How to choose glass sealant?

Glass sealant is a material for bonding and sealing various glasses to other substrates.   

There are two main types of sealant: silicone sealant and polyurethane sealant.   

Silicone sealant - what we usually call glass sealant, is divided into two types: acidic and neutral (neutral sealant is divided into: stone sealant, mildew-proof sealant, fireproof sealant, pipe sealant, etc.).Generally, glass sealant should be equipped with a sealant gun when using it. When using it, it is easy to get it out of the sealant bottle with a sealant gun, and the surface can be trimmed with a spatula or wood chips. For different types of sealant, the curing speed is also different. Generally, acid sealant and neutral transparent sealant should be cured within 5-10 minutes, and neutral variegated sealant should generally be cured within 30 minutes. The curing time of glass sealant increases as the thickness of the bond increases, and the curing time is determined by the tightness of the seal.

Also, during the curing process of acid glass sealant, the volatilization of acetic acid will produce a sour smell, which will disappear during the curing process, and there will be no peculiar smell after curing, so don't worry about whether the smell can be removed. When choosing, not only start from the price, but also compare the quality. And when choosing glass sealant, it depends on your corresponding performance and use.

1.Please don't rush to buy glass sealant

Some consumers bought glass sealant without understanding the basic knowledge of the product, and found many problems in the process of using it. Such as: what is the difference between acid sealant and neutral sealant? Why only structural adhesives can achieve structural bonding between glass? Why do some transparent glass sealant change color? Which building materials can glass sealant bond? etc. If you understand the classification, use, restrictions, usage methods and storage period of glass sealant before purchasing, you can definitely save money during construction, reduce rework during construction, and prolong the service life of glass sealant.

2.Please don't buy cheap glass sealant

Although glass sealant has been widely used in construction projects or decoration, most users (some are old users who have used glass sealant for a long time) still put cheap products in the first place. As long as the project party A does not specify the glass sealant brand, choose Low-cost sealant is inevitable, but the use of low-priced sealant not only affects the quality and service life of the project, but more importantly, it is very easy to cause rework, delay the construction period, and even cause liability accidents. In order to win huge profits, unscrupulous traders can play tricks on packaging, use thick packaging bottles to reduce the weight of sealant, and replace brand sealant with inferior sealant. The huge profits they get are based on the price. A low-grade glass sealant of the same weight can be 3 times cheaper than brand glass sealant, but the viscosity and tension of brand glass sealant are 3-20 times stronger than low-grade glass sealant, and the service life is 10-50 times longer. Therefore, engineering units should not save trouble, and only by shopping around can they ensure the quality of the project; consumers should not be greedy for cheap, so as not to affect the life of interior decoration.

3.If you don't know the performance of glass sealant, don't use it blindly。

There are many types of glass sealant on the market, including acid glass sealant, neutral weather-resistant sealant, silicic acid neutral structural sealant, silicone stone sealant, neutral anti-mildew sealant, hollow glass sealant, special sealant for aluminum-plastic panels, special sealant for aquariums , special sealant for large glass, special sealant for bathroom anti-mildew, acid structural sealant, etc., users do not fully understand the classification characteristics, applicability, use restrictions and construction methods of glass sealant, and most of them have never touched it. Some units or consumers regard glass sealant as a "universal sealant". After a year, they find that the place where the glass sealant is used has fallen off or changed color, so they investigate the applicability of the glass sealant. It turns out that different building materials need to choose different types of glass. sealant. Therefore, not blindly using glass sealant is one of the conditions for choosing a suitable product.

4. Pay attention to the production date

The performance of all aspects of the expired glass sealant is greatly reduced.

5.Try it by hand.

Take out the part of the glass sealant overflowing from the edge of the rubber stopper, pinch and pull it gently with your hands. If it is full of elasticity and soft, the quality is good. If it is a bit hard and brittle, the quality of the sealant is questionable.

6.After fully cured  

①Look at the surface gloss. The fully cured glass sealant, the finer and smoother the surface gloss, the better the quality. the

② Check the surface for pores. Pores indicate that the reaction is uneven, and there may be a problem with the formula. the

③ Check if the surface is oily. If there is oil leakage, it means that in order to reduce the cost, too much white oil is added and the quality is not good.

④Check for powder on the surface. If it is powder, there is something wrong with the formula. the

⑤ Look at the adhesion. Tear off the glass sealant on the substrate by hand, if it can be easily torn off, it means that the adhesion is not good enough. On the contrary, it is top grade.

⑥ Try flexibility. Remove part of the glass sealant and pull it by hand. The elongation of good glass sealant can reach two to three times of the original. After releasing the hand, it can basically return to the original length. The longer the elasticity is maintained, the better the quality of the sealant. Observe the color when pulling to the limit, the smaller the color change, the better the quality.

⑦ Look at impurities. Buckle the glass sealant with your hands until it breaks, and check whether the inner surface is even and delicate. The more even and delicate the quality is, the better. the

⑧Look at mildew resistance. The longer it does not get moldy, the better the sealant.

⑨See if it changes color. The longer the color does not change for a long time, the better the sealant.

⑩Quality stability. This involves many aspects, including formulation, raw materials, production equipment and the stability of production technicians. Good glass sealant should be the same for every batch of goods.

7. 

In addition, it is emphasized that for the same grade of glass sealant, transparent glass sealant has better performance than other color glass sealant; for the same grade of glass sealant, acidic glass sealant has better performance than neutral glass sealant. The quality of the glass sealant packaged in the same specification cannot determine the quality, because the specific gravity of the formula is different for different purposes. Even the glass sealant for the same purpose is not the higher the specific gravity, the better the quality。