Which sealant for acrylic bath?

[Ian]

I am planning to replace the silicone sealant around the edge of my (acrylic) bath sometime in the next few days as it has started to lift in various places. I have learned my lesson and will be filling the bath with water this time before applying the sealant.

My question is: which sealant do I buy? There always seems to be about 10 different choices that, if the descriptions on the tube are to be believed, are suitable for the job. I am as interested in brand as in the type and am prepared to pay more for something that will perform better. I'm also prepared to look beyond the usual DIY stores if there are specialised products available that give superior performance.

Thanks in advance.

Ian

[BigWallop]

Peel as much of the old stuff off and then make a small run along the joint with any sealant you choose that does the job. It is also a good idea to lay one of the bath seal strips along the edge to reinforce the seal that the silicone makes. The filling the bath with water idea always done no matter what method you use to create the sealed joint.

One of these:

what I mean about the seal strip.

[Graeme]

> is what I mean about the seal strip.

Do you know what 'self adhesive' means with this product? Is it just a sticky paper type strip, or a more sophisticated sealant-adhesive?

[Grunff]

All the ones I've seen have been just a sticky strip - but that doesn't matter. Ignore the whole 'self adhesive' thing and they are great. Think of them as a protective cover for the silicone, and a means of increasing the silicone bath-wall contact area.

[Ian]

Thanks for your reply.

Just to clarify - are you saying to use the strip while the silicone is still wet?

Thanks,

Ian

[BigWallop]

The seal strip can applied on top of uncured silicone and when the strip is pressed into place it helps to contour the silicone behind it into a more preformed shape. The silicone is hidden by the strip anyway so it doesn't really matter, but don't have cured silicone protruding to far out from the surface or it will only push the seal strip back off the wall.