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How to apply Pattex silicone

Updated: 23 October 2026

The cartridge is already on the bath rim, and the plan is to smooth it and shower before supper. How to apply Pattex silicone depends on whether you are laying a new bead or coating a bead that is still stuck, and on which sheet belongs to that pack. A skin in the first half hour is not a cure through the joint. This page is the sequence and the wait. Prices and the comparison rows are on the [Pattex silicone comparison](/hub/fillers-adhesives-and-sprays/pattex-silicone). We followed maker sheets, not a stopwatch of our own. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

The cartridge is already on the bath rim, and the plan is to smooth it and shower before supper.

Our top picks

Pattex Pattex neutral anti-mould sealant, 300 ml, white

Best overall

Pattex Pattex neutral anti-mould sealant, 300 ml, white
9.2/10about £14.07
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Pattex Pattex Re-New sanitary cartridge, white, 280 ml

Rank 2

Pattex Pattex Re-New sanitary cartridge, white, 280 ml
8.0/10about £14.28
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Sista Sista Neue Fuge joint sealant, white, 80 ml

Rank 3

Sista Sista Neue Fuge joint sealant, white, 80 ml
7.4/10about £16.87
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.A new bead
  2. 2.A coat on a sound bead
  3. 3.Skin time is not a cure
  4. 4.Pack-specific stops

A new bead

A new sanitary bead starts clean, dry and free of old silicone. Cut the nozzle slightly narrower than the gap, pierce the inner seal, and seat a cartridge in a gun. The 300 ml listing does not include a gun. The 50 ml tube, model 2721071, is squeezed. Push the bead into the corner in one pass and tool it before the skin. Acetoxy sheets put skin at about 15 minutes and full cure at about 2 mm a day. A mild detergent solution is for that paste, not for Neue Fuge. Peel the tape while the edge is soft. A missing or pre-cut nozzle is a reason to stop. Cap the 50 ml tube at once.

A coat on a sound bead

A coat is only for a bead that is still attached. Neue Fuge's November 2021 sheet wants the old joint about 3 to 7 mm wide, at least 1 mm of new material, and the bottle held at about 80 degrees. On a vertical joint, start at the bottom and tool with water, not washing-up liquid. Skin is about an hour. Keep the joint dry for at least six hours. The sheet prints about 5 m at 1 mm, and one reviewer did not cover 3 m of kitchen. Re-New sheet NRPTX50050 puts skin at about 20 minutes and at least six hours before water. It names showers and then excludes showers, wet rooms and permanent damp. The 280 ml cartridge wants a gun and prints about 20 m, which is not the sheet's 5 m bottle line. If the bead is loose, cut it out.
Pattex Pattex neutral anti-mould sealant, 300 ml, white

Testsieger

Pattex Pattex neutral anti-mould sealant, 300 ml, white
9.2/10about £14.07
View offer

Skin time is not a cure

A skin means the surface has stopped taking a fingerprint. It does not mean water can come back. Acetoxy sheets put that skin at about 15 to 30 minutes and the depth of cure at about 2 mm a day, so a 6 mm bead is still curing on the second day. Neue Fuge skins in about an hour and wants at least six dry hours. Re-New is about 2 mm in 24 hours, with the same six-hour wait. None of those clocks is one dry-in-24-hours for every pack. Leave the shower off until the depth you laid has had that time. Do not borrow a sanitary skin time for an SL 620 window cartridge. Food contact, aquariums and pools sit outside these sheets.

Pack-specific stops

Three faults stop the job before they say anything about the brand. On the 300 ml cartridge, a missing or pre-cut nozzle, or one tube when you paid for a 3x reading, means you do not gun it. On the 50 ml tube, air left inside sets the rest solid. On Neue Fuge, washing-up liquid, a clogged nozzle and a smoother that smears the joint are the repeats. Wipe the tool with water and do not go back over a coat that has already skinned. AC411, for wood, can be painted after about 4 to 6 hours. Painting it in the first hour traps soft acrylic. If water is through the ceiling, the tray has dropped, or the tiles sound hollow, call a professional. The same is true of tanking, a pool or a flue.

Common questions

How do you tool a new sanitary bead?
Lay one continuous bead into a clean, dry joint, then tool it at once, before the skin. For the acetoxy pressure-pack method, a mild detergent solution is the tooling liquid. Peel any tape while the edge is soft. Cap the 50 ml tube so air does not set the rest. A pre-cut nozzle on the 300 ml cartridge is a reason to stop.
How long before the bead can get wet?
Coatings in these sheets want at least six hours dry. A new acetoxy bead skins in about 15 to 30 minutes and then cures about 2 mm a day, so a deep joint is not ready the next morning because the surface looks dull. If it still dents under the skin, leave the shower off.
How do you lay Neue Fuge on an old joint?
The old joint should still be in place, about 3 to 7 mm wide, with at least 1 mm of new material over it. Hold the bottle at about 80 degrees and, on a vertical joint, start at the bottom. Tool with water, then keep it dry for at least six hours. It is not a fill for an empty gap.
Why not use washing-up liquid on Neue Fuge?
The Neue Fuge sheet says water and rules out washing-up liquid. A mild detergent solution belongs on a different Pattex acetoxy sheet for a new bead. Using that liquid on this coat is the swap that leaves a smear.
How long does Re-New need before water?
Sheet NRPTX50050 says at least six hours before water, with skin at about 20 minutes and about 2 mm in 24 hours for a 2 mm film. That wait does not cancel the line that excludes showers, wet rooms and permanent damp. The cartridge's 20 m yield is not the sheet's 5 m bottle line.

Related pages

Pattex silicone buying guide

Pattex silicone in the bathroom

Pattex Re-New versus a new bead

Pattex silicone

Best Pattex silicone for the joint you are sealing

Sources

Manufacturer sheets and a GOV.UK damp page used for this comparison. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts were taken from the listing files on 19 October 2026. Many written reviews are from Italy, Spain, Germany or France.

  1. Pattex Sanitary & Building Silicone, 9 April 2020 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. Pattex Sanitary Silicone, 27 November 2025 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. Pattex sanitary antimould pressure pack (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. Pattex Re-New, NRPTX50050 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. Sista Neue Fuge, 4 November 2021 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. Pattex SL 620 Fusion, June 2018 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. Pattex AC411 technical sheet (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  8. GOV.UK damp and mould in the home (retrieved 20 October 2026)