bathroom colour sealant

[masamune]

I had the bathroom done two years ago, the builder did an excellent job with the tiling but unfortunately his sealant application was a little artistic and areas around the bathtub are wafer thin. A little over a year later some areas showed signs of stretch and splitting. These have now opened up and allowed some mildew to develop with potential water leaking.

I have inserted two close up photos from around the bathtub to show the problem,

side wall


bathtub


Thinking of the steps to fix this, I need to remove the old sealant clean and apply new coloured sealant,

1. what would you recommend for removing the old sealant and cleaning up?
2. my decorator recommended dow corning 785 mildew resistant, I am looking for a jasmine colour to match, is this a good long lasting sealant for the bathroom?
3. any other tips for my taping when applying sealant in the bathtub?

From what I understand the colour will not match exactly and meeting points of old and new seal will not mix. I should probably redo the entire bathtub and vertical tile lines left+right?

 

[Chri5]

Here you go

http://www.screwfix.com/p/mapei-mapesil-solvent-free-silicone-sealant-jasmine-310ml/55535

Remove sealant with a stanley blade used gently. You can get a sealant removal paste, that comes in a small tube.

Your need access to a sealant gun. Id suggest masking tape such as frog, going 4-6mm away from the corner on both sides.

Half fill your bath with cold water, then mask. Cut the sealant nossle at right angles about 5mm ouside nossle width.

Having rechecked that all the masking tape is well on the surfaces, aim the nossle and with moderate continous presurefill out the gape between masking tape lines from one end to the next.

With access to a rag, use a soapy finger and run it over the sealant to give a angled face between the masking tape lines.

If you have measured right there shouldnt be too much spoil sealant on your hand, if there's any wipe on the rag.

Remove masking tape pulling away from the sealant.

Once the sealant is cured, empty bath

 

[masamune]

Thanks for the sealant recommendation and for describing the process.

I had forgotten about filling the bath, which is a very good point!

 

[opps]

I often use profiling tools to smooth the silicone.

eg

http://www.screwfix.com/p/vitrex-se...eohFdT6NfrewaDT5_v_GLDFD7Fj5peEXuLBoCm4vw_wcB


http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/fugi-ap...znaMwAh-Q1LC6gzadeNgFiE0TXqsn9yvvDBoCqcrw_wcB

Please note that (with the above) you still need to ensure that you haven't applied too much silicone, otherwise you might end up with a very fine film of silicone on the tiles.

I have used masking tape but it can be rather messy and time consuming.

You need to remove the tape before the silicone goes off, and then re-smooth it again to remove the ridge left by the tape thickness and the excess silicone sitting on the tape.

The dilute washing up liquid works very well but it might be prudent to buy some decorators wipes in case you make a mess.

http://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/...5gDYpowJDEVfy0vTx-Rx7BoC-xbw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Further to the good advice offered by Chri5, I would advise you to use very little pressure when running your finger over the silicone. It "flows" far more than decorators caulk when you run your finger over it. Additionally, if you need to use silicone remover after knifing away, wash the area with meths to degrease it. I use meths as a matter of course regardless.

 

[masamune]

then re-smooth it again to remove the ridge left by the tape thickness and the excess silicone sitting on the tape.

Thanks, really useful!

 

[masamune]

I re-sealed the bathtub last month, went with the Fugi kit and Mapei sealant.

The sealant is great, leaves a very smooth finish. The Fugi kit is also a good option but I eventually realised it needs a bit more skill than assumed.

I used a knife and WD40 to clear the old splitting seal around the bathtub. Then applied meth spirits and wiped down to get a clean surface.
I was excited about using Fugi but with hindsight I would have taken a few different steps.

Firstly I applied long lines of sealant expecting to pull it off in one go, however sealant would leaking around the edges of the profiling block. That meant I had to either start earlier to refine and remove the excess or go back to the start to keep the line continuous. But then silicone would have already started to cure which meant blemishes would form where you touch and had to be corrected.

I also found issues getting the corners nice where three lines meet, even if you do the vertical ones first and let them cure. Eventually I used my finger to smooth out those areas

So there was a bit of a mess working around the strips, lots of wasted wipes and material. The entire job took me longer than with taping. I think Fugi would work really well for short distances but it may be my view due to lack of experience with it. It does leave a very good finish blending the sealant edges as a super-thin film perfectly attached to the tile.