Tom wrote:
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in
message om...
I re-seal a lot of baths, popular job. Key to doing it properly is
getting all the old silicone out & starting on a clean surface.

Bath I did today had a rigid plastic trim around it which had to
come off prior to re-seal. Under this in areas which could trap
water, the silicone seemed to have degraded badly.

Consistency of cottage cheese! Never seen anything like it before. Does
silicone degrade if kept permanently wet?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Dave, how do you remove the old silicone? In the past i just used
elbow grease and a sharp blade. Do those silicone removers work, if
so could you recommend a brand. I need to re-do my bath as its about
six years old and very tired.

Elbow grease I'm afraid. I can't really use silicone removers commercially
because they all need to be left on for a long time. Can't charge the
client for drinking tea while I wait :-) They do work if left on though.

Best tip I can give is to use a) a Stanley knife with a brand new blade b) a
scraper like this
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/16530/...y-Duty-Scraper
and c) a scraper like this
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/30305/...ty-Scraper-Set

Use scraper b) at an angle & slide it along both vertical & horizontal
surfaces, knife on tricky bigs & small scraper for those little bugger bits.

As long as you keep the scrapers flat they won't scratch. Then meths and a
microfibre cloth (Tesco 3 for 89p).


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk