How do i get a perfect finish with builders silicone ?
Question:on stone work.
Answers:
Mask the surfaces where you want the edges of the seal to be. Then put a thin bead of silicone between the masking tape and:
1 Use a wet finger (best to use a cup of water, then when your finger dries and you still have to do more you can just put your finger back in the cup instead of your mouth!)
2 Back of a small spoon
3 credit card (old)
4. anything else you can think of that will give a curved finish
lick your finger and rub it messy job
use 2 pieces of masking tape on both surfaces and pull off the masking tape when nearl dry. use a piece of plastic in the shape you would like the mastic/silicone.
plus one for the wet finger. I always use a cup of water....and I have a wet rag to wipe the excess caulk or silicone on.
Yep. Another vote for a wet finger, cup of water and a rag.
yes the wet finger..mmmm
if you are using the silicon between 2 straight walls...ie. 90 degree angle as in along the wall/kitchen worktop...try this.
picture a small block of wood with a v shape cut out of it..now cut it in half vertically thru the middle ..round off the edge slightly...if you place the cut edge on the woktop the "point" will be against the wall.as you run along it will scrape off excess silicon on the wall..place it on the wall at the same occurs on the worktop...the size of your v determines the size of silicon bead you leave behind.
be careful as you do it and you will get a perfect bead..
use a bucket of water to clean the wood off as you go and a large cloth on the shoulder
hope i have explained it well enough that you can picture it lol
The proffesional way- 1 icy-pole stick (rounded end).1 spray bottle of water and detergent. Make sure when you silicon that you get a get bond on both edges or otherwise when you spray with water/detergent it won't stick. Do you silicon work and before it has time to skin, spray with water/detergent and simply run your icy-pole stick along for a perfect finish. Make sure you spray the stick first to stop silicon sticking to it. Wipe excess on to a scrap piece of cardboard or similar.
a wet finger is good, but practise makes perfect, just to add a note to siliconing, if you are sealing a bath especially a plastic or glass fibre one, fill the bath to nearly full then silicone the edges, leave the bath full of water for at least 8-12 hours then empty the water out. many people silicone a bath empty and then when it's filled up with water it drops 2-3mm and the silicone pulls away from the bath.
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