Renew and remove old silicone joints - in just 4 steps

• Required material
• Prepare underground
• Pull new silicone joints
• The right tool

Old silicone joints should be renewed if they look ugly and must be renewed if they show mold marks. This is no problem with this manual.

Renew silicone joints - extremely complicated matter with considerable information and work effort "> Required material

• Cuttermesser
• bucket
• Sponges, towels, paper kitchen roll
• soapsuds
• Silicone in the cartridge with several spouts
• Newsprint as documents

Make sure you have enough newspaper or foil to lay down the silicone cartridge easily. It is also very helpful if you have water and kitchen paper to wipe away the wrongly distributed silicone immediately at hand, which is not wiped away very quickly, makes later work properly.

When everything is ready, you can insert the first silicone cartridge in the cartridge press and open the silicone cartridge. To do this, cut off the upper end of the plastic screw cap with the cutter.

Then the first spout is screwed on. However, the tip of the spout is not cut (opened) until you really want to get started.

Prepare underground

The underground or the objects to be grouted must be finally prepared.

How the old joint compound can be removed without residue is described in the article " Instructions: How to remove old silicone joints ".

After removing the silicone joints, the substrate was thoroughly cleaned and should now dry well.

Just before it starts, the joint should now be freshly cleaned again. Take a bucket of lukewarm water with a dash of rinse and a fine-pored sponge. Clean and degrease the surface again with little moisture. Then go over it once with hot water, which should not run out of the sponge. Finally, it is cleaned with spirit.

Now you have a clean, grease-free, dry surface in front of you, on which the new joint can be applied.

Pull new silicone joints

With silicone joints, you can create elastic connections between tiled surfaces and washbasins, bathtubs, shower trays, draw expansion joints between wall and floor tiles and close gaps between walls and pre-wall installations. Silicone has rubber-like elastic properties, silicone sealants can be deformed with little effort, thus compensating for the forces and stresses arising due to different mechanical behavior of the materials.

Step 1: Masking the joint area

For beginners, it is advisable to mask the joint area beforehand by means of "painter's crepe". This facilitates handling. However, the "crayon" should be removed as soon as possible after the application of the silicone, otherwise the silicone can connect to the crepe and when removing for unsightly edges provides or even tear.

Step 2: Note the width and depth of the joint

It is best to work according to the "two-thirds rule" which specifies the guideline for correct working for Profils.

• The depth of the joint is based on the joint width filled to about 2/3, z. B. Joint width 3 mm, joint depth 2 mm
• The fugue should never be deeper than wide

To achieve this, you can use different shaped foam cords or foil strips in the joint. This prevents too deep penetration of the silicone compound into the joint.

Tip: The use of newsprint is an inexpensive way to fill in deep joints.

• The silicone may only be applied to the building materials that are to be grouted and only touch them on both edges
• a trilateral liability must be avoided
  • ie that a floor joint is sprayed with so much silicone that it forms a bond with the wall tile, the floor tile and the substrate
  • This severely restricts the freedom of movement of the silicone and can cause delamination on the adhesive surfaces and central cracks

Step 3: Apply silicone

Before applying the silicone, cut the tip of the spout into the desired width at an angle.

The joint space is now filled evenly. It is recommended to completely fill the joint space with silicone in one go. However, this is quite difficult for beginners or for very long joints. There is no objection if you fill the joint in several sections. However, you must pay attention to the transitions.

Step 4: Remove silicone joints

Now comes the prepared soapy water used. There are two options to remove the silicone joint.

Variant 1: Pull off with your finger

• Extensively wet the fingers with the soapy water and then brush over the silicone joint.
• requires a lot of practice and is not suitable for beginners, because the silicone is quickly lubricated wide and leaves ugly streaks
• Moisten the finger repeatedly with the soapy water until the joint is completely smooth
• Remove excess silicone with a kitchen towel from the finger or the surface

Variant 2: Pull off with the joint smoother

• Dip the joint smoother in the soapy water and then remove the silicone joint
• goes pretty quickly from the hand and has the advantage that the transitions are well pressed and sealed
• Again, moisten the joint smoother in the soapy water and remove excess silicone with the kitchen paper from the smoother

Tip: You can also spray the soapy water with a spray bottle directly on the silicone joint. There is also silicone softening agent on the market, which prevents the silicone from sticking to the tool.

If you taped in step 1, remove the tape as soon as possible. The silicone joints should now dry for at least 2 days without load.

The right tool

If it really should or has to be really great or if you have many meters to grout, you should urgently think about the right cartridge press (caulking gun).

The following features should have a good cartridge press, so you can work cleanly and long with her:

• robust and therefore durable for a long time
• after-running of the material should be regulated (economical consumption)
• patented Dripless function that prevents dripping by relieving pressure, which should enable particularly economical work
• adjustable or stepless feed also makes the processing of the material easier
• Well-functioning leverage makes work easier
• ergonomically shaped handle and possibly a ladder hook
• light weight and easy handling

Here are the basic models of cartridge presses at approximate prices, of which there are many different models (unless stated otherwise, for 310-ml cartridges):

• Simple mechanical skeleton pistols with a thin metal (plastic) frame start at 7.00 - 8.00 €
• The next ones are mechanical caulking guns, in which the cartridge is placed in a half shell, with / without rack from around 15, 00 €
• For mechanical caulking guns with tube, the cartridges are inserted in front and secured by a screw cap, from 30, 00 €
• For high-quality tube-cartridge presses, the pressure stamp can be rebuilt, so cartridges and foil bags can be processed, they usually cost around 40, 00 €
• Battery-powered electronic cartridge presses, which are to save tiring pumping movement by hand through infinitely adjustable feed rate, are available from 50, 00 €
  • They are also offered with automatic drip-stop function, special cartridge lock for easier changing, LED light and level indicator
• Cordless caulking guns promise long fatigue-free working, but can also cost around € 300.00
• Compressed air presses work with elastic pistons on the inside of a pipe, they should be clean, fast, material-saving and easy to handle. They are offered from about € 180.00 and can be operated with 310 ml cartridges, 400 ml cartridges and tubular bags

Incidentally, with the use of cartridge presses, you can not only apply silicone as part of your renovation, but you can also use acrylic cartridges (for joints in non-humidity-laden living areas), infectious mortar and Ultra Assembly Adhesive (for all materials & interior and exterior surfaces). There are even cartridges with rubber glue (for rubber mat flooring) and other eco-adhesives and sealants, basically it sounds like you can put your whole house together with the cartridge press in your hand.