# Smearing and spreading silicone



## Auhsoj27 (Jun 3, 2005)

I've read a dozen or so past threads about using silicone and coco to create a natural looking background, but there's one step that seems to be omitted from everyones "how-to" instructions.

How are you spreading the silicone across the Great Stuff in any kind of even or uniform thickness?

Obviously you can't use a putty knife, since the surface isn't flat. Do you squirting a big glob in your hand and then finger painting it onto the foam? Do you squirt a few big beads onto the foam and them smear it flat? Use a paintbrush somehow?


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## fleenor1 (Feb 18, 2005)

You will never get it to have a uniform thickness.
Just squirt it onto the greatstuff, put on some cheap rubber gloves, and start spreading it as best as you can. That is going to be the easiest way to do it.

I just use the cheap rubber gloves that doctors use. You can pick them up at any pharmacy around your house for cheap. They work great and you just throw them away after you use them....

Hope that helps!


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## Guest (Jun 3, 2005)

I just did a 20 long vert and didn't use gloves - I'm still picking it out of my hands.
Brooks


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## fleenor1 (Feb 18, 2005)

Don't worry!
I learned from experience too!!!!! :lol:


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## themann42 (Apr 12, 2005)

i have a box of cheap disposable rubber gloves from work, prolly the exact thing fleenor mentioned. i'd just squirt is on my finger or on the great stuff and smeared it around. worked fine. in fact i just finished yesterday on my first tank.

don't do too large of a patch though, because the silicone will get a skin over it and the coco will fall off. also if the coco is not 100% dry it will not stick as well either.


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## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

*spreading silicone*

Try some KY jelley on your fingers first if you do it bare-handed--or even on the gloves if you use the disposable vinyl gloves. Just a tip from the medical field.

Patty


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## fleenor1 (Feb 18, 2005)

I wouldn't use KY.... This will affect the way that the coco fiber will adhere to the silicone. I agree with doing smaller patches of the silicone and then apply the dry coco fiber to it right away.

I stress that you MUST have DRY coco fiber!
If there is any moisture at all it will not stick to the silicone.
Just put the coco fiber on the wet silicone and mash it in as best as you can. This is a dirty job as well so use more gloves. I let it dry for a couple of hours and then go back and vaccume off the excess coco fiber. I use a dust buster vaccume so I can retrieve the coco fiber from the vaccume easily.
Now you can go back and touch up any other spots that you missed and also start another patch of the background. I tend to use a lot of silicone when I do this. I feel that it is better to have a thick layer of silicone. This will also better your chances that you will not see the yellow great stuff after you have finished....


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## rozdaboff (Feb 27, 2005)

If you are using cork bark pushed into the great stuff and great/stuff silicone, it is actually better looking to tiny pinpoint areas of yellow in certain areas - it mimics the yellow lichens on the cork bark, and breaks up the background a bit more.


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2005)

i agree with fleenor. more is better! i just recently did my first viv with great stuff. im pretty impressed with the stuff. i wanted to be able to answer these frequently asked questions (i cant contribute much to frog info :roll: ), so i tried a bunch of different things in different areas.

i tried areas with just a skim coat of silicone and sprinkled on peat dust, all the way up to 1/4" thick (or more) layer of silicone with cup fulls of peat on top of that.

after adding the great stuff (just spraying it in trying to get full coverage) this is what i came up with for best results in adding the coco/peat:

1 turn the viv on its back (or end if you are applying coco/peat to the end)

2 put on gloves  (i used the latex ones mentioned earlier, no KY)

3 load up an area (approx 10"x10") with brown GE II silicone for doors and windows (i hear the bathroom stuff has mold inhibitors)

4 use gloved hands to spread it out and mash it into gaps and cracks. i tried to use much more than i thought needed and this really helped with not having to go back over it.

5 take off and discard silicone covered gloves.

6 replace with new clean gloves.

7 i used a cup to transport peat onto the wet silicone. i dumped a lot of peat into the area (again more than i ever thought i would need), ususally a few solo cups. it also hepled to have the cups of peat right next to me ready to go once i smeared on the silicone. it doesnt take long for that stuff to develop a skim that makes it hard to get the peat to stick.

8 take my new clean gloved hand and mash the peat into the silicone. i started at one corner of the section then worked my way across trying to mash it in well, but not move the silicone around too much.

9 i let it dry for 30 minuts or so.

10 turn viv upside down to let excess fall out on to my counter.

11 return excess to cups for future use.

12 start over 

i hope this helps. one thing i tried and am not real sure of it helped at all, was skim coat the GS with a thin layer of brown silicone before i even went to coating and putting peat on. i think it also helped in aiding missed spots. at least everything is covered with brown, and no yellow shows through.

i have a thread that has pics and details of some of these different steps i mentioned. you can see the tank/background at all different stages. i also partially detailed how to ad planters and wood to the background.

to see my thread click the link below
http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4838


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## TopGunJags01 (Jul 31, 2004)

As for spreading silicone onto the foam I buy several cheap paint brushes from home depot that are about .60 each and spread a thick layer of silicone because if you don't put enough most of the coco bedding won't stick and you have to go back to touch it up a bit.


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## Auhsoj27 (Jun 3, 2005)

Thanks so much for all the detailed replies.


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