Steve wrote:
Nate Nagel wrote on 11 Nov 2007 in group
alt.home.repair:


Should I be worried? Tube says "shower in three hours;" I finished
recaulking bathtub about 1AM and caulk is still tacky. I did lay
down a huge ugly finger-smoothed bead as the tile work next to the
tub was not so neat. (not sloppy, just huge - probably 3/16" or
more) This is the Dap kitchen and bath white silicone.


Don't poke it. The "three hours" thing is only for the surface of the
caulk. It won't cure all the way through for a few days. A thin glaze of
cured caulk on the top is good enough to protect what's underneath from
water as long as you don't get vigorous. Curing time also depends on
temperature and humidity.

Did you clean well with scrapers, scrubbers, detergent, and some type of
solvent first? Did you get all the solvent off? A contaminant might mess
up the chemistry of the caulk, slowing or stopping the cure process. I
recommend denatured alcohol as a cleaner. It evaporates completely in a
few minutes.

I tell my clients to wait a minimum of 24 hours before using the shower.
It's safer. No one has called me back yet to complain.


I did clean well, remove all old caulk (scraped surfaces with razor
blades,) scrub with hot water and dish soap, dry with heat gun, and
final wipe down with Windex before applying.

I couldn't find an expiration date on the tube; I did think to look for
it before I threw it out this AM.

nate

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