Why is there liquid in my Silicone sealant?

I got a new tube of white silicone sealant to do some water proof sealing and after squeezing out about 1 and half inches clear liquid with the white silicone appeared. Is it normal for there to be liquid in the sealant? Will it weaken the sealing I’m doing?

Hello Simon,

Not in my experience and I have been through dozens of tubes over many years, both clear and white.

Throw it away and use a fresh one, there is definitely something odd about it and it may not go off properly either.

Regards Brian

Got a bad tube there I think Simon. I'd suggest getting another one. In my experience RTV silicone from General Electric Silicones, Dow, or Loctite are very good quality. Other brands sometimes did not cure or failed prematurely. You get what you pay for, I find.

Not usual. Check the expiry date? Your description is a little vague. Was this a thin ribbon from a usual cartridge type of dispenser, as usually fitted to a caulking gun? Or was it about 25% of the contents?

Silicone sealants give off ethanoic acid as they cure. Was this an excess of acid in this product. If it has separated, it may be important….

As above, if cheap, buy better.

Won't be the first time something got packaged wrong. If it doesn't smell of vinegar it's not silicone.

I have never had clear liquid out of a tube of sealer (even acrylic) even years out of date.

Possibly the first tube to be filled after the machine was cleaned. Although the goop is probably OK I wouldn't trust it.

Dave

The clear liquid did have a strong vinegar / acetic acid smell. I poured a bit off and it dried to form a clear hardish residue.

The expiry date isn’t until mid 2024. From the caulking gun got a tiny bit of the ethanoic acid smelling clear liquid on opening then a consistent white ribbon with small amounts of liquid after and inch or two, then white ribbon again. I put some of the liquid onto card and it dried to form a hard clear residue.