Wrong silicone used?

D

diy_fun_uk

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I'm putting up pvc panels over tiles in a bathroom. All walls prepped the same way. Two walls I used this:

Silirub 2 | Soudal

www.soudal.co.uk www.soudal.co.uk

Absolutely no issues. Third wall I used this:


Put the panels up Sunday. Nothing different in terms of my installation process. Checked today, thought all was okay however long story short, the panels haven't completely stuck. It's like the silicone hasn't fully cured. The panels will need to come off and be redone :(

Is the No Nonsense stuff okay to use in this application? Regardless, I'll go back to using the Silirub just to be safe!
 
The no nonsense stuff is solvent free so dries rather than cures. If you’re fixing two non porous surfaces together, it’ll take a very long time to dry.
 
same here [3 tubes]lol
prop up at the base to stop it sliding down the wall and give 4 days check every day for surface contact and dont load up for at least a week
 
Lower said:
The no nonsense stuff is solvent free so dries rather than cures. If you’re fixing two non porous surfaces together, it’ll take a very long time to dry.
Click to expand...
If you used one that wasn't solvent free, how would it cure when not exposed to the air between two surfaces, but not cure when not exposed to the air inside its tube?
 
Lower said:
The no nonsense stuff is solvent free so dries rather than cures. If you’re fixing two non porous surfaces together, it’ll take a very long time to dry.
Click to expand...
Cheers but I thought the Silirub stuff is also solvent free?
 
big-all said:
same here [3 tubes]lol
prop up at the base to stop it sliding down the wall and give 4 days check every day for surface contact and dont load up for at least a week
Click to expand...
Cheers but I'll need to redo that section. I've no easy/reasonable way to prop anything against that section to hold the panels firm against the wall.
 
no need it will stay against the wall ok hence the push to check it hasnt pulled off at all each day [mines didnt]hence the surface contact comment
if its on the ground thats ok do nothing mines was tight under a cill with a 12-25mm gap to ground [a shed wall] so wood wedges to hold up till no chance off sliding 4 days in my case
 
JohnD said:
If you used one that wasn't solvent free, how would it cure when not exposed to the air between two surfaces, but not cure when not exposed to the air inside its tube?
Click to expand...
Solvent based silicones have a different curing mechanism and the solvent can evaporate much more easily.
 
Thanks again all. Even if it slowly cures it'll still need to come off as it's come away slightly from one or two areas and I'm not happy with that. The boards adhered with the Silirub have stuck fast (and more quickly) so I'm assuming it's either a better product or its component makeup is different in whatever way.

I'm p1ssed off as the only reason I bought a different silicone is cause the Silirub wasn't available locally.
 
Lower said:
The no nonsense stuff is solvent free so dries rather than cures. If you’re fixing two non porous surfaces together, it’ll take a very long time to dry.
Click to expand...
Sorry to contradict, you may be thinking of solvent based grab adhesives such as gripfill.
The no-nonsense silicone is 'neutral cure'; rather than releasing acetic acid when it cures, it releases small amounts of alcohol - ethanol and methanol from the datasheet (both of which are solvents).
This makes it far better for use on delicate surfaces, that would be damaged by an acid.
But as you say, neutral cure silicone will take far longer to cure - posibly taking days, rather than skinning over in minutes.
 
RandomGrinch said:
Sorry to contradict, you may be thinking of solvent based grab adhesives such as gripfill.
The no-nonsense silicone is 'neutral cure'; rather than releasing acetic acid when it cures, it releases small amounts of alcohol - ethanol and methanol from the datasheet (both of which are solvents).
This makes it far better for use on delicate surfaces, that would be damaged by an acid.
But as you say, neutral cure silicone will take far longer to cure - posibly taking days, rather than skinning over in minutes.
Click to expand...
Could it be that the Silirub is a better product? I'll tell you why I ask. The tiled surface I'm applying the panels to isn't perfect. It's by no means terrible, however neither is it completely flat. So in situations where the panel maybe goes inwards slightly e.g. due to a recessed area of tiles, the Silirub has held and maintained that (very slight) dip in the panel.

Whereas what's evidently happened with the No Nonsense in a similar scenario (slightly dipped section of wall) is it has held initially (cause I checked it all 20-30 mins after application), but then the panel has pulled away thereafter (wanting to return to its flat state) thus causing the voids I can now feel. So the 'consistent grab' of the No Nonsense at the time of application doesn't appear to have been as strong.

As I say don't get me wrong, the walls are by no means bad, however the Silirub seems to have performed better at holding the panels in whatever shape they had to adopt when pressed against the walls.
 
diy_fun_uk said:
Could it be that the Silirub is a better product?
Click to expand...
It may, or may not be a better product, but it is definitely a more suitable product, for your needs.
I've just looked at the datasheet for the soudal, and that is also a neutral cure silicone.
As with all these type of product, there may be other factors at play, such as product shelf life etc.
 
RandomGrinch said:
It may, or may not be a better product, but it is definitely a more suitable product, for your needs.
I've just looked at the datasheet for the soudal, and that is also a neutral cure silicone.
As with all these type of product, there may be other factors at play, such as product shelf life etc.
Click to expand...
Yeah tbh you learn something new every day. When ordering the panels I noticed they recommended LMN silicone and it happened to be the Soudal product they offered so I ordered that from them at the same time.

I ran out and thought another LMN alternative product would do the job, which the No Nonsense maybe has, but not as well.
 
RandomGrinch said:
Sorry to contradict, you may be thinking of solvent based grab adhesives such as gripfill.
The no-nonsense silicone is 'neutral cure'; rather than releasing acetic acid when it cures, it releases small amounts of alcohol - ethanol and methanol from the datasheet (both of which are solvents).
This makes it far better for use on delicate surfaces, that would be damaged by an acid.
But as you say, neutral cure silicone will take far longer to cure - posibly taking days, rather than skinning over in minutes.
Click to expand...
I stand corrected (y)
 
For those interested, that's the panels off, not saveable alas. Quite interesting though, when looking at the squashed lines of silicone, the outer edges had cured but the central vein hadn't. Given these were installed Sunday, it was certainly taking its time to cure and slower than the Silirub for sure.
 
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