Seventh777
RIP Roy
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2010
After watching those renovating programmes and their *experts* I am appalled at some of the tips the so called experts give, one in particular was mastic sealing new/old bathroom suites and tiling, after biting my tongue whilst watching the overpaid and obviously under-trained tradesmen wrongly put masking tape above and below where the mastic joint was to be applied, and then smoothing it with his finger, I turned the T.V. off and decided to create this thread (which I will be adding to every Friday), in the hopes of undoing all the entirely wrong crap advice they spew out.
Okay, back to this weeks top tips, and hopefully turn a nightmarish task into one that you will finally enjoy, and the final job looking like it was done by experts, for this job you will need..
1). A mastic gun, purchase this from a decorating suppliers merchant rather than a cheap and nasty version from your local D.I.Y. store, any aspect of decorating should be addressed thus - If you want it to look professional then use professional tools and materials (I will cover this more intricately in the future when I give painting tips), just to add, there is very little in the price difference`s between a poor and solidly constructed mastic gun, the latter ofc will last a whole lot longer and give a far smoother fluid dispersion.
2). Silicone sealant, this will also be available at a decorating suppliers merchant.
3). Any empty spray dispensing bottle (Mr Muscle type etc).
4). A chopstick type small piece of wood, with the ends chamfered to a roughly 45 degree angle, as these are tapered they give two different sizes (depending how wide your mastic joint will be), if you are applying mastic to several joints and some are larger or vice versa then shapen other stick-like pieces of wood to suit.
5). A bucket.
6). Washing up liquid.
7). A sharp blade (crafting knife, box cutter, Stanley knife).
8). A decoraters sponge.
Okay, firstly cut the nozzle on the tube of sealant to roughly 45 degrees again (do not cut to far down the nozzle as this will lead to way to much mastic coming out), make sure the surfaces where you are applying are dust free and bone dry, if you have never used a mastic gun before go outside somewhere and practise on something that is none significant and has a right angle, once you have perfected how/when to stop/start squeezing the trigger and creating a neat and tidy line, go back into your bathroom/kitchen/wet-room (utility room).
Fill the bucket/spray bottle with clean cold water and add a squeeze of washing up liquid, put the sponge and all the shaped sticks into the bucket of cold water and let them soak. Apply the mastic to every single joint that needs masticating and leave for roughly 10 minutes, spray water, using your bottle, liberally all over the mastic you have just applied making sure the areas above and under the mastic are well covered, take out one of your shaped sticks and gently run the angled edge over the mastic thus creating a smooth and tidy straight joint, any excess mastic will ooze onto the damp surfaces and this will prevent it from sticking and make clearing up the excess mastic nice and easy, clean this off with your firmly squeezed sponge, if you are going to be using the mastic again at a later date then place a tight fighting screw into the nozzle keeping it air free.
There, hope this has helped those D.I.Y. fanatics out there to accomplish a very professional looking job, with relative ease and cost affective.
Tune in next week for a very user friendly, detailed, instructional how to, on that absolutely nightmarish task of Gyproc Coving.
Bye for now....
Roy.
Okay, back to this weeks top tips, and hopefully turn a nightmarish task into one that you will finally enjoy, and the final job looking like it was done by experts, for this job you will need..
1). A mastic gun, purchase this from a decorating suppliers merchant rather than a cheap and nasty version from your local D.I.Y. store, any aspect of decorating should be addressed thus - If you want it to look professional then use professional tools and materials (I will cover this more intricately in the future when I give painting tips), just to add, there is very little in the price difference`s between a poor and solidly constructed mastic gun, the latter ofc will last a whole lot longer and give a far smoother fluid dispersion.
2). Silicone sealant, this will also be available at a decorating suppliers merchant.
3). Any empty spray dispensing bottle (Mr Muscle type etc).
4). A chopstick type small piece of wood, with the ends chamfered to a roughly 45 degree angle, as these are tapered they give two different sizes (depending how wide your mastic joint will be), if you are applying mastic to several joints and some are larger or vice versa then shapen other stick-like pieces of wood to suit.
5). A bucket.
6). Washing up liquid.
7). A sharp blade (crafting knife, box cutter, Stanley knife).
8). A decoraters sponge.
Okay, firstly cut the nozzle on the tube of sealant to roughly 45 degrees again (do not cut to far down the nozzle as this will lead to way to much mastic coming out), make sure the surfaces where you are applying are dust free and bone dry, if you have never used a mastic gun before go outside somewhere and practise on something that is none significant and has a right angle, once you have perfected how/when to stop/start squeezing the trigger and creating a neat and tidy line, go back into your bathroom/kitchen/wet-room (utility room).
Fill the bucket/spray bottle with clean cold water and add a squeeze of washing up liquid, put the sponge and all the shaped sticks into the bucket of cold water and let them soak. Apply the mastic to every single joint that needs masticating and leave for roughly 10 minutes, spray water, using your bottle, liberally all over the mastic you have just applied making sure the areas above and under the mastic are well covered, take out one of your shaped sticks and gently run the angled edge over the mastic thus creating a smooth and tidy straight joint, any excess mastic will ooze onto the damp surfaces and this will prevent it from sticking and make clearing up the excess mastic nice and easy, clean this off with your firmly squeezed sponge, if you are going to be using the mastic again at a later date then place a tight fighting screw into the nozzle keeping it air free.
There, hope this has helped those D.I.Y. fanatics out there to accomplish a very professional looking job, with relative ease and cost affective.
Tune in next week for a very user friendly, detailed, instructional how to, on that absolutely nightmarish task of Gyproc Coving.
Bye for now....
Roy.
Last edited:
.
.
