siliconing technique...

[ian158]

...when your siliconing what do you do to get a neat bead..do you use those tape things...do you use your finger or a bead tool..do you use a trigger spray with some fairy..or are you just perfect from the tube...

also when your doing corners of baths how to you not smudge when three beads meet ?

 

[Alan.P]

I just use a smallish bead and my finger, as for corners, a bit of practice makes it easier.

 

[ian158]

Ive been using a tool that has 3 different width rubber formers...gives a nice bead and don't get it on my fingers anymore...found a spray called tec 7 that i spray on before i silicone to clean area..silicon..spray again and even makes Bal silicone look good !

 

[Ian]

I use tools that are called fugen ***, lol! I think they may have changed the name to joint boy or something like that, they have 16 different profile sizes over 4 tools
As for where vertical meets horizontal, a bit of practice makes it easier or do the verticals first and let them cure before doing the horizontals.

 

[Marksmithtiling]

This is the kit I use same as Bri, great finish all different sizes.Cramer Fugi 5 Kit: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

 

[Qwerty]

Agreed. I use fugen kit. Rarely have to smooth out afterwards

 

[merit]

ive tried to smooth out with my fingers but they must be like sausages it never lays even , with the fungi its perfect

 

[ian158]

I've been told you shouldn't use your finger as your putting bacteria in the wet silicone ...dunno how true that is

 

[Bubblecraft]

I use my finger (slightly wet) for smaller beads & I have an old credit card that I've cut in all 4 corners to different profiles for larger beads where required

 

[John Benton]

I've been told you shouldn't use your finger as your putting bacteria in the wet silicone ...dunno how true that is

It's not the bacteria on your finger, it's when you lick your finger and use the saliva, ladened with nasties, that puts bacteria into the silicon.

 

[Martino]

For a perfect bead i use masking tape. nice neat finish when its a contrasting silicone to the tile.

 

[masterofnone]

I spray with fairy mix and then run over with index finger nail(back side). Keep my finger wet with fairy mix and clean my finger on a clean cloth as i go.

 

[kilty55]

i use a guy from edinburgh silicone solutions the finish is perfection and pretty cheap as well

 

[Ian]

i use a guy from edinburgh silicone solutions the finish is perfection and pretty cheap as well

Have you watched him do it? What tool does he use?

 

[kilty55]

aye bri, he rips down timber to small sticks and slices them to suit different profile thicknesses uses a spray bottle and a stick mate the finish is dynamite

 

[Ian]

I think the key to a good silicone bead is getting the right amount out of the tube first, a good siliconer (?) will have to do very little to profile it after, hardly any waste either.

 

[kilty55]

thats it mate the guy has zero waste

 

[andy8758]

Practice. Cutting the right profile on the silicone tube tip. Practice. Water or better still w/up liquid and water. Practice. Use any profile that gives a consistent sealed bead (including your finger). Practice. Practice. practice. I bet Phil Hobson is the best siliconer here - he's gotta have been practicing for the last 50 years.

 

[Rookery]

I use my finger (slightly wet) for smaller beads & I have an old credit card that I've cut in all 4 corners to different profiles for larger beads where required

Is it an American Express card, so you can do the job quicker? :smilewinkgrin:

 

[Peter]

Some days I'm a master of silicone and other days it needs hoked out and redone. :lol:

A lot of it seems to come from how neatly you get it out of the tube to start with, if you have a nice clean bead then you're flying. I tend to have a lot of waste with the silicone tools, but as long as it's neat then I don't mind. They're hard to judge as you either seem to have far too much or far too little. Some low modulus is great, you don't even need a shaper.

Find that Mr Muscle is better than Fairy and dries off walls/joints more naturally too.

 

[charlie1]

I use wickes rubber profiling tool, it's shaped in such a way that if you turn it you can get pretty much any size profile you like. Apply, spray, profile. Always silicone from bottom up, ie, do floors, then shower tray, then bath then last, do the corners, tis way your not adding moisture to anywhere that's not been sealed.

 

[One Day]

I've found that the quality of silicone is the number 1 key. 2nd is getting a good end on the tip.
9 out of 10 I can now not bother tooling the bead but if I do it's just the old Karl Dahm set, used dry and cleaned up with wonder wipes afterwards.

Oh, and a skeleton gun you can trust too! I have an old rusty one which I keep alive with wd40 - somehow it just works better than any others I've tried!

 

[Peter]

Funny that, I can read my own silicone gun like a second hand novel but when I use someone else's it can feel very vague.

 

[PaulSmith]

Masking tape with water and washing up liquid. Once tape is removed, go over once with wet finger.

 

[prceramics]

i use my finger and have wet wipes to hand so you do not need to lick your finger then use them to clean off, stops bacteria getting into the silicone, and also stops the silicone getting in your mouth as it causes cancer i hear .