What sealant for internal UPVC frames?

[keiron99]

I'm rather sick and tired of peeling off sealant that has worked its way loose from round my window frames where they meet the wall paper. Truth be told, when I look at the range of sealants available I'm totally bewildered, and the cynic in me says "they're all the same!"

Researching here, I gather they are not (and I've probably just made the wrong choice every time!). I gather that Dow Corning is a good choice, and I will buy from my local Screwfix. However, I'm still confused by the choice - none of them listed appear to do what I want. I want something white, that obviously flexes a bit, but will stick to pretty much anything (UPVC, plaster, painted wall paper) and most importantly stay stuck!

The range Screwfix do is listed here:

'd be grateful if someone could advise.

[Brian G]

Keiron,

Not all sealants are the same - they do a similar job but under different conditions.

In your case, preparation is the secret along with a sealant bead that is neither too small nor too big for the job.

If you want an internal waterproof, white decorative finish - and you don't want to paint or stick wallpaper to it.- then the common or garden general purpose, mould resistant sealant will be ok, provided it is used on a *dry, dust free surface* and is of adequate thickness/depth.

If you want to decorate the sealant, then use a 'painters caulking' type of sealant to which paint etc will 'stick' to - again applied as above.

Remember, if you stick the sealant onto wallpaper or a painted surface then, when that medium lifts or breaks down, the sealant will just come away with it (that, along with damp, is the biggest problem).

When I had the same problems, I simply waited until it was time to redecorate and stripped the wallpaper and paint from the wall back to bare plaster, resealed the window architrave's and trims and then simply decorated up to it, ergo problem solved - now if someone could give the name of a silicone sealant that is 100% mould proof, that really would solve all my sealant problems (in all my experience, I have yet to find one, even with one of the best makers, Dow Corning)

Brian G

[keiron99]

Thanks, Brian.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Common or garden white silicone will do this. There's not much it won't stick to. Which is why it's used for sealing round windows. ;-)

[keiron99]

If only they would label it as such! We have "Frame sealants", "All Weather", "Flooring", Kitchen & Bathroom", "Mould Resistant", "Heat & Fire Resistant" etc etc. Why don't they just bung all the additives (if indeed there are any) in together so that one would do them all?!

[keiron99]

If only they would label it as such! We have "Frame sealants", "All Weather", "Flooring", Kitchen & Bathroom", "Mould Resistant", "Heat & Fire Resistant" etc etc. Why don't they just bung all the additives (if indeed there are any) in together so that one would do them all?!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Same as 'specialised' paints. They want to sell you them.