On Thu, 7 Oct 2004 12:50:10 +0100, "Ric" wrote:


"Pete C" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 06 Oct 2004 20:30:18 +0100, Richard Savage
wrote:

I've just fitted my new bathroom and it's time for the silicon sealant,
around the edges of the new vinyl flooring as well as the 3-piece suite.
In
the past I have used my finger to smooth it, and made a really crap job
of
it - sealant oozing out on either side of finger and difficult to get a
nice
neat bead. Any tips anyone for applying silicon sealant neatly?

Asked exactly the same question a few weeks back. Lots of very erudite
answers from experts. It's well worth Googling through the archives.
The gist(s) involved laying masking tape guides and a bowl of water and
washing up liquid to freqently wet your finger. None of the answers
resolved the problem of laying enough silicone down to ensure complete
gap coverage without building up a huge 'snowplow' of excess silicone as
you smooth it with your finger.

It's doable, but not with a finger!

Very helpfull!

Sorry! It was a crafty attempt to flush out any finger sealant
smoothing experts

The FAQ covers it very well:

http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/decorating.html#silicone

The only thing I could add is that I found the end of a one piece
stainless dessert spoon best for smoothing a bead of sealant.

First use it at a shallow angle to get most of the excess sealant off,
then at a slightly steeper angle for the final smoothing.

If doing a line from two ends, start off slightly deeper from the
second and go shallower to blend it in with already smoothed stuff.
Then blend the 'join' in with a wet finger. It helps if the join is at
the least obtrusive end.

cheers,
Pete.