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I have seen some tile guys wet their finger with saliva to smooth out a bead of silicone in a corner of a shower stall. does this minor wetness have any adverse affects on the surface layer of the silicone or its ability to cure properly?

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  • I suspect that the saliva helps avoid having too much caulk stick to the skin of your finger.
    – DaveM
    Commented Nov 1, 2022 at 21:24

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It will not affect the curing of the silicone, but using a fine mist of denatured alcohol and smoothing out the caulk before the alcohol evaporates leaves a cleaner surface by removing all the residue from smoothing it out.

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It does not. However, if using 100% silicone it forms a skin (drying) very quickly and you will begin to "pull" the product vs smooth out. Consider using rubbing alcohol in this case.

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Yes it will cure properly.

Silicone is not water (or saliva) absorbent.

So it is only on the surface of the silicone.

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  • actually, vinegar and spit mix pretty well...
    – dandavis
    Commented Nov 1, 2022 at 15:51
  • I'm a bit lost, @dandavis, what does vinegar have to do with it?
    – FreeMan
    Commented Nov 1, 2022 at 16:11
  • @FreeMan it's the solvent used on silicon caulk; acetic acid,
    – dandavis
    Commented Nov 1, 2022 at 16:33

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