wet finger to smooth out silicone?

Question

I have seen some tile guys wet their finger with saliva to smooth out a bead of silicone in a corner of a shower stall. does this minor wetness have any adverse affects on the surface layer of the silicone or its ability to cure properly?

I suspect that the saliva helps avoid having too much caulk stick to the skin of your finger. — DaveM, Nov 01 '22 at 21:24

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 31 '22 at 22:43

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It will not affect the curing of the silicone, but using a fine mist of denatured alcohol and smoothing out the caulk before the alcohol evaporates leaves a cleaner surface by removing all the residue from smoothing it out.

answered Oct 31 '22 at 22:43

JACK

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score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 31 '22 at 22:46

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It does not. However, if using 100% silicone it forms a skin (drying) very quickly and you will begin to "pull" the product vs smooth out. Consider using rubbing alcohol in this case.

answered Oct 31 '22 at 22:46

John Steger

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 31 '22 at 22:28

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Yes it will cure properly.

Silicone is not water (or saliva) absorbent.

So it is only on the surface of the silicone.

answered Oct 31 '22 at 22:28

Traveler

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actually, vinegar and spit mix pretty well... – dandavis Nov 01 '22 at 15:51
I'm a bit lost, @dandavis, what does vinegar have to do with it? – FreeMan Nov 01 '22 at 16:11
@FreeMan it's the solvent used on silicon caulk; acetic acid, – dandavis Nov 01 '22 at 16:33

wet finger to smooth out silicone?

3 Answers3