How to Make Silicone Adhesives & Caulks Dry Faster

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Speed up your next DIY project with these silicone drying hacks
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Silicone is a popular adhesive and sealant with a wide variety of uses—it's perfect for car repairs, maintenance around the house, and construction work. If you need an adhesive to dry quickly, apply a drying catalyst or open the windows to provide more ventilation. To dry a silicone sealant fast, turn on a humidifier if the room is dry. Keep reading to learn how to quickly dry any kind of silicone, plus how to use fast-drying silicone and how long sealants and adhesives typically take to dry and cure.

Drying Silicone Faster

To quickly dry a silicone, apply a drying catalyst, open the windows, or point a fan or a hairdryer on low heat towards the adhesive. A low-temperature adhesive will dry faster in colder environments. To dry a sealant or caulk, turn a humidifier on in the room or scrape away the excess with a putty or butter knife.

Section 1 of 3:

Speeding up the Drying Process

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  1. If the layer of adhesive is too thick, it will take more time to dry. By scraping off any additional adhesive, you allow the air to get to the adhesive and shorten the drying time.
    • If you don’t have a putty knife, you can use a butter knife to get rid of the excess adhesive.
    • The same goes for sealant. The more caulk you have, the longer it will take to cure. Remove extra sealant with a putty knife or finishing tool . [1]
  2. Your adhesive must dry in room temperature conditions and in a well-ventilated area. Open the windows and doors around the adhesive to ensure there is air, moisture, and heat coming in and out of the room. [2]
    • There is a misconception that the hotter the room is, the quicker the adhesive will dry. The reality is that humidity will halt the drying process, so always keep the room well-ventilated.
    • Sealant, however, requires moisture to fully dry and cure. Using a humidifier in a dry room can help speed up the curing process. [3]

    Did you know? Drying and curing are totally different things. Drying is the initial, rapid process where moisture and water evaporate. Curing is much slower and refers to the chemical changes that take place after silicone gets exposed to oxygen. Your silicone will be a fully functional sealant if it's just dried—you don't necessarily need to wait for it to cure.

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  3. Place the fan about 3 feet (0.91 m) from the adhesive. If you’re using a fan, keep it at a medium setting, rather than high speed. Keep the fan by the adhesive for about 1 hour. [4]
    • Home renovation and repair specialist Art Fricke says you can also use a blow dryer at a low temperature to speed up the process. [5] However, be sure to stay at least 1 ft (0.30 m) away from the adhesive when blow-drying it. If you use high heat, it could actually make the silicone take longer to cure.
    • Only use the blow dryer for between 5-10 minutes.
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Section 2 of 3:

Using Fast-Drying Silicone

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  1. Buy a special low-temperature adhesive if you’re working in the winter. Silicone-based adhesives don’t freeze in cold weather, so you can use them even if the temperature drops. These adhesives dry faster in cold or damp environments, making them extremely versatile. [6]
    • You can also buy low-temperature sealant , but be wary of using it in very extreme cold. A low-temperature sealant will hold up between 32–40 °F (0–4 °C), but caulk usually won’t cure well below freezing.
  2. Most brands have a quick-drying version of their product. Some products advertise that the adhesive dries quickly or differently than others, so a bottle can be the quick-drying variety even if it doesn’t say that specific phrase. Look for descriptions like “30-minute water-ready” or “fast cure.” [7]
    • Another description the product could have is “instant adhesive”.
    • Fricke says that you can also buy fast-drying silicone sealant “that's water ready in 30 minutes” and isn’t “any more expensive than any other silicone caulk.” [8]
    • Some silicone sealants come with 2 parts—the silicone and the catalyst. If your sealant isn’t drying as fast as you’d like, add a little more catalyst using an airless mixing system before applying it. [9]
  3. If the tube is out of date, the adhesive will take longer to dry. If the adhesive takes longer to dry than it says on the tube, this is most likely because it has gone past its shelf life. Most sealants are good for about 18 to 24 months. [10]
    • Many adhesives say they come with a lifetime guarantee. This isn’t wrong, because expired adhesive will still dry, but it will take much longer than you’d like to do so.
  4. The optimal temperature for storing your adhesive is 68 °F (20 °C). Fortunately, you can store it in a wide range of temperatures. As long as the temperature is between 59–80 °F (15–27 °C), your adhesive should be in good shape. [11]
    • Try to avoid storing the adhesive in your garage when it’s hot outside. If this happens, the adhesive can become thick and lumpy and may not dry quickly.

    Tip : To extend the shelf life of a big tube of silicone sealant, place a plastic bag over the tube and then screw the nozzle onto the tube.

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Section 3 of 3:

How long does it take for silicone to dry?

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  1. Regular silicone adhesives and caulks become dry to the touch in about 20 to 30 minutes, but they don’t fully cure until at least 24 hours after application. [12] However, the temperature, humidity, and brand can vary the drying time. [13]
    • Check the label on your product to see how long it takes to dry or cure.
    • “Fast-dry” silicone sealants usually take around 24 hours to fully cure.

Expert Q&A

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  • Question
    How long does it take for silicone sealant to cure?
    Art Fricke
    Home Renovation & Repair Specialist
    Art Fricke is a home renovation and repair specialist and the owner of Art Tile & Renovation based in Austin, Texas. With over 10 years of experience, he specializes in bathroom and kitchen renovations. Art focuses on a single contractor approach to customized renovation work, and performs projects such as installing custom tile showers, fixing tiled shower leaks, replacing cracked tiles, and installing floor and wall tile.
    Art Fricke
    Home Renovation & Repair Specialist
    Expert Answer
    Silicone will harden as it's exposed to oxygen. You can hurry it along a little with some low heat or blowing air on it, like from a hair dryer or fan, but for the most part, you just have to let it do what it's going to do. However, you can buy fast-cure silicone caulk that's water-ready in 30 minutes, and it's not really more expensive than any other silicone caulk.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-use-a-caulk-gun/
      2. ↑ https://d-lab.mit.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/D-Lab_Learn-It_Adhesives_Jul13.pdf
      3. ↑ https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-long-does-caulk-take-to-dry/
      4. ↑ https://www.adhesivesmag.com/articles/86285-accelerating-cure-of-silicone-adhesives
      5. ↑ Art Fricke. Home Renovation & Repair Specialist. Expert Interview. 14 August 2020.
      6. ↑ https://www.adhesivesmag.com/articles/86285-accelerating-cure-of-silicone-adhesives
      7. ↑ https://ecommapi.krayden.com/Content/ItemDetails/11-3921-01-advanced-silicone-adhesives-and-sealants.pdf?v=1/23/2024
      8. ↑ Art Fricke. Home Renovation & Repair Specialist. Expert Interview. 14 August 2020.
      9. ↑ https://www.buildsite.com/pdf/dowcorning/DOWSIL-983-Structural-Glazing-Sealant-Base-and-Curing-Agent-Product-Data-2273073.pdf
      1. ↑ https://www.tecspecialty.com/hbfuller-media/4291/pds_tec_155_accucolor100_r0422.pdf
      2. ↑ https://www.adhesivesmag.com/articles/86285-accelerating-cure-of-silicone-adhesives
      3. ↑ https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/107702O/3mtm-super-silicone-pn-08661-08662-08663-08664.pdf
      4. ↑ https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-long-does-caulk-take-to-dry/

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      Silicone can take up to 24 hours to dry, but there are some methods you can use to speed up the process. After you apply the silicone, scrape up as much excess as you can with a putty knife, which will create a thinner layer that dries faster. You can also open the windows and turn on a fan to help the drying process. If you haven’t bought silicone yet, look for one that says “Quick Drying” on the label, since these will harden faster than regular silicone products. Alternatively, buy a tube of drying catalyst. Then, just squeeze a dab from the tube onto the silicone adhesive to speed up the dry time. To learn how to properly store silicone, read on!

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