How to cap silicone tubes?

[darylhewston]

Has any member come up with a sure fire way of capping silicone tubes/liquid nails/no more gaps etc after use?  I have tried screws, caps, bolts etc without much luck.  Electrical tape seems to work for up to 2 weeks but air still seems to get in to set the silicone in the dispenser tube.  I hate cleaning out the dispenser every time I need to use a product.

[Andy_Mann]

I feel your pain, as I have the same problem. Some say to remove & clear the nozzle, but each time I've attempted it, I've been gifted a useless solid tube of contents. Auuuuugh!!!
Much love to anyone who has the answer, you'll be my friend for life. : )

[Mick]

Have you ever tried to make your own plastic cap? You can heat melt an old plastic nozzle from a previously used tube and then screw that onto the part used tube.

[Handy_John]

I don't think there really is a solution to this one. They are not designed to be caps - of course this is the problem - I have tried everything I can think of, even an nail that was longer than the nozzle in the hope that when I removed it it would leave a 'tunnel' for the silicon to escape (no luck). I always have a few spare nozzles and just chuck a clean one on. If it something water based I will wash the nozzle out and then put an old one back on as the cap.

[Baretta11]

I just leave the nozzle on with a nail or screw in it and even though it dries out, you just put on a new nozzle because the silicone is usually still ok at the thread after quite some time or at least that's what I've found.

[dob80z]

10-15cm of plastic tubing pushed onto the end of the nozzle. Then squeeze the sealant through to nearly the end of the tubing. When it sets, it will be hard in the tubing - pull that off, and the contents in the nozzle will be ok.

Note, this will only work to a point - I've had tubes that I have left for so long, the entire tube itself goes solid...

[darylhewston · Accepted solution]

@dob80z @Baretta11 @Handy_John @Mick @Andy_Mann

Good ol' Bunnings.  Found these on Monday when I had to buy a tube of roof and gutter silicone.  5 pack @ $2.18.  Bought 2 packs and will see if they work better than everything else I have tried.

[winmar007]

I'm not sure if Bunnings stock them but I have found the Latex Caulk Saving Caps perfect for the job.  They just roll on and seal the nozzle.  And they are both cheap and re-usable.

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @winmar007. It's brilliant to have you join us and great to see you jump straight into a discussion.

I'm not quite sure about the style of caps you're mentioning, but we stock both the Sika Resealable Cartridge Nozzles and Monarch Cartridge Caps. Both of these will effectively seal caulking tubes.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[winmar007]

The ones I have seen are made of latex and are just rolled on to the nozzle - see attached photo