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How to apply silicone sealant so the bead stays put

Updated: 2026-10-23

You are resealing a bath, a shower, a basin or a short gap, and the last bead failed where it met old silicone or a damp rim. How to apply silicone sealant is mostly the hour before you pull the trigger: a bare, dry joint, one continuous bead, and one tooling pass before the skin forms. A surface that feels dry is not a cured joint. Water on that skin is how a neat line leaks a week later. The [Silicone clear comparison](/hub/fillers-adhesives-and-sprays/silicone-clear) is the table. Mould in service, and fish tanks, are separate jobs. The editorial team did not lab-test a joint. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are resealing a bath, a shower, a basin or a short gap, and the last bead failed where it met old silicone or a damp rim.

Our top picks

Everbuild Everbuild general purpose silicone, clear

Best overall

Everbuild Everbuild general purpose silicone, clear
9.2/10about £6.00
View offer
EVO-STIK EVO-STIK Stay Clear sanitary silicone, 290 ml

Rank 2

EVO-STIK EVO-STIK Stay Clear sanitary silicone, 290 ml
9.2/10about £7.91
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EVO-STIK EVO-STIK 1 Hour shower sealant, clear

Rank 3

EVO-STIK EVO-STIK 1 Hour shower sealant, clear
9.0/10about £6.49
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Remove the old silicone before you apply a new bead
  2. 2.How to apply silicone sealant in one pass
  3. 3.Skin time is not cure time
  4. 4.When the joint is not a DIY bead

Remove the old silicone before you apply a new bead

New silicone does not bond to old silicone. Cut both edges, lift the old bead, then clear the film. UK how-to pages suggest a silicone remover, white spirit or methylated spirit. Stay Clear’s page says cured sealant has no suitable solvent, so you cut it away, and wash skin with soap and water rather than solvent. The rim has to be bare and dry. If the tile scratches as you scrape, stop. Pull any masking tape before the skin forms. The 151 tube and the ADVANCEDSIL 120 ml do not need a gun. A cartridge does.

How to apply silicone sealant in one pass

Cut the nozzle at about 45 degrees, only as wide as the gap, and pierce the inner seal. Push a little sealant ahead of the nozzle and pull the gun in one movement. Tool once. Everbuild general purpose skins in about 15 minutes at 20°C. Stay Clear wants tooling within about 20 minutes. HA6 wants tooling at about 5 to 10 minutes. A second pass after the skin starts smears the line. Pull any tape while the bead is still soft. Everbuild, Stay Clear and Soudal Trade Multi-Purpose are not overpaintable. The vinegar smell is the acetoxy cure, so ventilate. Toolstation says fill the bath and leave the water in for about 24 hours. Checkatrade says fill, seal, then drain. These sheets do not pick a winner. If an acrylic bath moves when you step in, seal it in the position it usually sits.
Everbuild Everbuild general purpose silicone, clear

Testsieger

Everbuild Everbuild general purpose silicone, clear
9.2/10about £6.00
View offer

Skin time is not cure time

A skin forms in minutes. Cure is by depth. Everbuild general purpose cures about 2 mm in 24 hours, Stay Clear about 3 mm, and HA6 about 3 mm a day. Screwfix uses 24 hours as a practical minimum before a shower. That suits a shallow bead, not a thick one, and it is not a reason to fill a fish tank. The only one-hour claim is EVO-STIK 1 Hour. Keep a deep joint out of standing water. Stay Clear’s sheet also says not to submerge the bead. Everbuild’s window is about +5°C to +40°C. HA6 is about +5°C to +30°C.

When the joint is not a DIY bead

Stop if the floor or the board behind the tray is already soft or rotten. A new bead on the front edge will not dry that void. Stop on the edge seal of a double-glazed unit or a uPVC perimeter. Everbuild general purpose forbids both. Stop if the tile chips as soon as the knife touches it. A cracked aquarium pane, or a tank outside the maker’s guidance, is not this how-to. The bathroom page is where mould on a finished bead belongs. A tank needs the aquarium silicone specified for glass, with its own cure and rinse.

Common questions

Can you put new silicone over old silicone?
No. The new bead does not bond to the old one, and water tracks along the join. Cut the old bead out at both edges, remove the residue, and let the rim dry before you gun. A clear line over a black one looks finished for a week and then opens at the boundary.
Should you fill the bath before you seal it?
UK guides disagree, and the sheets for these cartridges do not settle it. One trade guide says fill the bath and leave the water in so you seal the loaded shape. Another says seal and then drain so the bath can rise. Seal an acrylic bath in the position it normally sits, and do not treat either guide as printed on your cartridge.
When do you tool the bead, and when is it too late?
Tool once, before the skin. HA6 is about 5 to 10 minutes, Everbuild general purpose about 15 minutes at 20°C, and Stay Clear within about 20 minutes. After the skin has started, a second pass tears the surface. Pull any masking tape in that same window, while the bead is still soft.
How long before you can shower?
For a shallow bead, 24 hours is the practical minimum used in UK shower guides, not proof that a deep joint has cured through. Everbuild general purpose cures about 2 mm in 24 hours, and Stay Clear about 3 mm. Only the EVO-STIK 1 Hour listing claims you can use the shower after one hour. A dry surface is the skin, not the cure.
Can you paint clear silicone?
Not on the sheets for Everbuild general purpose, EVO-STIK Stay Clear or Soudal Trade Multi-Purpose. Those products are not overpaintable. Paint will not correct a smeared bead, and it is the wrong way to hide mould. Tool the bead neatly while it is wet instead.
When should you stop and call a professional?
Call someone if the floor behind the tray is already rotten, if scraping is scratching the tile, or if the joint is a double-glazed edge or a uPVC perimeter. A large or cracked tank is also a stop. Those are structural or glass problems, not a tidier nozzle angle.

Related pages

Clear silicone buying guide

Best clear silicone sealant

Silicone clear

Aquarium silicone sealant for glass, not bathrooms

Clear bathroom silicone for showers, baths and basins

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts were taken from the listings on 19 October 2026.

  1. Everbuild General Purpose Silicone product data sheet (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. UKCA declaration BS EN 15651-1, Everbuild general purpose silicone (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Bond It HA6 technical data sheet (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Bond It HA6 aquarium guidance (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. EVO-STIK Stay Clear sanitary silicone technical data sheet (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. EVO-STIK Stay Clear product page (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Soudal Trade Multi-Purpose Silicone technical data sheet (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Approved Document F, ventilation (retrieved 19 October 2026)