on 22/8/06 by Hurdsey]


Schrodinger - 22/8/06 at 03:55 PM

Cut the nozle small and when you need to release the trigger to resqueeze take the gun away from the joint drag and not push. If you are getting a buildup then you are going to slow or pulling the trigger too hard. Follow the water and finger suggestion and get plenty of paper towels to wipe the stuff off your hands each time.
Oh and don't press too hard with your finger when trying to smooth.

good luck

[Edited on 22/8/06 by Schrodinger]


Hellfire - 22/8/06 at 04:25 PM

I have a small implement I got from B&Q which offers a range of chamfered and radiused profiles for bathroom silicon sealer. With a smear of Washing Up Liquid on the tool it leaves a perfect radius or chamfer of your choice. They are available in a variety of 4 edges for different profiles for about £3.00


JoelP - 22/8/06 at 06:29 PM

squirting it with water is the correct approach. The water stops it sticking to the surface on either side, so it wipes off perfectly. Then you just need to work on your technique of putting it on. As already said, with the nozzle cut at an angle you just need to move and squeeze at the correct pace.

Wetting your finger or an implement shouldnt work really, as all that will achieve is stopping it sticking to your finger, not the surface.


splitrivet - 22/8/06 at 08:11 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Hellfire
I have a small implement


Never mind Hellfire youve a great personality.
Cheers,
Bob


tobymack - 22/8/06 at 09:30 PM

you are almost certainly putting too much on. Don't cut the nozzle so you get the smallest bead possible and you will find it smooths down nicely with no overflow.

(advice from a tiler which works for me)


dilley - 23/8/06 at 06:28 AM

Hellfire you sounded like a b and q salesmen then


lexi - 27/8/06 at 09:42 PM

If you are gunning into a corner, the joint you are producing is called in the trade a "triangular fillet". This is how guys who are producing 200 metres of this joint do it properly.Cut a pine stick about 200mmlong and 15mm wide and 12 mm thick. These sticks can be made in various sizes in minutes with a stanley. Make the last 50mm of the stick to the nominal width of your silicone fillet. Now sharpen to a taper from the same 50mm to the business end of the stick, leaving it 1mm thick and trimmed square......like a door wedge. Sand that last 50mm nice and smooth and then put the stick in half of a Domestos bottle with water and a LITTLE
fairy liquid with a sponge jammed in to keep the sticks tight. The longer the sticks soak the better, as they get impregnated and very little sticks to them as you tool in the material. As you dip the stick in to your soapy water the sponge cleans and takes extra soapy water off the stick. Try to keep the slope of the stick parallel with the joint. Masking tape is used for top quality work and you use the stick to move the sealant off the tape and back into the joint section. The sealant should Just be touching the tape so that when you pull one side at a time you can actually fold the excess back into the joint for a final light tool with the stick.
Applies to any sealant in the book.
Alex