Paint on silicone?

Question

I'm intending to smarten up our windows (*interior*) this summer: the sills etc could all do with a new coat of paint. (The whole house is Brilliant White btw.)

The _frames_ are all UPVC, so pretty smart to begin with, but the silicone joint between the surrounds and the frames themselves have got a bit grubby with the accunulation of dust on the surface of the silicone.

Is there a particular recomendation for painting silicone, or can I just use what I'll use for the windows sills - acrylic primer/undercoat and/or acrylic topcoat?

Cheers Another John

PS Please don't recommend stripping off the old silicone and re-sealing: for one thing whenever I tried such a thing in the past I ended up with a much worse mess than I'd started with. And also: I don't want to spend too much of my dwindling energies/life-span on [bloody] decorating! :-)

The Natural Philosopher · Accepted Answer

VC, so pretty smart to begin with, but the siliconeYes. Don't even try,Either clean the silicone with a toothbrush and bleach or replace it with decorator's caulk, which does take paint

Sparky <"somewhere · Answer

Errr, if it really is silicone, and not one of the new-fangled hybrid modified polymers, you won't be able to paint over it. Remove it and replace with a hybrid polymer sealant; use a fugen boy (or similar) to give a nice fillet.

John Rumm · Answer

If it is real silicone and not a more generic frame sealant or caulk, then painting over it is very difficult since the paint will not usually "wet" the surface. Only way to find out for sure is to try a bit and see.

Paint on silicone?

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