Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02568946 2006-11-27
1
TITLE OF THE INVENTION=
Method of Applying Silicone Caullcing Compound
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to method of applying a silicone caulking
compound
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The very properties which make silicone caulking compounds effective for
caulking,
make them difficult to apply with an attractive desired result. As silicone
caulking
compounds are tacky, they tend to stick to a surface. This property helps make
an effective
moisture seal. However, this same property tends to result in the silicone
caullcing compound
being smeared over the seam or the sealing surface leaving a cosmetically
unattractive finish.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
What is required is a simpler method of applying silicone caulking compound to
obtain a cosmetically attractive finish.
According to the present invention there is provided a method of applying a
silicone
caulking compound. A first step involves applying a bead of silicone caulking
compound to a
surface. A second step involves spraying a surfactant solution on the bead of
silicone
caulking compound. A third step involves wiping excess silicone caulking
compound from
the surface. The surfactant applied to the surface "lubricates" the surface to
prevent adhesion
of the silicone caulking compound to the undesired surface areas when excess
material is
wiped away, thereby preventing smearing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the
following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the
drawings are
for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit
the scope of the
invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a method applying silicone caulking compound
to
CA 02568946 2006-11-27
2
a surface according to the teachings of the preferred method.
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the method illustrated in FIGURE 1, wherein
a
surfactant is sprayed on silicone caulking compound.
FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the method illustrated in FIGURE 1, wherein
excess silicone caulking compound is wiped from a surface.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The preferred method will now be described with reference to FIGURES 1 through
3.
Referring to FIGURE 1, there is illustrated a method of applying a silicone
caulking
compound 10 which includes applying a bead of silicone caulking compound 12 to
a surface
14. Surface 14 to which silicone caulking compound 12 is to be applied should
be smooth,
dry, and free of all debris, including any previous caulking prior before the
application of
silicone caulking compound 12. In the illustrated method 10, a caulking tube
16 with an
application tip 18 is used for applying bead of silicone caulking compound 12,
however it will
be appreciated that a caulking gun could also be used.
Referring to FIGURE 2, a surfactant 20 is sprayed on bead of silicone caulking
compound 12 before bead of silicone caulking compound 12 begins to set.
Referring to
FIGURE 3, after silicone caulking compound 12 has been sprayed with surfactant
20, excess
2 0 silicone caulking compound 12 is wiped from surface 14. In illustrated
method, a cloth 22 is
used to wipe excess silicone caulking compound 12, however it will be
appreciated that one
could use a finger or other means could be used. It will also be appreciated
that if silicone
caulking compound is to be applied to a seam between two or more surfaces 14,
then bead of
silicone caulking compound 12 must come into contact with all of surfaces 14.
No further
silicone caulking compound 12 may be added after the spraying of surfactant
20. Silicone
caulking compound 12 is then allowed to set for a period of 4 to 10 hours.
Use
The use of the method of applying a silicone caulking will now be described
with
reference to FIGURES 1 through 3. Referring to FIGURE 2, with the method
described
above, surfactant 20 that is applied to surface 14 "lubricates" surface 14 to
prevent adhesion
of silicone caulking compound 12 to surface 14. Referring to FIGURE 3, excess
silicone
CA 02568946 2006-11-27
3
caulking compound 12 may then be wiped away. Spreading out or smearing is
prevented as
silicone caulking compound 12 cannot adhere to surface 14 after it has been
sprayed with
surfactant 20. It will be appreciated that a finger or other wiping device
could also be used to
wipe excess silicone caulking compound 12. The excess silicone that is removed
is not sticky
or tacky and can be readily transferred, without mess, to a rag or paper towel
for disposal.
Test Results
Surfactants are present in soaps and detergents. Often the word detergent is
used
interchangeably with surfactant. Surfactants are classified depending upon
their charge.
Anionic surfactants carry a negative charge. Cationic surfactants carry a
positive charge.
Nonionic surfactants are neutral, without either a positive or negative
charge. In original
formulations cationic surfactants were used with beneficial results. It was
speculated that
the positive charge of the cationic surfactants made them better suited for
this particular
application. The objective of this study was to evaluate anionic, cationic and
nonionic
surfactants at different concentrations for their beneficial effect in this
application.
Silicone Caulking Material
The silicone caulking material used in this study was a standard white
interior grade
intended for bathroom applications. The product was manufactured by General
Electric
Co. and was used as received.
Ceramic Tile
The performance of the various surfactants as an aid in the application of
silicon caulking
was evaluated on three prepared surfaces. The surfaces were prepared by
mounting a
single row of ceramic tiles (-3" squares) near the edge of a wooden support.
Two wooden
supports were then attached so as to form a right angle between the ceramic
tiles and to
bring the ceramic tiles into close proximity. The length of the right angle
space between
the ceramic tiles was about 75 cm.
CA 02568946 2006-11-27
4
Three different surfaces were employed for the evaluation of the materials:
tiles with a
smooth ceramic surface, tiles with a smooth ceramic surface where the right
angle corner
between them had been covered with a layer of masking tape, and tiles which
had a rough
textured surface. The silicone caulking was then applied to the right angle
space between
the tiles using a manual applicator standard to the industry.
Before each experiment, the surface of the ceramic tiles was thoroughly
cleaned with
water followed by acetone. Fresh masking tape was used for each experimental
surface
involving masking tape.
Evaluation Procedure
Preliminary Observations - No Surfactant Applied
The silicone caulking was pumped, using the manual applicator, into the right
angle area
between the ceramic tiles. In this way a bead some '/4" in diameter or so was
formed in
the right angle space between the tiles. When the finger was used in an effort
to smooth
the silicone caulking, and thus remove excess silicone caulking, it was found
that the
silicone caulking stuck to the finger and was difficult to remove. In
addition, the silicone
caulking smeared onto the area of the ceramic adjacent to the right angle
space where the
silicone caulking had been applied and it was found to be difficult to remove
the silicone
caulking from this area. Finally, the surface of the resulting silicone
caulldng bead had a
rough appearance. In summary, the procedure resulted in a final bead of
unattractive
appearance and it was difficult to remove excess caulking from tooling and the
ceramic
tile.
Observations - Surfactant Applied
In order to evaluate the beneficial effect of the various surfactant solutions
on the
application of the silicone caulking, the silicone caulking was applied to the
surfaces as
CA 02568946 2006-11-27
described above. The surfactant solution was then sprayed onto the area where
the
silicone caulking had been applied using a mist applicator of the type
commonly used in
the application of a window cleaner. This application covered the silicone
caulking with
surfactant solution along with adjacent areas of the ceramic tile. Typically
excess
5 surfactant solution was applied. Finally, the finger was used to smooth out
the applied
silicone caulking and the result noted.
Characteristics evaluated were as follows:
= Ease of removal of excess silicone caulking from the finger
= Smoothness of surface and uniformity of the resulting silicone caulking bead
= Ease of removal of excess silicone caulking from areas of the ceramic tile
surface
near the final bead.
Surfactant Solutions
In order to evaluate various surfactants for their beneficial or otherwise
effect on applying
silicone caulking materials, aqueous solutions of a number of different types
of surfactants
were prepared in de-ionized water. The surfactants used in this study are
listed in Table 1
below along with the suppliers of the surfactants. Table 2 summarizes the
surfactant
2 0 concentrations evaluated, and the observations of the beneficial or
otherwise effect of the
surfactant solution on the removal of excess silicon caulking material from
the ceramic tile
and fingers, and the final appearance of the silicone bead.
CA 02568946 2006-11-27
6
Table 1: Surfactants used in this investigation
Designation of Surfactant Description from Supplier Supplier
Surfactant
Cationic BTC 824 Stepan Co.
Myristalkonium chloride
Alkyl(60%C14, 30%C16, 5%C12,5%Cls)
dimethyl benzylammonium chloride
50% Active Liquid
Anionic Sodium dodecyl sulfate Fisher Chemical Co.
Non-Ionic Igepal CO-630, a nonylphenol ethoxylate Stepan Co.
Results of Evaluation
Surfactant solutions of 0.1 %, 0.3% and 1.0% by weight of as received
surfactant in de-
ionized water were prepared. Three different surfactants, as outlined in Table
1, were
used. The resulting nine solutions were evaluated for their beneficial effect
on the
application of silicone caulking on the three different surfaces described
above. The
results of these examinations are summarized Table 2 below.
CA 02568946 2006-11-27
7
Table 2: Results of Evaluation of Beneficial Effect of Surfactants on the
Application
of Silicone Caulldng to a Ceramic Surface
Surfactant Concentration Observations
Non-ionic 0.1 % Good performance but not the best. On tape there
was some 'feathering' and residue of the silicone
caulking. On the finger, some difficulty was
experience in the removal of excess silicone
caulking.
Non-ionic 0.3 % Very good performance on all three surfaces.
Comes off the finger easily. Excess silicone
caulking is easily removed from the tile surface.
Non-ionic 1.0 % Excellent performance on all three surfaces: tape,
smooth ceramic and rough ceramic. Excess
silicone caulking was easily removed from the
finger and from the surface of tile using a paper
towel. The resulting silicone caulking bead was
judged to have a uniform appearance with an
excellent cosmetic appearance.
It was agreed by all that the performance of this
surfactant mixture left little if anything to be
desired. Very smooth application.
Cationic 0.1 % Silicone ends to smear on the tile surface. Poor
performance compared to other mixtures.
Cationic 0.3 % May be better than the 1% cationic solution below.
Not optimum however.
Cationic 1.0 % Tendency to smear. Doesn't re-work as easily as
some of the others. Not optimum.
Anionic 0.1 % Some feathering on the tile surface. Comes off
finger well. On re-tooling or re-working the
silicone caulking bead, there is a tendency to
CA 02568946 2006-11-27
8
smear.
Anionic 0.3 % Works very well but not quite as good as the 1%
non-ionic. Seems to stick to the finger more.
Anionic 1.0 % Excellent performance on all surfaces. Very
similar in performance to the 1% non-ionic
mixture.
Summary and Conclusions
Both the non-ionic surfactant and the anionic surfactant were found to have a
beneficial
effect on the application of the silicone caulking to all three surfaces. The
cationic
surfactant was found to have the least beneficial effect for the application
of silicone
caulking of all three surfactants at the concentration range investigated.
What this means
for a tradesman is that all three types of surfactant will work. The tradesman
can mix a
commercially available soap or detergent containing a surfactant with water
and obtain the
benefits of the above described method without worrying as to the particular
"type" of
surfactant to be used. If purchasing a surfactant from a chemical store, it
would appear
that a non-ionic or anionic surfactant is to be preferred.
While any amount of surfactant has beneficial effects, the optimum
concentration for
beneficial effects of the non-ionic and anionic surfactants appears to be -1%
in water.
There is only a minor improvement in beneficial effect in going from 0.3% to
1.0 % for
the non-ionic and anionic surfactant, but a substantial difference in
beneficial performance
was noted from the corresponding 0.1% solutions. Increasing the amount of
surfactant
beyond 1% is not believed to sufficiently improve performance to warrant the
increase
cost.
In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-limiting
sense to
mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically
mentioned are not
excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" does not
exclude the
CA 02568946 2006-11-27
9
possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context
clearly requires that
there be one and only one of the elements.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made
to the
illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention as
hereinafter defined in the Claims.
