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

The Medway Handyman wrote:
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?

Yes, I have come across this. I struggled to think where and when but I
think I was the cause of it Whilst an impecunious post grad student in the
early 70s, my wife and I bought an end terrace house that required a lot of
work - hence how we could get on the property ladder. The kitchen had to be
stripped and the bathroom tarted up. I sealed the fittings with some cheap
silicone bought from a high street store that still exists, (I'm pleased I
Googled before I mentioned it).

We were only in the house for about five years and I had to replace the
cottage cheese several times.

Moving to a brand new house, after a few months, I had minor issues to fix
such as a loose hand basin in the downstairs loo and sealant coming away
round the bathroom handbasin. Fortunately, I still had the residue of this
tube of sealant. Fool!

Had to be replaced smartish.

Bought some proper sealant and no problem.

Never bought cheap sealant since.

On Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:15:33 +0100, Clot wrote:
Had to be replaced smartish.

Bought some proper sealant and no problem.

Never bought cheap sealant since.

I had exactly the same sort of experience - cartridge of cheap sealant
from a building recyclers (was there and I happened to need some -
figured it'd save me a trip across town to the DIY place). Never again.
Always buy the good stuff...

Don't know if it had got contaminated somehow (although not sure how,
given it was sealed) or was just ancient stock and the stuff (or at least
some brands) have a limited shelf life before use...

cheers

Jules

"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.

Thanks,

Tom

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

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
om...
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

I'll get myself down to SF tomorrow, thanks.

Tom wrote:
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in
message om...
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

I'll get myself down to SF tomorrow, thanks.

The SF big scraper doesn't have very good reviews, maybe its a cheapie - got
mine from Wickes IIRC, but I don't think they do the small scraper.


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