# ReSilicone



## Freakish13 (Oct 2, 2012)

Hey everyone, I have just got a couple of second hand enclosures and neither have been siliconed...So my question is how long does everyone wait till you put your reptile back in?


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## leeroy1983 (Oct 2, 2012)

I run the heat lamp to desired temp and give it the sniff test, if I can still smell it then I leave it longer


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## eipper (Oct 3, 2012)

Neutral cure about 24 hours acetic cure about 48


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## Bigchewy (Oct 3, 2012)

Neutral cure is the best to use for sealing 
Acetic cure just rubbish peel off too easy


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## eipper (Oct 3, 2012)

Acetic cure is fine if installed correctly. I am yet to have it peel.


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## butters (Oct 3, 2012)

Agree with Scott. I use acetic cure all the time and if used correctly will not peel.


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## Pythoninfinite (Oct 3, 2012)

Neutral cure has the best adhesion to melamine - it's the recommended silicone for sealing melamine benchtops and any melamine surfaces.

Jamie


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## Bigchewy (Oct 3, 2012)

When u rub it its will peel off and it's messy eats the paint away I work on caravans for living they known to eat paint and peel and cost a leg to sand the paint off with silicon and repaint :? I find neutral cure easy to use and can hold very high heat also easy to service it like clean off the old silicon off with plastic scraper with out getting the paint off well depend if u like extra work :lol:


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## eipper (Oct 3, 2012)

Bigchewy,

I am a plumber/gasfitter by trade and use both types more than I care to remember. Using silicone is a lot harder than it appears to get the adhesion and neatness. In addition there are many types with different uses. For sealing melamine cages I would use sikaflex. Mind you I have cages sealed with acetic cure with monitors in them that are over ten years old now as well. Each to their own I suppose

cheers
scott


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## Cypher69 (Oct 3, 2012)

What's acetic cure?


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## Bigchewy (Oct 3, 2012)

Hi scott 

Yeah sikaflex are great joining and but messy stuff to work with I use turps in spray bottle to cleanup to make it neat and to clean it off u can use dishwashing liquid with water in spray bottle to clean but not as perfect as turps any silicon is great joining some silicon eat paint some don't if u put acetic cure silicon on paint with any object will rip it because there no stretch but neutral cure don't rip it stretch like sikaflex its great for tiles if u want to put heatmat like heat element mat from herp shop under the tiles put silicon between them when it stuffed easy cut with long blade Stanley knife to get it off
when it using not sikaflex put in fridge last longer these stuff not cheap 
just common sense what u use it for 

cheers ralph


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## Freakish13 (Oct 3, 2012)

Thanks everyone...


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## damian83 (Oct 3, 2012)

eipper said:


> Bigchewy,
> 
> I am a plumber/gasfitter by trade and use both types more than I care to remember. Using silicone is a lot harder than it appears to get the adhesion and neatness. In addition there are many types with different uses. For sealing melamine cages I would use sikaflex. Mind you I have cages sealed with acetic cure with monitors in them that are over ten years old now as well. Each to their own I suppose
> 
> ...


sika makes about 8-10 different types of urothanes mainly for metal to glass bonding ( that i use daily for windscreens )but there is some they make for perspex, plastic, melamine, etc go to bunnings to look at the right chart or go online to check it out to get the right one

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Bigchewy said:


> Hi scott
> 
> Yeah sikaflex are great joining and but messy stuff to work with I use turps in spray bottle to cleanup to make it neat and to clean it off u can use dishwashing liquid with water in spray bottle to clean but not as perfect as turps any silicon is great joining some silicon eat paint some don't if u put acetic cure silicon on paint with any object will rip it because there no stretch but neutral cure don't rip it stretch like sikaflex its great for tiles if u want to put heatmat like heat element mat from herp shop under the tiles put silicon between them when it stuffed easy cut with long blade Stanley knife to get it off
> when it using not sikaflex put in fridge last longer these stuff not cheap
> ...



hey ralph you right its messy as hell, but if you tape the area you can peel it off after you clean it up and its a very neat finish


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## jbest (Oct 3, 2012)

i just used some sikaflex for my corners and i dont know if its because i lightly sprayed the area and my hands so it didnt stick to me but it will not dry completely. its just stayed sticky n its been 4 days. do you think im better off cleaning it back with turps n starting again less the water.


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## damian83 (Oct 3, 2012)

The water would have made the sika repellent from the surface spray it, scuff the area and wipe dry tape the area you don't want mess, put it on and seek the tape off after finishing the edges


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## jbest (Oct 3, 2012)

damian83 said:


> The water would have made the sika repellent from the surface spray it, scuff the area and wipe dry tape the area you don't want mess, put it on and seek the tape off after finishing the edges




thanks heaps ill try that this weekend


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## damian83 (Oct 3, 2012)

It sticks better to porous or scuffed surfaces, some need an activator to set the glue off just read up on the sika you have...


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