Removing silicone sealant

dazz25 · 3 Nov 2013 at 12:04

Hi all,

I need to remove the sealant around my bath and re-seal as the current sealant has come away.

So i'm planning on removing the existing sealant, cleaning with Isopropyl alcohol, letting it dry completely and reapplying the sealant around a full bath. Is there anything else I need to consider/do?

My main questions are:

1 - What is the best thing I can use to remove the sealant? I will remove most with a blade but will need some kind of chemical remover to do the rest.

2 - Which is the best sealant to use? I've been reading about Dow Corning 785+ but want to get some other views.

Thanks for your help.

Nightglow · 3 Nov 2013 at 13:44

This.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-sealant-remover-100ml/88987

Make sure the bath is full of water & left full for 24 hour until sealant as cured.

Dow Corning 785+ use a lot of it, found it among the best, sticks to everything.
I find you have 5-10 minutes working time with it,before it skins & use a sealant tool for a professional finish.

OpenToSuggestions · 3 Nov 2013 at 13:46

Nightglow said:
Make sure the bath is full of water & left full for 24 hour until sealant as cured.

Would it not be best to half fill the bath?

If the tub is full when sealed then when you get out it deflects a lot and vice versa.

Nightglow · 3 Nov 2013 at 13:56

With a steel bath yes, but I prefer with a acrylic bath to do it full, no reason why you couldn't do half full, never tried that with acrylic, Dow Corning 785+ has a movement allowance of about 20% so shouldn't split.

dazz25 · 3 Nov 2013 at 14:13

Thanks nightglow - i'll be picking up for dow corning 785+ this week.

I was going to use low tack masking tape instead of a sealant tool. Is there any reason to use one method over the other?

Nightglow · 3 Nov 2013 at 15:02

dazz25 said:
Thanks nightglow - i'll be picking up for dow corning 785+ this week.

I was going to use low tack masking tape instead of a sealant tool. Is there any reason to use one method over the other?

No reason why you can't you use tape, I never do, just run a bead of sealant along the bath then follow behind with a sealant tool get a nice smooth finish.

Insomniak · 4 Nov 2013 at 15:15

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3zqtBHxjng

Freddie1980 · 5 Nov 2013 at 00:07

I resealed my bathroom not to long ago and I used wd'40 to remove the sealent. This is the 2nd time I've done this and the first time i used wd-40 and I have to say it worked an absolute treat, removing sealant can be a pain in the proverbial backside but this made it almost effortless. Spray it on, leave it to its magic for 5 mins or so and peal it of with an old knife.

dazz25 · 5 Nov 2013 at 07:55

After doing a bit of reading I think i'm going to use WD40 myself. It seems to work really well. I'll give it thorough clean with IPA after.

Think i'm also going to stick with the tape idea as the wall is tiled so using a tool will catch on the grooves where the grout is.

NickK · 24 Nov 2013 at 20:29

I have one of these - works really well and helps smooth out the sealant.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/unibond-sealant-smoother-remover-tool/99849

If you find a cartridge gun hard then unibond's can system works really well:
http://www.unibond.co.uk/en/sealants/sanitary-sealants/easy-smooth-sealant.html

I used the above for a bathroom window seal - far easier than a gun!