First attempt at reseal of a 125 do not use too much silicone

ChrisM101

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 5, 2014
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Paris, AR,United States
I cleaned out and got it taped with painters tape. The easiest mistake it seems is to be too generous with the silicone.
Its gonna be a total redo.
I used slightly less than 2 tubes and probably had 3/4 of a tube too much.
the corners going up look hideous and were basically skinned before i laid down all the silicone.
along the bottom it was thick enough that when peeling the tape out... immediately it was tacky and stringy and pulled strings out or rolled the edges back up.
Im gonna cut it out and try again. I no success with thin thin bead then i give up .

probably going to attempt to do one half of the tank at a time or have some one seal simultaneously and meet in the middle.
 

coflowerhornguy

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 9, 2014
37
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0
denver co
Did u take the tank apart or just running a new beed on the inside of the tank my 125 isn't leaking yet but the silicone looks hideous so I have been tossing the idea of redoing the who thing could u send pics if it works for u

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ChrisM101

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 5, 2014
245
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31
Paris, AR,United States
i did not pull the glass apart, i carefully cut the old out with out going into the silicone that goes between the panes. it didnt leak but like yours looked like crap to me and had bits and pieces out of it.
Im gonna let this set over night and then cut the silicone out again and attempt again. but much thinner. If it works ill let ya know.
 

Cookie*

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 26, 2010
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Northern NJ
mocoloco.com
Take a old credit card or any piece of harder plastic that has a 90 degree angled corner. Next cut that corner off with a scissor, cutting off what you want your finished bead to look like. Apply your silicone and then run the credit card with the snipped corner up the bead, removing any excess onto the card. I hope I explained this right in that it makes sense and you understand.
 

xraycer

Arapaima
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2013
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Last summer I resealed my 180 with GE I and I too found out that it skinned over pretty quickly. So, on my second attempt, I applied the silicone as quick as I could, then wearing disposable latex type gloves and using these gloved fingers, quickly smooth out the silicone. It took me, literally, less than 3 minutes to applied and smooth out the silicone to the entire 180
 

ChrisM101

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 5, 2014
245
42
31
Paris, AR,United States
I had used this tool

041072058506lg.jpg
But the sheer amount of extra silicone i had balling up on it (golf ball size), rendered it mostly useless fairly quickly. Once the Rubber edges gummed up it was done.
I think i really was expecting to need alot of silicone to do it, but that really is not the case at all. ive cut half of it back out, probably do the other half tonight if i can get around to it. I need to run and buy some razor blades.

Also Get an old towel or shop towel, as paper towels are not really good for removing the silicone from your tools or gloves quickly enough.

041072058506lg.jpg
 

xraycer

Arapaima
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2013
5,383
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Southern NH USA
Sounds like you definitely applied way too much silicone out of the tube. What I did with the disposable latex glove was, as the silicone build up, while I was flattening the silicone, I would just switch to a different finger. When all the fingers are used, I get rid of the glove and put a new one on and continue the process. I would do 2 runs actually: the first would be to actually remove the majority of the excess silicone; the 2nd would be for the final clean, smooth bead. Like I said, this entire process took only about 3mins.

Oh....and I didn't apply the silicone (out of the tube) to the entire lenght, but rather end it about 3 inches from where I intended to stop the beading process.
 

Cookie*

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 26, 2010
1,557
4
38
Northern NJ
mocoloco.com
It does take a lot less silicone than one would think, true. A light 1/4" thick bead goes a long way once pressed out. Wet whatever tools you use before spreading the bead as well. It helps the silicone come off the tool easier and doesn't mess with the curing process either. As a woodworker/carpenter, at work I typically spread a silicone/caulk bead by just using my finger after having dipped it into my mouth (I know, kinda gross). After spreading the bead, I wipe any excess silicone/caulk off onto a rag and my finger is perfectly clean of silicone (but not the dirt lol).

xraycer is right, a finger usually works best, if you're good with your hands. Do a practice bead first on anything with a 90 degree inside corner. Trust me on the wetting part, too, you'll see it just cleans up better.
 
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