Removing Silicone Sealant and Replacing

Freeman said:
Just use water or your spit to smooth it out or else you get problems like the guy above me.

heh >.<
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Water is useless and will just drag the silicone. Saliva works a treat but it'll only encourage mould growth.

A small squirt of fairy liquid in some water is the best thing to use. If doing a thick bead of silicone then an old wooden peg sanded smooth and soaked in fairy/water mix overnight will get a perfect finish.
 
I'm far too anal to use saliva anyway. Who wants to lick their finger when it's had silicone on it!

The fairy liquid worked so damn well and my wife has texted me to tell me that the green has actually disappeared after her shower, so I guess it didn't actually stain the silicone, only sat on the skin. Still mix it with warm water though as above (in a strong concentration).

Unless you need to make a specific shape with the silicone finish, like bevelled or flat, I can't see any tool being better than a finger. However they're only a few quid and some of them collect the mess as you drag, so maybe they would be worth a shot.

Clean the area with Cif cream cleaner so get rid of the last bits of silicone, then with denatured alcohol such as methylated spirits. Then dry with a clean rag and leave to allow the last bits of alcohol to evaporate.

When actually applying the silicone I can't relate to those that say push the gun instead of drag it. I found it far easier to pull the gun along. Keep a decent pace with even pressure and rate of dragging. Finish as soon as possible after applying the silicone.
 
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Mark A said:
Water is useless and will just drag the silicone. Saliva works a treat but it'll only encourage mould growth.

A small squirt of fairy liquid in some water is the best thing to use. If doing a thick bead of silicone then an old wooden peg sanded smooth and soaked in fairy/water mix overnight will get a perfect finish.
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I wouldn't say it's useless. I've fitted countless bathrooms and it's always done a great job, especially with my fat fingers :)
 
Finally got round to this today, used some Fairy liquid on my finger and it worked a treat. Looks just as good as when the pros put my shower in :D
 
Well I bought a tool from Homebase that got rid of most of it, then I used silicon remover stuff on what was left and then scrapped what was left off, but it's all at the bottom of a shower tray which just wasn't comfy for working in.
 
I know the tool, when I did it the silicone came off as more or less a complete strip. It left the edges which I removed with a blunt knife. Perhaps it depends on the age of the sealant and what type it was to start with.

Anyway, DIY is very rewarding when you get it just right!
 
I've got windows to seal now where the inside of the building has moved in relation to the outside, looking forward to it :D
 
will have to try this, ours needs redoing :D

any advice on getting tile grout white again? can I just apply another thin layer of grout or do I have to chisel some away first?
 
Tile grout you can use a grout pen to do - Homebase. Does the job ok by bleaching it. Don't expect miracles from it.

Alternatively you can scrape the surface of the grout away and then reapply it. That's a whore of a job though.
 
jonno.co.uk said:
will have to try this, ours needs redoing :D

any advice on getting tile grout white again? can I just apply another thin layer of grout or do I have to chisel some away first?
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nah.

******** to that.

get bleach, and wipe/srpay/scoosh it everywhere. really strong stuff.

scrub the grout with scourer if need be, when it gets wet it will become almost new again, it'll clean up or you can just remove/reshape.

i was going to chip it out until I thought of that, looks new again. I used some flash with bleach can-spray foam stuff, stank like hell, but came up good.

before that I was thinking dremel, and running that up and along etc.

no ta.
 
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There is a grout scraping tool, use that not the dremel. However it's not easy work.

Using a dremel is a recipe for disaster... one little slip, or a tile slightly out of line and you'll make a pigs ear of it.
 
For all the mould the only stuff I have found that really works is HG Mould Spray, though be careful it will kill/bleach anything that it gets onto.
 
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