Have marked around the area I am siliconing with masking tape..
How long after siliconing up should I wait until I remove the tape??
Cheers
- posted
19 years ago
Masking tape and silicone
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- posted
19 years ago
In message , PhilÅ writes
I'd remove it straight away.
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- posted
19 years ago
I do it straight away; the tape takes away the excess leaving behind a nice neat edge.
If left to cure the silicone is likely to remain 'as one' thus negating the purpose of you using the tape for a straight edge. Indeed if the silicone hasn't firmly attached itself to the tape then it'll likely leave a flappy edge at best.
Mathew
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- posted
19 years ago
In article , PhilÅ writes
No time at all. Whip it off as soon as you have smoothed it out with your finger or whatever.
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19 years ago
Sorry, this should have been part of the FAQ text (the one that begins with soaking your finger in 50% washing-up liquid).
Smooth the silicone right down to the edge of the masking tape. Where the edge of the silicone bead meets the edge of the tape, the silicone should be no thicker than the tape itself.
Then peel off the tape immediately, pulling it away from the silicone. That leaves a nice feather edge on the bead.
If there is any sign of lifting, just run your finger VERY LIGHTLY along the edge of the bead to put it back.
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- posted
19 years ago
I've found that during this final finger-wiping stage (after removing the tape as quickly as possible after squirting and smoothing the silicone), a good wetting (plus a dash of fairy liquid) of the finger makes all the difference.
Good luck!
Simon.
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- posted
19 years ago
The tongue works well too, much better than a finger. (I tried it on food-safe silicone). Getting into tight corners may be a problem, though may be valuable practice.
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19 years ago
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19 years ago
[...]
Just to be clear: remove the tape soon, but pull it off slowly and gently.
With 50% washing-up liquid? I won't do *that*.
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- posted
19 years ago
Lol. Was it food safe while it was still uncured though?
NT
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19 years ago
Sorry - sure this HAS been answered before - but I'm about to seal m plastic bath to a tiled wall (3 edges).......how wide should the gap b for the sealant?? ie - how wide should the gap be between the tw pieces of masking tape....and finally - should the gap be equidistan between the wall and the bath - hope I'm amking vague sense!!
-- alexbartman
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- posted
19 years ago
Well, I wouldn't actually eat it. Tastes vinegary, unsurprisingly. I was just wondering if there was a better way than using a finger, and was really bored. I suspect something like a micropourous rubber 'finger', with water/detergent pumped through.
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- posted
19 years ago
Can anyone help me with the width issue???????????!!!!!!!!
The food safety issue is no doubt an important one as I will now use m tongue to smotth...but need to know how wide the gap between the maskin taped edges need to be!!
t-- alexbartman
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- posted
19 years ago
In article , alexbartman writes
In my opinion (and no doubt others will disagree) you need about 3mm of sealant on the bath and about 3mm on the tiles for good adhesion. Maybe a bit less.
Can you post pictures of you doing this please? I'm sure we'd all like to see it.
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- posted
19 years ago
It's very much easier than you seem to think, or fear.
You've seen hundreds of silicone beads, both good and bad. Make yours about the same width as the good ones - it really is about that simple.
If it looks right, and feels right when smoothed down using the body part of your choice, then it probably *is* right.