Silicone question - help needed

Submitted by bleat323 t3_10l8wh3 in DIY

First time DIY resealing around a shower-over-bath. There was a crack in the grout in the corner so I removed all the silicone around the bath, removed the grout, redid the grout then redid the silicone using wet area 100% silicone sealant. There are sections where the silicone doesn’t reach around to the front of the tiles above and it looks a little odd, though I applied a lot and I do imagine it will be watertight (it fills the gap between the tile and the rim of the bath, but just doesn’t quite go up the first few mm of the tile as intended).
Would you suggest that I… a) leave it as is, since it does appear to be sealed b) add a thin second coat of silicone once the first layer has fully cured c) scrape it all out and start again.

Before asking here I’ve been researching this and some sites say that you can’t do 2 layers of silicone because it won’t stick to itself while others say it’s common practice in certain situations. This has left me very confused. Help will be much appreciated.

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nigelthrowaways t1_j5vdhqf wrote

There is no common practice of two layers of silicone. Silicone just plainly doesn't stick to silicone, if it did, we wouldn't have to remove the old stuff first.

The rest, it's difficult to fully understand without a photo.

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bleat323 OP t1_j5vo72b wrote

Thank you, I found a way to add a link to a photo.

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jimjamjahaa t1_j5vcxrw wrote

if it's still wet i'd just use masking tape to define the edges you want and then add more 1 "finger full" at a time. smoosh it in real good. then peel off the tape.

there will be a teeeny tiny ridge equal to the thickness of the tape which some people might find objectionable, but i find the very clean lines provided by the tape more than counteract that.

people who are really really skilled can get perfect lines freehand. not me.

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bleat323 OP t1_j5vfv37 wrote

Thanks for your reply. I used masking tape, I just obviously didn’t apply quite enough silicone. Unfortunately it was only once it had started to cure already that the issue became obvious. I think it kinda fell into the gap just a little, due to gravity perhaps, or shrinkage.

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jimjamjahaa t1_j5vgqh0 wrote

well i think the only "propper" way to do it is rip it out and start again... fun :)

i made the mistake of not using a quality silicone when i did it so i have to do it again soon too. heh. things get easier the second and third time round so i guess that's a small silver lining

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bleat323 OP t1_j5vo1l5 wrote

photo of the issue

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humanefly t1_j5vpgnz wrote

My suspicion is that the silicone will shrink a tiny bit as it dries and pull away from the tile. It might depend on the type of silicone used. I'd keep a very close eye on it, you might have to rip it out and do it over.

I did see a neat trick recently: the guy duct taped a spoon to the tube of silicone, so the spoon trailed the nozzle. So as he went along and squeezed the silicone out, the spoon was taped in a position such that it was following along and removing any unnecessary silicone, leaving behind a clean line of sealant.

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bleat323 OP t1_j5xnvge wrote

Cheers for this, it seems the consensus is that it’ll need redoing so I will give this trick a go and hopefully save some time the second time around. Not looking forward to the removal part again though. That took ages! Oh well, I’ve learnt a lot.

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danauns t1_j5yssro wrote

You've made many bad decisions.

First and foremost, any change if plane or material should not be grouted.

https://youtu.be/_DI4hfHM_Hg - watch this. This is the definitive guide that will set you right.

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bleat323 OP t1_j5zyzb7 wrote

Thanks, I watched the video, interesting how many contradictions to other how-to guides. Will give this method a go - it seems easier.

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danauns t1_j61bbgf wrote

I switched when I saw that, and it's staggering the difference.

He's posted an update or two, but this is the way.

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