4 Tips for Quickly Drying Silicone Adhesives

Silicone adhesive, sometimes known as silicone sealant, is a popular product with a wide range of applications. While its exploits as a sealant or bonding agent don’t rank as strong as its competitors do, silicone has great flexibility even when it is completely dried or cured, and it is popular because of that flexibility. Silicone sealant can also easily withstand high temperatures, making it an ideal choice in applications that are exposed to high heat.

It is regularly used in a number of applications in the automotive industry, especially as an aid for sealing an engine. Its flexibility also makes it a good option as a sealant as far as various crafts and hobbies are concerned.

No matter what you’re using it for, here are a few tips to speed up the drying time of silicone sealants. If you had recently applied some and needed to paint over it for example, a faster curing process would be in your best interest.

Keep in mind that the sealant tends to look wet even after it has dried. Do a touch test to check if it’s really wet before you try these methods.

1. Use a Fan to Dry the Adhesive

One of the easiest ways you can dry the adhesive is by using a fan or heat lamp. Better yet, if you have a hair dryer, you can try dry-sealing it with the hair dryer.

NOTE: While the adhesive can stand up to extreme temperatures when cured, if the sealant is exposed to extreme temperatures in the curing stages, there can be some adverse effects. So, be careful when using the blow dryer. Keep it to a moderate temperature.

2. Add a Drying Catalyst

Very often, silicone adhesives can be dried quickly with the help of accelerators that are easily available in the market. You could also use some extra catalyst that will help in reducing the cure time.

You can reduce the cure time by mixing distilled water in a small amount. The water quantity should be around 1 teaspoon for every pound. Just make sure that you mix the water thoroughly to prevent curing from taking place unevenly.

3. Avoid Storage in Extreme Temperatures

Do not store your silicone adhesive in extreme temperatures, such as keeping it in your tool box in the garage during the blazing summer heat. After you've used your product, any that has yet to be used should be stored to avoid overheating, which would cause it to become “globby,” and it would not dry quickly.

NOTE: To be clear, this does not refer to where you should leave silicone adhesives as they’re curing. Used product can be left out to dry without giving much thought to temperature.

4. Check the Expiry Date When Buying the Adhesive

Check the date on the tube and make sure that it is not out of date. This small detail is easily overlooked, especially at the time of purchase, but silicone sealant does undergo changes if it goes past its shelf life.

If the tube is old or out of date, it takes longer to dry. Most tubes have directions that mention the time it would take for it to dry. If the solvent takes longer than the mentioned time, it is most likely because your tube is old. Keeping this in mind, when you’re shopping for any, be sure to read the date on the tube before you buy it to ensure that whichever tube you get, still has a long time of potency ahead of it.