Tidying up internal appearance of double glazing

[tuck1s]

Daughter's house has uPVC double-glazing throughout that's probably 10-15 years old (fitted for the previous owners, before they bought the house).

Doesn't seem anything serious wrong with it, reasonably wide gap between panes, no internal condensation etc but it wasn't well finished by the fitters on the inside. The filler is cracking and generally a bit tired. Before they decorate, I thought to tidy up the appearance for them, maybe with "cloaking fillet" e.g. https://www.eurocell.co.uk/trims-an...and-angles/30mm-cloaking-fillet-in-white-x-5m

According to pictures I found here e.g. https://www.tradesuperstoreonline.co.uk/products/30mm-cloaking-fillet-x-5m this is supposed to be mounted with the width onto the frame, rather than the walls & sills.

However the fitters did it differently more recently (about 4 years ago) with our house (see photo) and (apart from very minor cracks I need to fill !!), the appearance is actually quite nice I think, combined with the quadrant finish on the sill. Would appreciate your comments.

 

[crank39]

How it is in your picture is exactly how I and most fitters would fit them, nothing wrong there

 

[mcprinter]

DIY thoughts....

They have been stuck on with silicone. Quite normal.
The cracking is the edge of the silicone. Paint doesn't really stick to silicone.

Remove, decorate, silicone new ones in but not so much that it squeezes out at the visible edges
Seal the visible edges with caulk or acrylic frame sealant that will take paint.
Touch up any paint as needed.

 

[opps]

DIY thoughts....

They have been stuck on with silicone. Quite normal.
The cracking is the edge of the silicone. Paint doesn't really stick to silicone.

Remove, decorate, silicone new ones in but not so much that it squeezes out at the visible edges
Seal the visible edges with caulk or acrylic frame sealant that will take paint.
Touch up any paint as needed.

Caulk would be my go to, but you need to ensure that none remains on the face of the uPVC, or it will discolour over time.

You are correct that acrylic frame sealant will work and in this case will be absolutely fine but they don't allow for any movement.

Please don't think that I am trying to be condescending, that honestly isn't my intention. Rather than using acrylic frame sealant, the newer MS polymers are vastly superior. They are almost as flexible as silicone, most are UV safe, they can be painted provided that they re primed with waterbased paint first. They are more expensive though.

The one I use most frequently is CT1. They have recently improved the formulation, and if you wet your finger to smooth it, it less inclined to stick to your finger, but it is nearly £14 per tube.

I used two tubes this morning to seal GRP flashing. The fact that it was raining wasn't a problem. MS polymers will adhere to wet surfaces.

 

[mcprinter]

Caulk would be my go to, but you need to ensure that none remains on the face of the uPVC, or it will discolour over time.

You are correct that acrylic frame sealant will work and in this case will be absolutely fine but they don't allow for any movement.

Please don't think that I am trying to be condescending, that honestly isn't my intention. Rather than using acrylic frame sealant, the newer MS polymers are vastly superior. They are almost as flexible as silicone, most are UV safe, they can be painted provided that they re primed with waterbased paint first. They are more expensive though.

The one I use most frequently is CT1. They have recently improved the formulation, and if you wet your finger to smooth it, it less inclined to stick to your finger, but it is nearly £14 per tube.

I used two tubes this morning to seal GRP flashing. The fact that it was raining wasn't a problem. MS polymers will adhere to wet surfaces.

I don't think you are being condescending at all
I am DIY so always happy to learn or take advice from Pros or more experienced DIYers.

We had a window fitted and they used used massive fillet trims. I removed them before I had the room skimmed and redecorated.

 

[tuck1s]

The one I use most frequently is CT1. They have recently improved the formulation, and if you wet your finger to smooth it, it less inclined to stick to your finger, but it is nearly £14 per tube.

Like this? https://www.toolstation.com/ct1-adhesive-sealant/p85802

Can you use it to attach the cloaking fillet, and to finish/smooth it off?

 

[DiyNutJob]

They have been stuck on with silicone. Quite normal.

That's not normal. Silicone doesn't crack, it fails. Cracks only come from caulk.

 

[opps]

Like this? https://www.toolstation.com/ct1-adhesive-sealant/p85802

Can you use it to attach the cloaking fillet, and to finish/smooth it off?

Yes, you can use it for both.

If you get it all over your hands, clean them with white spirits.

 

[opps]

That's not normal. Silicone doesn't crack, it fails. Cracks only come from caulk.

Having re-read the OP's first post, I suspect that no sealant, other than filler or plaster was used. Difficult to say though given that we don't have photos of his daughter's windows.

You are correct that silicone is very unlikely to crack, it does happen though. I have seen a number of bathrooms where at the wall edges the silicone decided to stick to the tiles more than it wanted to stick to itself and accordingly ripped, leaving silicone on the tiles and a crack all the way down. In those cases, most kinds of sealant would have failed.