Advice on using Sikaflex 295

[stephennoble]

I am refurbishing my aluminium framed windows and have successfully removed them, disassembled and cleaned. I am now putting them back together. The frames are now reassembled and the glass held in place. The glass is 5mm and the frame recess is 10mm, so I have 2.5mm of gap to fill with Sikaflex on each side. Its going ok but the pressure needed the expel the Sikaflex from the tube into the gap is horrendous. I am using a standard cartridge gun and working in a temperature of about 15 degrees. I can't make the hole in the dispensing tube any bigger as it needs to fit into the gap. My question is....is it normal to need so much pressure to get the sikaflex out? The Sikaflex is new and in date.

 

[fergie_mac66]

How long has it been open if a long time, don't know the timelimits on anopen tube,then it will have started going off might have to get new there are some alternatives you will get from screw fix

 

[TamT]

You could put the tubes in a bucket of warm water prior to use. And/or you could purchase an air or battery powered mastic gun.

Colin

 

[prv]

Sikaflex is certainly harder to squeeze out than silicone. Is yours normal? Hard to say without coming round and trying it.

I broke a cheap mastic gun, and bent a slightly more expensive one, earlier this winter and I considered that a failing of the guns rather than the sikaflex.

Pete

 

[LittleShip]

You could put the tubes in a bucket of warm water prior to use.

Colin

That's the way I do it when the weather is cold, don't heat it too much as it will become very runny.

Tom.

Tam T. See you on the water soon.

 

[Hadenough]

Are you sure there isn't a block in the tube, hardened sika? How does it run without the nozzle on?

 

[stephennoble]

Thank you all for your information, it has helped me realise that it is just a bit hard it squeeze out. Job nearly done and my hands have had a good workout.

 

[fergie_mac66]

for ref:

normal silicon is no good but low modulus neutral cure is pretty good for windows as its used for gluing glass fish tanks together